(The Center Square) – High school athletes in Ohio can now officially be paid for their name, image and likeness.
Ohio High School Athletic Association member schools voted 447-121 to pass an emergency bylaw referendum, effective immediately, the association announced Monday.
More than 30% of the member schools – 815 – abstained from voting.
Ohio is the 45th state to allow what is commonly called NIL at the high school level.
The athletics association believes the new bylaw establishes a stable framework for personal branding rights.
“We would like to thank our member schools for taking ownership of this NIL bylaw proposal,” said Doug Ute, executive director of the association. “Whether our schools or individuals agree with NIL at the high school level or not, the courts have spoken on this issue across the country that the NCAA and high school athletic associations cannot prevent a student-athlete from making money on their NIL.”
The association’s NIL committee of school administrators, the board of directors and feedback from member schools helped develop the new regulation over the past 18 months.
“Our member schools helped develop this language,” Ute said. “Now the real work begins, because this will be a continually evolving piece of high school athletics. The OHSAA will track NIL deals and make sure that our recruiting bylaws and transfer bylaws are still enforced, which is something our member schools have asked for throughout this process.”
The emergency vote came after a Franklin County judge issued a temporary restraining order in October that stopped the name, image and likeness ban.
The association’s new rule allows students to sign contracts to profit from their name, image and likeness through appearances, licensing, social media, endorsements and the use of branding based on their public recognition or notoriety.
The regulation sets up reporting procedures and other limitations to protect recruiting and amateur status.
It bans collectives, which are prevalent in college sports and are generally created by alumni and boosters to provide deals for athletes.
Athletes are also banned from entering into an agreement with schools or agents of the school like booster clubs or foundations, and players would not be able to transfer to a new school because of a money deal.
Athletes are prohibited from using the name, logo or mascot of any state association school or team during any promotions.
