Wisconsin now joins 40 other states in allowing high school student-athletes to pursue NIL deals. It was one of the last states to do so. The decision comes after the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association rejected the same proposal in 2024, but this year was a different story.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio, the rule change was approved 293 to 108 in last week’s annual meeting of the state’s athletic directors.
The WIAA was put in a difficult position by state legislators. The lawmakers recently said they were preparing to introduce a bill that would “grant high school athletes the right to participate in endorsement deals,” effectively superseding the WIAA’s authority.
The new Wisconsin NIL law allows high school student-athletes to sign endorsement deals, promote products and earn money for their name, image and likeness away from the school or conference. They cannot wear team uniforms in any appearances or sign NIL deals with their own schools. School officials cannot facilitate the NIL deals. These students are not allowed to hire agents, either.
Stephanie Grady is the CEO of Influential Athlete, a company that partnered with Wisconsin high schools to educate “athletes on how to best use their name, image and likeness in both high school and beyond.”
Grady said, “Together, we are paving the way for student-athletes in Wisconsin to not only seize the opportunity NIL now offers—but to do so safely, compliantly, and successfully. This is just the beginning, and we are proud to stand alongside you in this new chapter.”
Wisconsin athletic directors also weighed in after the vote. “I think it’s not going to affect kids as much as they think. It is going to allow our really big-name athletes some really cool opportunities,” Tara Rose, athletic director at St. Croix Falls High School, told TMJ4 News. “We as an administration and as an organization have felt pressure from lawmakers to support this, and if we didn’t support it, we felt that lawmakers in Wisconsin would vote it anyway.”
