- High school NIL
- Permitted with conditions
- High school authority
- Georgia High School Association (GHSA)
- High school rule
- GHSA By-law 1.97 and Appendix N, read with By-law 1.92 (Amateur Status) and 1.70 (Recruiting/Undue Influence)
- High school effective
- October 2, 2023. Amended July 18, 2024 to prohibit collectives.
- College NIL
- Permitted
- College law
- Georgia House Bill 617 (2021), O.C.G.A. § 20-3-680 et seq.
- College effective
- Signed May 6, 2021. Effective July 1, 2021, the same day as the NCAA's interim policy.
- Paperwork
- Keep the school, its staff, and its facilities completely out of the deal
- Penalty
- Loss of amateur status under By-law 1.92 and ineligibility. Recruiting or undue-influence violations under By-law 1.70 carry penalties for the athlete and the school.
Where high school NIL stands in Georgia.
Georgia allowed high school NIL in October 2023, when the GHSA executive committee voted 66 to 9 to amend its amateur rules. Athletes may receive consideration for the use of their own name, image, and likeness. The state's college NIL law, House Bill 617, does not reach high school athletes; the GHSA by-laws are what govern.
The conditions are strict and school-centered. Compensation cannot be tied to athletic performance, cannot be an incentive to enroll or stay at a school, and cannot come from the school or anyone acting for it. In July 2024 the GHSA went further and barred collectives from high school NIL entirely.
Effective: October 2, 2023. Amended July 18, 2024 to prohibit collectives.
What a high school athlete can and can't do.
Allowed
- ✓Endorsements, sponsorships, and paid promotional work as an individual
- ✓Paid social media content and brand partnerships
- ✓Appearances, autographs, camps, and lessons in the athlete's own name
- ✓Any NIL activity that does not conflict with the local school district's policy
Not allowed
- ×Compensation contingent on athletic performance or achievement
- ×Compensation offered as an incentive to enroll at or remain at a specific school
- ×Compensation provided by the school or anyone acting as an agent for the school
- ×Using any marks: school logos, school name, uniforms, mascot, or any trademarked GHSA logo or acronym
- ×Wearing school apparel or using school equipment in NIL activity
- ×Using a member school's facilities for NIL activity
- ×NIL collectives (prohibited by the July 2024 amendment)
- ×Hiring an agent to manage the athletic career, which forfeits amateur status under By-law 1.92(d)
The high school checklist.
- →Keep the school, its staff, and its facilities completely out of the deal
- →Confirm the activity does not conflict with your school district's own policy
- →Structure compensation as flat fees for defined work, never tied to stats, wins, or enrollment
- →Keep any representation scoped to NIL and brand work, not athletic career management
Agents and advisors
This is the trap in Georgia. By-law 1.92(d) says an athlete forfeits amateur status by hiring an agent to manage his or her athletic career. NIL advising is a different service, and MSG scopes its high school agreements accordingly, but families should read any agency contract closely and confirm with the GHSA if there is doubt. Agents should also be registered under Georgia's Uniform Athlete Agents Act.
Penalties
Loss of amateur status under By-law 1.92 and ineligibility. Recruiting or undue-influence violations under By-law 1.70 carry penalties for the athlete and the school.
College NIL in Georgia.
Georgia's college NIL law took effect with the first wave in July 2021. It allows athletes to earn from NIL and to hire agents, bars deals that conflict with the institution's contracts or policies, and requires schools to run a five-hour financial literacy and life skills workshop at the start of an athlete's first and third years.
Two provisions are unusual. Schools may adopt a pooling option that places up to 75 percent of an athlete's NIL earnings into an escrow-style account that pays out after the athlete leaves; participation is at the school's discretion. And since July 2025, Georgia schools that opted into the House settlement may pay athletes directly on top of third-party deals.
Effective: Signed May 6, 2021. Effective July 1, 2021, the same day as the NCAA's interim policy.
