GHSA Officially Approves NIL For Georgia High School Athletes
Well, it’s official. The Georgia High School Association has approved NIL deal for high school athletes. If you’re not familiar with NIL, in the simplest of terms, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) is a term that describes the means through which high school athletes are allowed to receive financial compensation.
Basically, you will start seeing high school kids flexing their $20k Rolexes & pulling up to school in their $250,000 G-Wagon. If only this was a thing back when I was in high school.
I actually think this is a good thing. For one, and, to me, most importantly, it allows underprivileged high school students the opportunity to help out their family. Two, it will show them that hard work pays off at such a young age. Lastly, it will allow them to give back to their community.
It may seem like i’m delusional to put so much trust in high school kids, but these kids are smart. Way smarter than a lot of people like to give them credit for.
I actually got to experience this first hand a few years ago with a kid who was the #1 tight end in the nation. I’d be willing to bet there’s more just like him.
On the flip side, as with anything new, there are some concerns surrounding this topic. I made a Facebook post this morning asking for people’s opinion & the number one concern was, “it will give schools with more funding the ability to recruit players, in turn killing smaller public schools that can't generate the same revenue.”
This is actually one of the misconceptions because the by-laws that was passed states that “compensation is not provided by the school or any person acting as an agent for the school.” I will place all of the by-laws at the end of this blog.
Will there be ways for schools to get around this? Of course. They’ve already been doing it for years though.
The good news is, I could see this playing out in favor of smaller schools, actually. Check it…
Scenario:
Two best friends. Come from nothing. Small town, small school. They are star football athletes & have a huge social media following that they’ve built off of their personalities. They decide they’re going to stick around & bring a state title to their hometown because loyalty is #1 to them.
It hasn’t happened yet, but give it time. This story will play out & the smallest school will turn into the most popular school in America.
Just think, who knew Colorado had a college football team before this year?
A student-athlete may benefit from the use of their name, image, & likeness (NIL) in compliance with GHSA by-law 1.92c provided:
The compensation is not contingent on specific athletic performance or achievement.
The compensation is not provided as a incentive to enroll or remain enrolled at a specific school.
The compensation is not provided by the school or any person acting as an agent for the school.
The following guidelines are in effect for NIL activities:
Intellectual property - No “marks” may be used including, but not limited to, school logos, school name, school uniforms, school mascot, or any trademarked GHSA logo or acronyms.
No school apparel or equipment shall be worn, which includes school name, school uniforms, school logo, school mascot or any apparel displaying trademarked GHSA logos or acronyms.
No member school facility may be used for the purpose of name, image and likeness activities.
No activities in conflict with a member school’s local school district policy may be endorsed. (Examples include, but are not limited to, tobacco products, alcohol products and controlled substances.)
Students and their families should seek professional guidance as to how NIL activities could impact collegiate financial aid and/or tax implications, among other issues.
Within seven (7) calendar days after entering into any type of NIL contract/agreement, a student, or the student’s parents/guardians, must notify the Principal or Athletic Director of the student’s school of entering into that agreement
