Ohio lawmakers have different ideas for name, image and likeness contracts for high school athletes

The Ohio House has two opposing Republican bills on name, image and likeness contracts at the high school level.

Ohio House Bill 661 would prohibit high school and college athletes from entering into NIL transactions Ohio House Bill 745 would create guardrails for high school athletes to obtain compensation from NIL contracts.

Ohio is one of 45 states where high school athletes can take advantage of NIL offers.

“If someone is able to make money off their athletic talent, I think they should be able to do it,” he said State Rep. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman.

He recently introduced Ohio HB 745 with state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton.

Their bill would allow a high school athlete to obtain compensation from NIL if he or she enters into a written agreement equal to fair market value. The agreement would also require written consent from the student-athlete’s parent if he or she is under 18 years of age.

The bill has not yet been considered, and the Ohio House will reconvene in May.

HB 745 describes several situations that would not be allowed in an NIL agreement, including:

• Compensation depends on specific sports results or achievements of the student-athlete.
• Inducing a student-athlete to enroll at a specific high school.
• This has a direct impact on someone other than the student-athlete.
• Provides money, goods, valuable services, or other benefits directly to a student-athlete’s high school or school sports team.
• This interferes with the student-athlete’s required instructional time.
• This is contrary to the educational mission or code of conduct of the student-athlete’s high school.
• Each person associated with the school is a party to the contract.
• The student-athlete will not promote alcohol, tobacco or nicotine products, marijuana, controlled substances, gambling, adult entertainment or firearms.

Of Ohio’s 350,000 residents Students-athletes of the Secondary School, FrJust 32 NIL transactions were reported. According to the OHSAA, many of these deals cost less than $1,000.

“In the vast majority of cases, we’re not talking about a significant amount of money,” Fischer said. “We’re talking about a kid who gets paid $150 to have a donut named after him at the donut shop… Or the football team goes down and takes a group photo to be featured on a flyer for a pizza place, and they get a free pizza.”

Ohio House Bill 661

Ohio House Bill 661 would prohibit high school and college athletes from taking NIL offers. State Reps. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, and Mike Odioso, R-Green Twp., introduced bill at the end of January and there were six of them hearings of the Ohio House of Representatives Education Committee.

Supporters of the bill argued that it would give Ohio a chance to create appropriate guardrails for NIL at the middle and high school levels.

“Rather than reacting to momentum, our state can thoughtfully shape a model that protects student-athletes, preserves educational priorities and sets a responsible example at the national level,” Mason City Schools Superintendent Jonathan Cooper said in his testimony.

Opponents argue that high school-level NIL is not the same as college-level NIL and that other high school students can earn money by working part-time.

“If you have someone on your team, the person on your team can make money on the side,” he said Eugene Miller, former state representative. who is running as the Democratic candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 20. “Why should we punish athletes based on their sympathies, eliminating NIL opportunities?”

Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said NIL is the problem.

“I don’t think we should have it (at the high school level), but I don’t know what the limits should be,” he recently told reporters.

Ohio High School Athletic Association

A Franklin County judge issued a ephemeral restraining order preventing the OHSAA from enforcing the ban against high school athletes using NIL in October.

Jasmine Brown submitted the application lawsuit on behalf of her son Jamier Brownthe Ohio State Buckeyes football team from the Dayton area.

He is top winger from Wayne High School in Huber Heights transfer to Big Walnut High School in Sunbury for his senior year.

The lawsuit says Brown, a member of the class of 2027, lost more than $100,000 in potential trades.

Member schools of high school athletic associations passed an emergency referendum to allow NIL in November. In this referendum, 447 schools voted in favor of athletes accepting NIL contracts, 121 schools voted against, and 247 schools abstained.

Fischer had initially been working on legislation that would have allowed NIL transactions at the high school level before Brown’s lawsuit.

“I wanted to make sure my colleagues and other legislators see that this is not an all-or-nothing approach,” he said. “You don’t have to choose between the Wild West, which I don’t think anyone is comfortable with, or shutting down potential contracts altogether.”

Huffman wished the OHSAA had been clearer in its ruling.

“We can put our limits on it,” he said. “We can do all this kind of stuff, but I think it’s a very difficult issue. … I don’t think it’s easy to solve.”

OHSAA said the organization was aware of both bills but did not provide further comment.

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