FHSAA votes to allow Name, Image, and Likeness deals for high school athletes

TAMPA, Fla. - High school student-athletes in the Sunshine State will soon be able to cash in on their name, image and likeness after a major vote on Tuesday.

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a policy that will allow high school athletes to cash in on NIL. 

The NCAA's 2020-2021 rule change allowing for NIL to happen didn't just affect college athletes - it also applied to high school athletics. Almost immediately, high schoolers across the country began cashing in, but not in states where those deals were already banned.

READ: FHSAA considers compensation for high school athletes in Florida

Several state athletic associations have since voted to allow their high school athletes to profit from NIL; now some 30 states and the District of Columbia allow for NIL at the high school level. 

The states in blue allow high school student-athletes to profit from NIL. 

Georgia joined in last fall, but the practice of allowing high school athletes to make money from things like commercial endorsements, social media, and product advertisements has proven controversial. 

In April, Wisconsin officials voted to keep their ban in place. Athletic directors in the state cited fears over their athletes being taken advantage of. 

Some proponents argue NIL is helping to level the economic playing field for female athletes, who are getting far more opportunities than they have in the past. 

As the mom of one star basketball player whose daughter signed a deal last year warns, though, it remains to be seen if the lure of NIL deals could hurt the fundamentals of teamwork in high school sports. 

"I think kids should benefit, but there definitely should be some type of regulation on it in a way that doesn’t impact performance and how kids play the game because you’re really taking away the natural organicness of the game essentially," said Tameka Dudley, the mother of a high school player with an NIL deal. 

There are a few caveats to the rule being considered in Florida.

Student-athletes will not be allowed to use their school name, logo, or uniform without prior consent from their school district. The schools need to stay out of things entirely, in fact, and parents must negotiate all NIL deals separately from them. And certain products and services, like alcohol, smoking, weapons, and gambling are off-limits. 

The rules also aim to protect against recruiting. Schools and boosters can't offer NIL deals to try to pluck student-athletes from other schools. And high school athletes who transfer in season won't be allowed to secure an NIL agreement for that season unless granted a Good Cause Exemption from the district. 

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