NIL opportunities for high school student-athletes in Wisconsin to be considered

WISCONSIN (Civic Media) – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association announced on Tuesday that an amendment to allow name, image, and likeness deals for high school student-athletes would be presented to school districts at next month’s annual meeting.

NIL deals for high school student-athletes are allowed in 33 states, not including Wisconsin, as of the end of 2023, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The WIAA is placing an amendment before its membership that would affect the rules and eligibility of student-athletes, allowing them to make money based on their recognizability.

These are the remaining states that I understand do not allow HS #NIL activity: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

For now.

— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) October 4, 2023

If the amendment is passed, students can take NIL opportunities as long as there’s no association with their school, conference, team, or the WIAA. NIL opportunities are also restricted to certain categories; in general, NIL deals have to be age-appropriate.

The NFHS said that when NIL was approved, it was intended for college student-athletes. However, because the laws that apply to NIL are tied to state statutes, eligibility for NIL varies from state to state. In the past two years, 33 states have passed NIL guidance, including all but one of Wisconsin’s border states.

One of the major differences in NIL for high school and college students is that college students can receive direct benefits from their schools, while high school students can’t have any association with their high school teams or conferences.

In its area meetings last fall, the WIAA shared that 32 states at the time had approved NIL opportunities and seven more states were considering it. At the end of 2022, just 16 states had approved it, all within the first year and a half after NIL was approved for college student-athletes.

The proposed constitutional amendment reads:

Rules of Eligibility Article IV Section 1

An athlete forfeits amateur status in a sport by capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money, compensation, endorsementsor gifts of monetary value in affiliation or connection with activities involving the student’s school team, school, Conference or WIAA (scholarships to institutions of higher learning are specifically exempted).

1. This provision is not intended to restrict the right of any student to participate in a commercial endorsement provided there is no school team, school, Conference or WIAA affiliation.

2. The student does not appear in the uniform of the student’s school and does not utilize the marks, logos, etc. of the school, Conference or WIAA as part of any endorsement.

2024 WIAA proposed constitutional amendment text

A majority of Wisconsin school districts would have to approve the amendment at the WIAA’s April 24 Annual Meeting.