High school athletes in North Carolina will soon be able to profit off their name, image, and likeness after a Wake County Superior Court judge issued a ruling on Tuesday, ordering the State Board of Education to implement proposed permanent rules nearly one year ahead of schedule.

The rules that will govern NIL for high school athletes were put together by staff at the Department of Public Instruction and presented to the State Board of Education in September. The board voted to send the proposed rules to a public comment period this fall, and was expected to vote on adopting the rules as early as January 2025. If adopted, they were poised to take effect July 2025.

However, the Wake County judge is ordering the board to implement the rules immediately, as soon as he signs the official written order. That means high school NIL in North Carolina will become legal when the judge takes that action — which should happen sometime in the coming weeks.

So, what are the rules for high school NIL in North Carolina? Here’s a complete guide.

What is name, image, and likeness?

Many sports fans already have a definition of NIL from their understanding of how it works in college sports, but that is not how NIL works in high school sports across the country.

The State Board of Education defines NIL as: “The use of a student’s name, image, or likeness for commercial purposes and in exchange for compensation to the student or an immediate family member of the student.” Compensation can be anything of value, not just money. It could include in-kind gifts, discounts, and other benefits.

Who is eligible to benefit from NIL?

The State Board of Education rules govern all public schools in North Carolina, including charter schools. The N.C. High School Athletic Association is required to enforce the rules provided by the State Board of Education, which means all schools who are members of the NCHSAA must follow the same rules — that includes the four private Catholic schools who are members of the NCHSAA. Students at all of these schools will be eligible to benefit from NIL activities as long as they meet all the requirements.

Students at private schools who are members of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association have been permitted to engage in NIL activities since July 2024. They are not subject to the rules set by the State Board of Education.

What are the restrictions for high school NIL activities?

The State Board of Education rules establish guardrails for NIL activities, unlike what you see in college sports. This means there are restrictions high school athletes must respect.

Anything a student-athlete receives as part of a NIL agreement cannot be conditioned on the performance quality or extent of participation of the athlete.

Any student who is under the age of 18 must have their parent or legal guardian included as a party to the agreement. The agreement must also hold harmless the school district and its employees, the NCHSAA and its employees, and the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction, including the employees at those organizations.

All agreements must comply with all other state and federal laws.

What are the requirements before a student-athlete can make a NIL agreement?

Before any NIL agreement can be made official, the student-athlete must provide a copy of the agreement to the principal and athletic director at the school. In addition, the superintendent and the chairperson of the local board of education must have access to the agreement, as well as the head coach of any sport in which the student participates.

The student is also required to take the NIL education course offered by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The course is free to take. However, if the student is under the age of 18, the student’s parent or guardian must also take the course. A certificate of completion for the NFHS course must be provided to the NCHSAA.

What NIL activities are allowed?

The State Board of Education rules outline specific activities student-athletes are allowed to engage in when it comes to NIL agreements:

• Public appearances or commercials
• Autograph signings
• Athletic camps and clinics
• Sale of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs
• Product or service endorsements
• Promotional activities, including in-person events and social media advertisements

What NIL activities are not allowed?

Unlike the NIL structure in college sports, the high school NIL policies provide a number of restrictions and protections for student-athletes. It’s important to note what is not permitted when it comes to high school NIL deals in North Carolina.

Any student-athlete who has an agreement in place cannot make any references to the school district, the school, the conference, or the NCHSAA as part of its NIL deal. Intellectual property of those institutions, as well as the NFHS, cannot be used either. Intellectual property includes the name, uniform, mascot, mark, and logo of any of the institutions listed. In addition, student-athletes cannot appear in the uniform of the school while engaging in NIL activities.

There cannot be any NIL activities during sports competitions or other school-based activities or events. This includes wearing apparel with logos, marks, and brands of a third-party entity in which a student has a NIL agreement, unless it is part of the standard uniform for that school or sport.

The rules also prohibit student-athletes from participating in NIL deals that involve the following:

• An adult establishment or adult entertainment service
• Alcohol or alcoholic products
• Tobacco, vaping, or other electronic smoking device
• Other nicotine products
• Cannabis or cannabis products
• Controlled substances
• Opioids or prescription pharmaceuticals
• Weapons, firearms, or ammunition
• Casinos or gambling, including sports gambling
• Activities that would disrupt the operations of the school or school district

Can schools create collectives or use NIL to recruit players?

In short, no. Schools and coaches are not allowed to have any involvement in NIL deals for student-athletes.

“No athletic director, coach, other employee of a (school district), representative of an athletic booster club, or representative of an NIL collective shall use the promise of an NIL agreement to recruit a student to attend a specific participating school or participate in a specific sport,” the State Board of Education rules say.

The rules also state that those same people cannot act as an agent, marketing representative, or otherwise facilitate any NIL agreement between a student-athlete and a third party.

Any violation of these rules will be subject to penalties.

What kind of reporting requirements exist for high school NIL?

When a student-athlete enters into a NIL agreement and submits a copy to the school’s athletic director, they are responsible for reporting it to the NCHSAA within 30 days of disclosure of the NIL agreement. If there are any changes to the NIL agreement, those must also be submitted to the NCHSAA.

The NCHSAA will maintain a record of all NIL agreements and submit an annual report to the State Board of Education no later than June 30 of each year.

Source: highschoolot.com