MSHSL to discuss NIL Policy at upcoming Board of Directors meeting

(KDLM) – Whether we’re ready for it or not, NIL is coming for high school sports across the country, and on Thursday the MSHSL Board of Directors will discuss putting policies in place for high school athletes in Minnesota.

NIL, which is an acronym for Name, Image, Likeness, allows athletes to benefit financially from sponsorship deals, charge money to sign autographs, or even create a brand or establish an E-comm store. Basically, it allows athletes to benefit financially from their success without signing an actual pro contract.

Since the NCAA started allowing NIL deals in July 2021, the impending tsunami of NIL at the high school level has been bearing down on us. And they’ve been popping up all over the country. 17-year-old Mikey Williams is a top high school basketball prospect from North Carolina. The high school junior has a combined five million followers on his Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, and recently signed a multi-million dollar shoe deal with Puma. Currently, North Carolina doesn’t allow their prep students to sign NIL deals, but Williams plays for a private academy that isn’t a part of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Jaden Rashada, a four-star quarterback from California (where NIL deals are allowed for all prep athletes), signed a deal with a high school recruiting app (Athletes in Recruitment).

New York prep basketball stars Ian Jackson and Boogie Fland became the first two high school athletes in New York to land NIL deals. The high school sophomores will each receive four figures for the next six months in exchange for one social post per week promoting Spreadshop, which allows creators and athletes to create their own merchandise.

NIL deals in high school sports are currently widely unregulated or have murky explanations in the fine print. According to Opendorse.com, there are 27 states that already have clear NIL rules in place…and 22 of those states prohibit NIL deals at the high school level. The other 23 states, including Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Iowa are still working on putting NIL deals into place with their respective legislature and high school leagues.

The MSHSL handbook currently states that students lose their amateur status in that sport and become professional if the student accepts a salary, cash, or merchandise and that a student cannot use athletic skills to promote or advertise products.

Currently, the only states that allow their prep athletes from benefiting from NIL rules are Alaska, California, Nebraska, New Jersey, and New York.

And the dominos from those states’ decisions are beginning to fall. Quinn Ewers, a top high school football recruit from Texas (where NIL deals are prohibited), chose to forego his senior year of high school and enroll at Ohio State early in order to sign NIL deals he’d been offered.

Minnesota has a rich history of prep stars: from players that are still carving out their legacies like reigning National Basketball Player of the Year Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs, and Tre Jones to some of the all-time greats like Joe Mauer, Larry Fitzgerald, Paul Molitor, Kevin McHale, Dave Winfield, and Neal Broten.

And this Thursday at 9:30 am, the MSHSL will begin the first steps to determining whether or not local athletes will be able to profit from putting the prep spotlight on our state.