High School Status
Permitted
High School Governing Body
Status
What We Discovered
Florida has become the 36th state to authorize Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) for high school athletes. The Florida High School Association has amended its bylaws to permit NIL activities while explicitly prohibiting schools and booster clubs from forming collectives to elicit funds on behalf of student-athletes. The association has outlined specific parameters for permissible NIL activities within its bylaws, detailed in section 9.9.4.4 – Amateurism.
Summary
College
NIL Law: Florida Senate Bill 646; amended by HB 7B
Abstract | Full Law | Passed: 6/16/2023 | Effective: 6/17/2023
While Florida was among the states leading the way in NIL legislation, amended SB646, stating that the current law is more restrictive than the NCAA interim policy. The amendment, House Bill 7B, stipulates that a postsecondary educational institution must conduct at least two financial literacy, life skills, and entrepreneurship workshops for a minimum of five hours before an athlete’s graduation. The amendment requires the workshops to be distinct from one another and sets minimum information requirements. The amendment removed language prohibiting pay for play and inducements, as well as language that prevents institutions and employees of institutions from facilitating deals or assisting an athlete in the NIL process.
Summary
High School
Florida has become the 36th state to permit Name, Image, and Likeness at the high school level. The Florida High School Association has released modified By-Laws for Name, Image, and Likeness stating that Prohibit, “schools and/or booster clubs from forming collectives to elicit funds from donors or businesses.”
Bylaws | FHSAA 2024-2025 Bylaw 9.9 Amateurism
Excerpt | 9.9 Amateurism
9.9.4.4, titled Representative of a School’s Athletic Interest, will be updated to state that “No school employee, athletic department, staff member, or representative of a school’s athletic interests, including athletic boosters and booster clubs, and NIL Collectives, which include, but are not limited to, groups, organizations, or cooperative enterprises that exist to collect funds from donors and businesses, to help facilitate NIL deals for student-athletes, and/or create ways for athletes to monetize from their NIL.”
Furthermore, Section 9.9.2 outlines activities that may impact a high schooler’s amateur status and include:
(a) Competing for money or other monetary compensations;
(b) Receiving any award or prize of monetary value which has not been approved by the FHSAA;
(c) Capitalizing on athletic fame or performance by receiving money or gifts of a monetary nature;
(d) Signing a professional playing contract in any sport or hiring a registered agent to manage
his/her athletic career, other than for the purpose of advising on NIL related matters;
(e) Competing under an assumed name;
(f) Accepting a Name. Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreement that does not adhere to FHSAA Bylaw 9.9.
Visit this link to view the lawsuit against the FHSAA 9.9.4 Name, Image, And Likeness (NIL). A student-athlete may profit from the use of their own Name, Image, and Likeness subject to their compliance with FHSAA Bylaw 9.9. Permissible activities include, but are not limited to, commercial endorsements, promotional activities, social media presence, product, or service advertisements.