High school student-athletes in Pennsylvania are now eligible to engage in NIL-activities, allowing them to grow their brand and earn financial compensation as well.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) announced Wednesday that student athletes can participate in Name, Image and Likeness-activities without losing eligibility.
They passed an amendment to the organization rulebook, laying out the rules for NIL in the state.
The acceptable activities for NIL are social media presence, promotional activities, commercial endorsements, unique digital items/assets and product or service advertisement. The PIAA also states that no one affiliated or employed at a school will have the ability to complete NIL deals for student-athletes.
Those student-athletes also can’t make any reference to a PIAA school, which includes nicknames, school logo or other terms that the school identifies by. They also can’t engage in any NIL activities during school or school activities nor wear school apparel either.
Student-athletes also can’t display any logo, insignia, or any NIL identifier during any team/school activities, unless it is a part of the school uniform for the sport.
They also can’t engage in NIL activities that endorse products and services for a variety of areas. These include casinos and gambling, adult entertainment, alcohol, weaponry, controlled dangerous substances, tobacco and opioids/pharmaceuticals.
The ruling goes into effect immediately. Student-athletes must notify their athletic director/principal if they go into any NIL contracts/agreements within 72 hours.
Pennsylvania is now the 22nd state to allow high school student-athletes to engage in NIL activities. The PIAA made a plan for NIL that passed the board of directors in July and then unanimously passed the amendment in October.
