Reports: Vote coming soon on Ohio high school NIL

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(The Center Square) – 

(The Center Square) – Ohio high school athletes could soon be paid similar to their college counterparts.

Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday the Ohio High School Athletic Association planned an announcement for Wednesday or Thursday regarding an emergency referendum vote of member institutions related to name, image, and likeness for high school athletes.

Those reports followed the report of ESPN’s Pete Thamel on a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the mother of Ohio State wide receiver commitment Jamier Brown, the nation’s top wide receiver in next year’s recruiting class.

That lawsuit claims Brown, a senior at Huber Heights Wayne High School, has a current earning potential of $100,000 a year.

In a news release late Wednesday afternoon, the OHSAA said the lawsuit could result in an emergency vote of member schools on a bylaw to allow for high school athletes to be paid for NIL.

Ohio is currently one of six states that does not allow NIL payments to high school students.

In September, the OHSAA Board of Directors approved language on NIL to go to member schools next May as part of the annual referendum voting process. However, that vote could come sooner.

Also, administrators at regional OHSAA meetings in August and September were told an NIL proposal was likely coming.

“We have been following this situation closely and have been preparing for this situation,” Doug Ute, OHSAA executive director, said. “We were hoping this would wait for the referendum voting period in May, but as we told our schools this fall, the vote may have to come sooner than that due to a lawsuit, which would trigger the emergency vote. We are prepared to move forward with our member schools on this issue.”

If passed, the proposed new bylaw would allow student-athletes to enter into an agreement and be paid for their name, image and likeness through appearances, licensing, social media, endorsements and the use of branding based on their public recognition or notoriety. 

In 2022, OHSAA schools turned down a similar proposal by nearly a two-to-one margin.