Indiana was one of few remaining states that barred high school student-athletes from profiting off their name, image and likeness. But yesterday, the Indiana High School Athletics Association reviewed a proposed rule change to allow high school NIL in the state and the measure passed by a 13-5 vote.
The IHSAA proposal “Personal Branding Activity” was voted on at the May 4th meeting. Now, only four states in the U.S. block high school NIL: Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi and Wyoming.
From AB: High School NIL What It Is (and What It Isn’t)
According to WNDU, the IHSAA framework will differ from college NIL rules in that schools can not make deals with student-athletes. That is common among states that allow high school NIL.
“The question I ask is, ‘Is it time for us to be in the NIL space or not?’” IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig said. “If we are, this is what it could look like.”
According to IndyStar, Neidig and other IHSAA leaders recently traveled around the state, discussing the proposal with various stakeholders. The Personal Branding Activity proposal gained support from at least half the state’s principals and athletic directors based on early polling.
The Personal Branding Activity proposal permits high school student-athletes to utilize their NIL so long as they do not use school facilities or property in the deal. Student-athletes may provide instructional services, such as private sports lessons. They will also be permitted to make appearances at events and promote businesses unrelated to the school.
“If I’m an athlete and an apparel company comes to me and asks me to use my social media to promote our product and an athlete does that, that would be fine as long as they don’t say, ‘I’m the point guard at this school’ and I’m in uniform,” Neidig said. “You own your name. You don’t own the school’s name. But if you go to the YMCA and teach somebody how to hit a baseball or softball, you could do that under your own name.”
