The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association approved new guidelines Wednesday for high school athletes to endorse products and services.
High school athletes in Oklahoma can now profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) without jeopardizing their amateur status.
College athletes have had that ability – to be paid for promotional purposes – for a while thanks to NIL rules approved by the NCAA. Now high school athletes can, too.
Overall, the so-called influencer market — people making money from selling items via their personal brand — is generating billions of dollars in revenue.
There are some restrictions, per the OSSAA:
- The compensation is not contingent on specific athletic performance or achievement.
- The compensation is not provided as an incentive to enroll or remain enrolled at a specific school.
- The compensation is not provided by the school or any person acting as an agent for the school.
Additionally, there are limits on what can be advertised and how a school’s logos or mascots can be used in any potential advertisements.
