OHIO — Ohio High School Athletic Association member schools voted down the Name, Image and Likeness proposal Tuesday that would have allowed high school student-athletes to sign endorsement deals.
The proposal failed by a margin of 538 to 254, according to OHSAA. It would have mirrored the changes made at the collegiate level, except high school athletes wouldn’t have been able to use their teams, schools and/or the OHSAA logos. It also barred the deals from happening on school grounds or in uniform.
The rejection makes student-athletes unable sign endorsement deals without losing their amateur status, according to OHSAA.
“Every year, the referendum voting process shows that our member schools have a voice in this democratic process,” OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said in a press release. “Our office was very pleased with the discussion and insights our schools expressed this spring as we met with them about each of the 14 proposals. If NIL is going to enter the Ohio interscholastic landscape, we want the schools to be the ones to make that determination. Whatever we do moving forward, it will include discussion on this issue with our school administrators, Board of Directors, staff and leaders of other state high school athletic associations.”
In order for the proposal to pass, it would have needed a majority of the 817 schools, which is 409 “yes” votes.
The issue of NIL deals for high school athletes follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June that said the NCAA cannot restrict education-related compensation benefits for the country’s nearly 500,000 college student-athletes, according to The Associated Press.
Since then, nine states — Alaska, Colorado, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Utah — allow student-athletes to sign deals.
Generally, college and high school athletes can use sports agents to market their name, image and likeness, but they are not permitted to hire agents to represent them professionally without endangering their eligibility.
