OHSAA schools begin voting on NIL changes

COLUMBUS, Ohio — OHSAA member schools began an emergency vote Monday on the future of name, image and likeness deals for high school athletes. The emergency referendum vote lasts through Friday and the OHSAA said the results of the vote will come out Monday.

In 2022, the OHSAA’s member schools voted down allowing NIL deals. Now, if a simple majority of the 815 member schools vote “yes,” student-athletes will be able to sign NIL deals.

NIL allows athletes to make money off their brand and ability. Ohio has allowed NIL for college athletes since 2021.

“They should have the right to be able to earn compensation, just like their non-athlete student counterparts have been able to do with music and with acting and social media influencing,” said Luke Fedlam, the attorney representing a Huber Heights family in a lawsuit against the OHSAA over NIL rules.

In October, a Franklin County judge granted a temporary restraining order against the OHSAA, preventing the association from enforcing its NIL rule in the bylaws. That order is in place until a hearing Dec. 15.

“There are a lot more guardrails in place at the high school level when it comes to name, image and likeness,” said Fedlam. “When we look at the bylaws across the country and the proposed bylaws by OHSAA, it’s not like in college where you can enter a transfer portal and use name, image and likeness to try to get a student athlete to go to a particular institution.”

Karim Jackson’s daughter Kaylee is a dual-sport athlete at Gahanna Lincoln High School. She plays both volleyball and basketball. Jackson said, as a coach himself, he supports the idea of NIL for high school athletes.

“Being committed to the sports that she plays and the training, she doesn’t have the opportunity to go out and get a part-time job or anything like that, so this could be a way for her to earn money doing something that she loves,” Jackson said.

Some of the critiques of high school NIL have revolved around putting too much pressure on student-athletes to focus on sports and the deal instead of their academics. Jackson said the proposed bylaws should help prevent that.

“I think those really top athletes that will have those opportunities, those are the athletes that are truly focused and understand what it means to be a student-athlete,” he said.

In October, the OHSAA acknowledged the growing trend for NIL. 

Ohio is one of the few states not allowing NIL deals for high school athletes. The OHSAA said the Board of Directors approved NIL language to go to member schools during the annual referendum voting process in May, but that could be brought before schools sooner.