COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio high school student-athletes are officially permitted to profit from name, image and likeness after a referendum proposal was approved last week by member high schools.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced Monday that an emergency bylaw referendum passed convincingly by its 815-member high schools.
The new bylaw goes into effect immediately, meaning that OHSAA student-athletes can now enter into agreements and be compensated for their name, image and likeness through appearances, licensing, social media, endorsements and/or the use of branding based on their public recognition or notoriety. The bylaw also establishes reporting procedures and limitations so that students do not jeopardize their eligibility as it relates to the OHSAA’s recruiting and amateur bylaws.
High school principals voted on behalf of the schools from Nov. 17-21.
The voting period ended the afternoon of Nov. 21, with the final voting results being 447 schools in favor of the referendum and 121 schools voting against, while 247 schools abstained from voting.
It is a fundamental change to an amateur bylaw which has been a tenet to the state's high school sports since the OHSAA was founded in November 1907.
The emergency referendum was conducted due to a lawsuit filed by the family of Huber Heights Wayne wide receiver Jamier Brown, the nation’s No. 1 wide receiver in the 2027 class, on Oct. 15 against the OHSAA regarding NIL.
The complaint said Brown, a junior who is verbally committed to Ohio State, has the earning power of more than $100,000 per year.
The emergency referendum vote was in response to a Franklin County judge’s temporary restraining order due to a lawsuit filed by Brown's family Oct. 15. With the passage of this emergency referendum issue, the OHSAA said its office will continue to keep the membership informed on the pending legal case.
The OHSAA believes that the adoption of this new bylaw will help ensure a stable and secure framework for NIL and Personal Branding Rights at the high school level in Ohio moving forward.
Personal Branding Rights is similar to NIL. There are some states that are using that terminology to reinforce that the student-athlete cannot involve their school.
“We would like to thank our member schools for taking ownership of this NIL bylaw proposal,” said OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute in a statement. “Whether our schools or individuals agree with NIL at the high school level or not, the courts have spoken on this issue across the country that the NCAA and high school athletic associations cannot prevent a student-athlete from making money on their NIL.”
Prior to the voting, Ohio had been one of only six state associations that did not have rules to permit high school student-athletes to engage in NIL.
A Franklin County judge opened the case in late October by issuing a 45-day temporary restraining order against the OHSAA. Since that restraining order, NIL has been permitted in Ohio high school sports.
The OHSAA has maintained that a lawsuit was a possibility even after member schools voted down an NIL proposal by more than a two-to-one margin (538 to 254) in May 2022.
In summary, the new bylaw allows student-athletes to enter into an agreement and be compensated for their name, image and likeness through appearances, licensing, social media, endorsements and/or the use of branding based on their public recognition or notoriety.
The proposal established reporting procedures and limitations so that students do not jeopardize their eligibility as it relates to the OHSAA’s recruiting and amateur bylaws.
Over the last year and a half, the OHSAA developed the NIL bylaw proposal in consultation with an NIL committee comprised of school administrators, the OHSAA board of directors, which is elected by the member schools, and from member school feedback at regional update meetings.
“Our member schools helped develop this language,” said Ute. “Now the real work begins, because this will be a continually evolving piece of high school athletics. The OHSAA will track NIL deals and make sure that our recruiting bylaws and transfer bylaws are still enforced, which is something our member schools have asked for throughout this process.”
NIL at the high school level has spread rapidly in the last several years since it became permitted at the college level, with 44 states and the District of Columbia permitting NIL in some form. Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Hawaii and Wyoming currently prohibit it, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
In September, the OHSAA Board of Directors approved language on NIL to go to member schools in May 2026 as part of the annual referendum voting process.
The lawsuit filed in Franklin County sped up the process and caused an emergency referendum vote.
Ohio has the third-largest participation rate in high school sports nationally behind Texas and California, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
