Where is NIL allowed after Oregon becomes 19th state to allow it for high schoolers?

On3 imageby:Jeremy Crabtree10/11/22

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The NIL momentum on the high school level continues.

After the Oregon School Activities Association voted Monday to approve Name, Image and Likeness guidelines, there are now 19 high school activity associations across the country that allow their student-athletes to participate in NIL without losing eligibility.

The move in Oregon follows the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, which passed NIL rules last week. Additionally, the District of Columbia State Athletic Association also recently gave the green light to NIL activities. Oregon, Oklahoma and the District of Columbia joined Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah by changing their bylaws in 2022 to allow NIL on the high school level. It’s also allowed in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey and New York.

Complete list of NIL High School Rules

It’s just a matter of time before others loosen NIL rules

All of this signals to NIL experts that it’s just a matter of time before the rest of the high school activity associations across the country loosen their restrictions.

“Right now, it seems like every month there’s a different state high school athletic association proposing and passing new rules allowing their athletes to partake in NIL deals,” said Dan Greene, a NIL expert and associate attorney at Newman & Lickstein in Syracuse, N.Y.

“And why not? High school athletes should be able to capitalize on their right of publicity just like college athletes and everyone else. States that haven’t passed updated bylaws will soon become the exception, which, as we’ve already seen, has caused some athletes to leave their home states to pursue NIL deals in states that permit it. There’s definitely momentum on this issue even without states like Florida and Texas being on board yet.”

Pennsylvania, Nevada, Illinois could soon follow

And even in states where it’s not allowed, there seems to be change in the wind.

Pennsylvania appears on track to allow its athletes to engage in NIL. In mid-July, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association approved on first reading a policy to allow student-athletes to profit off NIL. Plus, officials in Nevada and Illinois are also having serious discussions about revising their current NIL regulations on the high school level.

“We really need to probably get ahead of this and address it and put some parameters in place to guide students and their families so that they’re educated, and they know what they’re getting into,” PIAA Assistant Executive Director Melissa Mertz recently said.

There’s even been talk that Texas – which currently has one of the strictest state laws against NIL – could be taking up the issue in January. Texas High School Coaches Association director Joe Martin told ABC 13 earlier this summer that he expects the Texas Legislature to tackle NIL in January. The University Interscholastic League, which governs Texas public high schools, currently bans NIL, but legislation would change that.

“I can’t look into the future, but what I do know is that I want to stay in front of the curve,” Martin said in the report. “Hopefully, we’ll deal with it in a little more efficient and organized manner than what you saw with our college counterparts.”

Who’s not on board with NIL at the high school level?

But not every state high school athletic association is moving toward acceptance of NIL. Currently, there are 11 states where it’s still undecided and 21 states where it’s outright prohibited.

In May, administrators in Ohio voted – in a 538-254 margin –against allowing student-athletes to be involved in NIL activities.

Plus, many Southeastern states still have not moved on NIL changes at the high school level. Some NIL experts have noticed that the Southeastern states – where many on the college level pushed the NCAA to remove its NIL prohibition – are falling behind other parts of the country from an acceptance standpoint.

“We are not approving it at any level,” Mississippi High School Activities Association executive director Rickey Neaves recently told The Star-Herald. “High school students are amateur athletes. We do not want to jeopardize their amateur status in any sport. We’ll leave that to the colleges. They’re too young to be making decisions like that.”

Yet, as the trend continues, states like Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida, will be the NIL exception, not the norm.