STEVENS POINT, Wisc. (NewsNation) — The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association voted against allowing name, image and likeness deals for high school athletes Wednesday.
A push for high schools in the state to allow NIL deals for athletes was knocked down in a 219-170 vote, keeping in place a prohibition on student-athletes from engaging in paid partnerships with businesses.
NIL deals became popular in the U.S. after a 2021 Supreme Court decision allowed college athletes to partake in brand opportunities.
While NIL laws vary by state, they have already been passed in at least 30 across the U.S.
NIL deals vote in Wisconsin
On Wednesday, hundreds of athletic directors in an annual meeting voted against a proposal to amend the WIAA’s constitution to allow high school athletes to be compensated for their brand.
Some athletic directors had concerns about keeping the high school athletes’ best interests in mind.
“We don’t want them taken advantage of, you know. If they can receive a little something or if they can get a little something if this passes, we understand that, but I think what you just have to be careful of is if it just gets out of control,” Dillon Maney, athletic director for Bay Port High School, told NewsNation prior to the vote.
Had the proposed amendment to WIAA’s constitution passed, the governing body wouldn’t have monitored the deals directly. It would have been up to schools to educate athletes and address any eligibility issues. Student-athletes would have also been prohibited from using their school’s branding, but they could use their own.
High school NIL deals across the US
California was the first state to allow high school athletes to partake in NIL deals, passing a law in August 2021. Other states — including New York, Georgia, Louisiana and Minnesota — have followed suit.
While many states are jumping on board, states including South Carolina, Mississippi and Wyoming have prohibited such deals.
The market for high school NIL deals remains fairly small. Recent data from the Georgia High School Association shows that only a tiny fraction of athletes have participated in such deals.
“(We’re) talking 1% of the number of students that actually have an opportunity to engage in this; it’s not as grandiose as what many people speculate it to be,” Mel Dow, the associate director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, said.
Although it is rare, high school athletes can make millions of dollars off endorsement deals with companies like Nike, Adidas and Panini America, a trading card memorabilia company.
Panini America just signed six top high school basketball recruits to lucrative deals.
Other states expected to consider high school NIL deals include Michigan, Florida and Alabama.