FHSAA to Consider Proposal Allowing Prep Athletes to Profit from Name, Image, and Likeness

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) will discuss a proposal that would allow prep athletes in the state to profit from their name, image, and likeness, or NIL.

One wrinkle allays concerns that permitting name, image, and likeness would encourage players to seek out agreements or be prodded by others to do so, which would result in even more transfers. A player who moves high schools during the season is not eligible to sign a NIL contract under this draft unless the FHSAA, the state’s main prep sports regulating body, exempts them.

The draft, which will be reviewed at the board of directors meeting on Monday, provides the basis for a policy change that would allow Florida to join at least thirty other states in this rapidly developing field.

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In the draft:

• High school players might profit off their name, likeness, and image without jeopardizing their state eligibility. It is advised that athletes get in touch with collegiate associations such as the NCAA and NAIA to ensure their continued eligibility for such opportunities.
• Promotional efforts, social media work, commercial endorsements, and other advertisements are examples of permissible NIL opportunities. Nothing in the proposal requires the FHSAA to approve transactions or firms that may be involved, even though this was a possibility that was brought up in a recent Florida Legislature committee meeting.
• However, adult entertainment, vaping, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other narcotics are not permitted for players to partake in. Firearms and gambling are also prohibited.
• Agreements must be negotiated “independently of their school, school district, or the FHSAA” by the players and the families. It was forbidden for boosters and staff members of the school to “form, direct, offer, provide, or otherwise engage” in name, image, or likeness activities. It is also prohibited to use NIL as a recruiting inducement.
• Players were prohibited from using school names, images, or likenesses on social media, as well as on uniforms or equipment. They are also prohibited from advertising their work or bragging about how many FHSAA championships they have won while school is in session.
• Agreements must terminate with high school graduation. That becomes noteworthy if the collectives of college teams attempt to sign recruits to contracts that start in high school and go all the way up to the next level.

While pursuing opportunities, the suggested rules also encourage students and their families to seek outside legal and tax guidance. A present prohibition against “capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of a monetary nature” is likewise crossed out.