Illinois high school athletes can profit on their name and likeness. Is that a good thing?

It used to be that star high school athletes, if they wanted to make some money, had to work part-time jobs mowing lawns or filling french fry boxes or digging ditches, just like everybody else in school.

Now?

In 40 states, including Illinois, high school athletes can make money off their name, image and likeness. Today’s star athletes, right after finishing their homework, can give “shout-out” texts or videos to fans, make appearances at events, sign autographs or recommend brands on their social media channels. All for a fee, of course.

Welcome to the brave new world of NIL deals – the high school version.

“There are high school athletes that are making droves and droves of money right now,” said Braly Keller, director of NIL and business insights at Opendorse, an NIL tech platform that currently has 150,000 athletes under contract.