OHIO — Ohio high school athletes could join their NCAA counterparts in being allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association said Tuesday that a rule change on name, image and likeness is among 14 items to be considered by the OHSAA next month. OHSAA membership will vote on the items May 1-16.
Between now and the May vote, the OHSAA is hosting six forums with administrators throughout the state.
“This proposed addition would now allow student-athletes to sign endorsement agreements so long as their teams, schools and/or the OHSAA are not being represented within those endorsements and provided there are no endorsements with companies that do not support the mission of education-based athletics (casinos, gambling, alcohol, drugs, tobacco),” the OHSAA said.
Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, came out opposed to changes to name, image and likeness rules for high school athletes last year.
“The NFHS and its member state associations will continue to protect the high school environment. While amateurism may be a thing of the past at the college level, it must be maintained to preserve the greatest programs in this country – education-based interscholastic sports in our nation’s high schools,” she wrote.
In 2021, the NCAA started allowing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. Subsequently, athletes who previously were barred from using their status as an athlete to garner endorsements were suddenly able to profit. The NCAA, for many years resisted moves to allow athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness, changed its rules as a number of states, including Ohio, considered legislation forcing the NCAA to change its rules.
