JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Georgia High School Association made two major changes during its fall meeting on Monday morning, including the approval that allows athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, a seismic change in the Peach State.
The vote passed overwhelmingly (65-10), according to GHSA minutes from the meeting, as the state became the latest to greenlight high school athletes to profit off their NIL. Georgia also voted to create separate state playoffs for public and private schools in Class A to 3A.
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Will either of those make their way to Florida? For decades, coaches and administrators in the public school system have fought to separate the public and private school football postseasons as private schools dominated the championships.
The state ultimately created a Suburban-Metro playoff split in 2022 to address the dominance of Metro-area programs come playoff time. But a true public-private split has never gained traction and is unlikely to now with a board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Florida High School Athletic Association had been sued previously to allow athletes in Florida to profit off their NIL, but the state had not changed its stance.
But the NIL news is the more significant piece from Monday’s GHSA fall meeting, opening the door for high school athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness. The state reported 200,348 athletes participated in sports in the 2022-23 school year.
In the updated bylaws, Appendix N lists a few areas that NIL doesn’t apply. It cannot be provided to athletes based on performance or accomplishments in sports. It can’t be offered to induce an athlete to attend or stay at a certain school. And it can’t be given by a person acting as a liaison for a school.
GHSA also forbids any NIL to infringe on its intellectual property such as a school jersey or uniform. If an athlete signs an NIL deal, they are forbidden from using school property to carry out NIL transactions like filming a commercial or using school or school district property as part of NIL deals.
According to numerous outlets who track NIL legislation, Florida is one of 16 states that don’t permit NIL in high school.
Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming are the others.