Florida State Board of Education approves NIL deals for high school athletes

After more than a year of debate and crafting policies, NIL is officially coming to the Sunshine State for high school student-athletes.

The Florida State Board of Education ratified bylaw changes on Wednesday from the Florida High School Athletic Association that allow name, image and likeness activities for its student-athletes without forfeiting the ability to play prep sports.

The bylaw changes were initially passed by the FHSAA Board of Directors in early June by a unanimous vote and after 45 minutes of additional debate, including from a coach who spoke about his opposition to the new bylaw. The FHSAA vote was then officially rubber-stamped by the board of education Wednesday after 30 minutes of additional debate.

“Students will be able to now utilize their hard-earned money for college tuition, housing and food once they graduate,” Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz said in Wednesday’s meeting. “The FHSAA will provide specific instructions to schools. I also want to make it abundantly clear, we will not tolerate any attempt by companies trying to circumvent the process and take advantage of our students. In Florida, we’ve already seen a company called YOKE trying to get student-athletes to join their multi-level marketing scheme and there are others out there doing the same.

“Florida student-athletes are not pawns for your money-making scheme. We will maintain vigilance with that and continue to evolve with that as necessary.”

FHSAA looks at registration lists, educational tools

During Wednesday’s debate with FHSAA executive director Craig Damon, board members encouraged the organization to research creating a registration list or reporting mechanism for players that have completed NIL deals. Board members also asked the FHSAA to provide sample NIL deal contracts for students and family members to use. Damon said the FHSAA would investigate both and provide all the educational tools for athletes and families to participate in NIL.

With the change, 38 states and the District of Columbia now allow athletes to participate in NIL deals without forfeiting the ability to play high school sports.

There’s been a significant shift over the past year in how high school administrators view NIL and it’s now acceptable in a majority of states from coast-to-coast. And now Florida is officially part of the change.

The Sunshine State is a perennial producer of top high school recruits across multiple sports. Florida’s 2025 class in football alone has four five-star prospects – including Five-Star Plus+ cornerback DJ Pickett – and there are 54 players ranked four stars or higher. Florida’s 2025 class in basketball features two five-stars, including Five-Star Plus+ standout Cameron Boozer.

Plus, Florida is annually home to top high school athletes and recruits in women’s sports. The state is also a haven for standouts in Olympic sports, such as golf, soccer and lacrosse. The changes mean recruits in Florida high school athletes in Florida can also participate in NIL brand deals without fear of missing playing time with their high school program.

Where is NIL prohibited for HS athletes?

What’s allowed in Florida’s new HS NIL policy

In many ways, the new Florida High School Athletic Association NIL bylaw mirrors what is now acceptable for other high schoolers nationwide.

The new bylaws state that student-athletes and their parents/guardians must negotiate any NIL activities independent of their school, school district or the FHSAA. Student-athletes will be prohibited from monetizing their NIL with the use of their school’s uniform, equipment, logo, name, proprietary patents, products and/or copyrights associated with an FHSAA member school and/or school district, either in public, print or social media platforms. Student-athletes are also encouraged to seek legal counsel and tax advice when considering NIL activities.

Interestingly, the FHSAA does include a line in its new bylaws that says a student-athlete could impact their amateur status by hiring a registered agent to manage his/her athletic career – other than for the purpose of advising on NIL-related matters.

Bylaws aim to curb recruiting for high schools

The new rules also aim to protect against recruiting and high-school-oriented collectives and NIL clubs focused on retaining talent at the high school level. This was of significant concern for high school coaches and athletic directors throughout the Sunshine State leading up to the change.

In fact, the collective and NIL club issue – mainly spearheaded by YOKE as Diaz mentioned – was so much of a concern that the FHSAA met in an emergency meeting earlier this week to amend the definition of a collective. The changes included definitions that now say collectives are also defined as donors, individuals or businesses that facilitate payments to or transfer funds to student-athletes and NIL collectives shall not include school-sanctioned team fundraising.

In addition, Florida high schools and boosters can’t offer NIL deals to try to pluck student-athletes from other schools. Plus, high school athletes who transfer in season won’t be allowed to secure an NIL agreement for that season unless granted a Good Cause Exemption from the district. High school collectives and transfers were discussed at length before the vote in June with multiple board members raising concerns that punishments were too light for violators.

NIL debate has raging for years in Florida

NIL on the high school level has been a simmering issue in Florida for years.

Since initially asking for input on NIL in Florida last January, the FHSAA has held discussions, workshops and fact-finding conversations about the topic. The FHSAA was sued in a Miami court in January 2022 by Westminster Christian School baseball player Sal Stewart and former Miami and Louisville football player Gilbert Frierson to allow athletes in Florida to profit off their NIL.

Florida is one of the most progressive states when it comes to NIL at the collegiate level. On July 1, 2001, college athletes in Florida became eligible to profit off their name, image and likeness under a bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But up until recently, there has been some pushback from high school administrators and coaches about allowing it in the Sunshine State. But others have pinpointed a threat of losing talent to other states where NIL is allowed as a big reason Florida is now allowing it.