Overview
- Member schools voted 447–121, with 247 abstentions, to allow student-athletes to earn from endorsements, social media, licensing and appearances, effective right away.
- New rules ban collectives, school involvement and use of school marks, forbid pay-for-performance or recruiting inducements, and require disclosure of each deal to OHSAA within 14 days with potential eligibility penalties.
- OHSAA says it will track NIL agreements and enforce recruiting and transfer bylaws, and it bars NIL activity during school hours or official team activities and prohibits partnerships with gambling, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, adult entertainment or firearms.
- Ohio becomes the 45th state to permit high school NIL, reversing a 2022 membership vote that rejected a similar proposal.
- A preliminary injunction hearing in the Brown case is set for Dec. 15, the family’s attorney says they plan to seek dismissal, and state Rep. Adam Bird has proposed legislation to prohibit high school NIL with formal action expected in 2026.