District of Columbia becomes 17th state to green-light NIL for high schoolers

The NIL landscape for high school student-athletes continues to be reshaped. Two days after Iowa and Massachusetts athletic associations said they were allowing high school athletes to participate in NIL without losing eligibility, the District of Columbia State Athletic Association released changes to its rules that also gives the green light to NIL activities.

The DCSAA’s updated 2022-2023 handbook says that its amateur rules aren’t “intended to restrict the right of any student to participate in commercial or marketing endorsements.”

As part of the revision, District of Columbia high school student-athletes can participate in NIL activities as long as “there is no school team, school or DCSAA affiliation name or logo visible” in the advertisement. The DCSAA says it must be notified of all commercial or marketing endorsements from student-athletes.

“A student who forfeits their amateur status under the provisions of this rule is ineligible to participate at the interscholastic level in the sport in which the violation occurred,” the DCSAA handbook says. “The student may be reinstated after a period of up to the total number of days in the school year provided that during the suspension, the student complies with all of the provisions of this rule. The suspension shall start on the date of the last offense.”

The changes in Iowa, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia mean there are now 17 state high school athletic associations that allow NIL activities.

In March, DCSAA executive director Kenny Owens acknowledged the association was following NIL developments across the country closely. Owens said the DCSAA intended on creating a plan to permit its athletes to capitalize on their NIL. The updated handbook and new policy appear to reflect the DCSAA’s due diligence.

Where is NIL allowed for high school student-athletes?

Most high school associations — Texas, Florida and Georgia — have prohibited student-athletes from participating in NIL.

Along with Iowa, Massachusetts and DC, only Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota and Utah allow high school student-athletes to participate in NIL in high school and still play high school sports.

Yet, in the group that allows it, state high school athletic associations in Colorado, District of Columbia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah changed their bylaws in 2022.

That signals to some NIL experts that there’s momentum toward loosening the restrictions.

That’s especially true when you consider Pennsylvania appears on track to allow its athletes to engage in NIL. In mid-July, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association approved on first reading a policy to allow student-athletes to profit off NIL. Oklahoma high school leaders are also developing updated NIL guidance for student-athletes.

“We really need to probably get ahead of this and address it and put some parameters in place to guide students and their families so that they’re educated, and they know what they’re getting into,” PIAA Assistant Executive Director Melissa Mertz said.

But not every state is moving toward acceptance of NIL.

In May, administrators in Ohio voted — in a 538-254 margin — against allowing student-athletes to be involved in NIL activities. Plus, many Southeastern states still have not moved on NIL changes at the high school level.

District of Columbia athletes could cash in from NIL

Over the past five years, the D.C. has seen four players hear their names called at the NFL Draft.

Another example of the talent per capita the DMV has. The district has a draft talent ratio of 187% during that time frame. And now some of the top high school players from D.C. can profit off their NIL.

Five-star athlete Nyckoles Harbor currently holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $345k, which places him 10th in the high school football NIL rankings.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder from Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll has not made a college decision. Yet, he boasts a total social media following of nearly 40,000. That evaluation will only continue to climb for the top-ranked player out of Washington D.C. in the 2023 class.

He is not the only 2023 prospect in the DMV who has NIL potential.

Clemson commit David Ojiegbe holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $25k. Michigan commit Evan Link is close behind at $21k.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index. It sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. Using a proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation utilizes data regarding an athlete’s performance, influence and exposure. An athlete’s On3 NIL Valuation doesn’t act as a tracker of the value of the NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. Instead, it calculates an athlete’s relative value in the market. It also projects the value as long as 12 months into the future.

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this story.