Revised Missouri NIL law allows high schoolers to get paid as soon they sign with in-state school

Missouri became one of the early adopters of NIL reform when Gov. Mike Parson signed an amended bill in June 2022.

Fast forward to this week when the legislature passed another significant change to its NIL legislation with Missouri House Bill 417. A contingent of Missouri Tiger coaches, including football coach Eliah Drinkwitz, were in the House chambers on Wednesday when the bill passed. National NIL observers say the bill “will have a major impact on college and high school NIL in the Show-Me State.”

HB 417 includes sweeping proposals eerily similar to what was recently signed in Arkansas and is on the table in Texas. It also is parallel to a bill that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt surprisingly vetoed recently.

“They have recognized that NIL continues to be an arms race at the state government level in a way, while the NCAA and federal government continue to figure what to do and if they can do it,” Dan Greene, a NIL expert and associate attorney at Newman & Lickstein in Syracuse, N.Y., said. “They clearly saw the developments in Colorado, Arkansas and Oklahoma and are trying to be ahead of the game, especially amongst their SEC counterparts.”

What’s in the amended Missouri NIL legislation?

According to the bill, coaches and school officials would be allowed to attend meetings between student-athletes and a third party where NIL compensation is negotiated.

Among other things, language was also added that says conferences and the NCAA shall not penalize a school as a result of an athlete receiving NIL money, investigate a school for engaging in NIL activity, penalize a school for an “institutional marketing associate” paying an athlete for their NIL. It also says that the law “shall not be construed to qualify a student-athlete as an employee of a post-secondary institution.”

“What we’re doing this year is really modernizing the program,” Missouri House Rep. and former Mizzou player Kurtis Gregory said Wednesday. “It really puts us to the top as far as NIL legislation across the country.”

Bill impacts recruiting

Most importantly, though, the state’s revised NIL law allows high school recruits to enter into NIL deals and start earning endorsement money as soon as they sign with in-state colleges, pending Parson’s signature in the coming weeks.

National observers say that part of the legislation is significant.

“That is certainly pushback against the NCAA,” John Holden, an associate professor at Oklahoma State that specializes in the rights of student-athletes, told On3. “They’re the first state that I’m aware of to basically implement that you’re allowed to use NIL for recruiting.”

Mit Winter, a sports attorney at Kennyhertz Perry LLC in Kansas City, told KMBC 9 that this will be a big advantage for Mizzou and other state schools. 

“It’s a huge deal for universities when they’re recruiting kids, especially in their home state,” Winter said. “Missouri obviously has a lot of talented high school athletes that in the past have gone to other schools. So, Missouri would obviously like to do what they can to keep those athletes in the state of Missouri.”

It should be noted that up to this point, the Missouri State High School Activities Association did not allow high school student-athletes to engage in NIL activities without losing eligibility. Mizzou is represented on the collective front by the Every True Tiger Foundation. Earlier this year, St. Louis University alumni launched the Billiken Victory Fund.

States continue to pass NIL laws

The changes in Missouri also further highlight the NCAA’s struggles to slow down the momentum on the state level for NIL law revisions.

“To me, this is interesting that after Charlie Baker’s latest efforts on Capitol Hill states are still pushing back,” Holden said. “I think this is really setting up a showdown between the states and the NCAA. The NCAA is putting a lot, if not all, of its eggs in the Congress will pre-empt state laws basket. I don’t know if there is enough political will to get that done, especially as we get closer to the 2024 election cycle.”