Georgia law: key points
- ✓Third-party NIL deals permitted since July 1, 2021; athletes may hire agents
- ✓Optional school pooling of up to 75 percent of NIL earnings, distributed after graduation
- ✓Mandatory five-hour financial literacy and life skills workshops in years one and three
- ✓Deals may not conflict with the institution's contracts or policies
- ✓Direct school payments permitted under the House settlement for opted-in schools
- ✓Agents must be registered under Georgia's Uniform Athlete Agents Act
National framework (House settlement)
Since July 1, 2025, college NIL runs on two tracks. Third-party deals with brands and businesses remain open, and the House v. NCAA settlement now lets Division I schools that opted in pay athletes directly, capped at roughly $20.5 million per school in the first year and rising annually. State law sits on top of that framework and can add rules, but cannot take the federal settlement terms away.
- →Third-party NIL deals of $600 or more must be reported through the NIL Go clearinghouse, generally within five business days, and are reviewed for fair market value
- →Direct payments from a school count against that school's revenue-sharing cap; third-party deals do not
- →The College Sports Commission handles enforcement tied to settlement rules; the NCAA still governs eligibility
- →Every school also has its own NIL policy on disclosure, prohibited categories, and use of school marks, and it applies alongside state law
- →Federal NIL legislation has been proposed repeatedly and remains unresolved
Major Sports Group
What this means for a Georgia athlete.
Georgia produces as much college talent per capita as any state, and Atlanta is a top-ten media market. The opportunity for a high school athlete with a following is real, and the GHSA has made the rules workable if you respect them.
The part MSG watches closely is the agent by-law. A high school athlete in Georgia should have help with NIL, and should not sign anything that reads like career management. Every Georgia agreement MSG puts in front of a family is scoped to NIL and brand, with the school kept entirely out of the picture.
Georgia NIL FAQ.
Can high school athletes in Georgia do NIL deals?
Yes. Since October 2023, GHSA By-law 1.97 allows athletes to receive consideration for their own name, image, and likeness, provided compensation is not tied to performance, is not an enrollment incentive, does not come from the school, and uses no school or GHSA marks, apparel, or facilities.
Are NIL collectives allowed for Georgia high school athletes?
No. The GHSA amended its NIL rules on July 18, 2024 to prohibit the involvement of collectives in high school NIL.
Can a Georgia high school athlete wear a school jersey in a sponsored post?
No. GHSA guidelines prohibit using school logos, names, uniforms, mascots, or any trademarked GHSA marks, and prohibit wearing school apparel in NIL activity.
Can a Georgia high school athlete have an agent?
Carefully. GHSA By-law 1.92(d) says hiring an agent to manage the athletic career forfeits amateur status. Representation limited to NIL and brand matters is a different service. Families should keep any agreement scoped to NIL and confirm with the GHSA if unsure.
Does Georgia's college NIL law apply to high school athletes?
No. House Bill 617 applies to athletes at postsecondary institutions. High school NIL in Georgia is governed by the GHSA by-laws.
What is Georgia's college NIL law?
House Bill 617, effective July 1, 2021. It allows college athletes to earn from NIL and hire agents, requires five-hour financial literacy workshops in the first and third years, lets schools optionally pool up to 75 percent of NIL earnings for payout after graduation, and bars deals that conflict with the school's contracts.
Can Georgia colleges pay athletes directly?
Yes, for schools that opted into the House settlement, since July 1, 2025, within the revenue-sharing cap. Third-party NIL deals remain separate and uncapped, and Georgia's HB 617 provisions still apply.
- Georgia HB 617 summary (Eccker Sports Group)
- GHSA Constitution, By-law 1.00 Student (2025-26), including 1.92 and 1.97
- GHSA: NIL law as it pertains to high school athletes
- Georgia to allow NIL deals for high school athletes (11Alive, October 2023)
- NIL Rules in 2026: updated guide (Sportsepreneur, June 2026)
Rules change, sometimes mid-season. This page reflects the sources above as of August 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current position of the Georgia High School Association, your college\u2019s NIL policy, and your school before signing anything.