An Alabama lawmaker has introduced a bill to the state legislature that would allow high school student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.
According to WSFA, representative Jeremy Gray (D-Opelika) introduced the bill in hopes it will help prepare high school student-athletes for college sports by giving them the chance to earn some extra money through NIL deals.
“That could be you know, an endorsement from Nike, that could be getting an endorsement from a mom-and-pop store. It’s all down the spectrum, what you can get, it depends on the player,” said Gray, noting that other states already have high school NIL rules in place.
“I was like we need reciprocity because if not, athletes, all they have to do for Phenix City, is cross over a bridge over 13th Street and they’re in Columbus," Gray said.
The bill would not allow athletes to be paid for performance, and they would not be able to be recruited by schools for money. Students would not be able to promote their school. Gray says this is based on the students marketing their own name, image, or likeness.
Gary said he hopes the bill could be the beginning of generational wealth for some student-athletes.
“You’re 15 years old, you’re on NIL, you learn about short term and long term investments and by the age of 35, you have millions of dollars, and you actually know how to use them and live with those millions,” he said.
