Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association allows NIL activity

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) released NIL guidelines Wednesday that clarified NIL activities are allowed as long as high school athletes maintain their amateur status and that compensation isn’t used to influence a student’s attendance at a school.

Oklahoma is now one of nearly 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, where high school athletic associations allow athletes to engage in NIL activities without jeopardizing their eligibility. You can view the rules for each state in the On3 NIL High School rules database.

While high school athletic associations in California and New York allow high schoolers to sign NIL deals, many major talent-producing states, especially in the South, do not. Louisiana is the only state in the SEC footprint that does, for example. With the SEC’s future addition of Oklahoma, which will be effective by July 1, 2025 at the latest, high school athletes in another key state are able to pursue NIL opportunities.

“These activities, commonly referred to as name, image and likeness (NIL) will not put a student’s amateur status at risk provided the student meets all the requirements for maintaining amateur status in compliance with Rule 5, and there is no violation of rules prohibiting influencing a student to attend or remain at a member school,” the OSSAA’s guidelines stated.

The state of Oklahoma has five high school football players in the 2023 recruiting class who are ranked in the top 300 of the On3 Consensus. Four-star EDGE Bai Jobe, who attends the Community Christian School and who committed to Michigan State, is the state’s highest-ranked recruit. The other four recruits are committed to schools that are current or future members of the SEC.

Here are the NIL rules high schoolers must follow

Athletes who attend an OSSAA member school can earn NIL compensation as long as it’s not contingent upon specific athletic performance or achievement, provided as an incentive to enroll or remain enrolled at a specific school, or provided by the school or any person acting as an agent for the school.

The OSSAA’s guidelines state that neither school nor association marks — logos, names and mascots, for example — can be used in association with NIL activities. Member schools’ facilities can’t be used in an NIL-related activity, either.

In a statement, the OSSAA also announced an NIL educational partner.

“After extensive research and diligence, the OSSAA has selected Eccker Sports as their partner to provide Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) education, guidance and support to the organization and our stakeholders across the state,” the statement read. “Eccker Sports is the National leader in providing these services and have partnerships with 10 other states including Texas (Texas High School Coaches Association), Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts and Mississippi among others.

“On a statewide basis, Eccker has partnered with the Bedford Agency, led by Bryan Bedford who is a longtime friend and associate of the OSSAA and someone well known in sports circles around the state. Bryan will provide a personal touch to the relationship, act as a liaison between the parties and support the activations of the various NIL and educational programs Eccker provides throughout the state.”