- High school NIL
- Permitted with conditions
- High school authority
- Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA)
- High school rule
- OHSAA Bylaw 4-11 (Personal Branding Rights / Name, Image and Likeness)
- High school effective
- November 2025. Member schools approved an emergency bylaw 447 to 121 in a vote held November 17 to 21, 2025, effective immediately. Rules updated May 2026.
- College NIL
- Permitted, including direct school payments
- College law
- Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3376, amended by House Bill 315 (effective April 3, 2025)
- College effective
- Executive Order 2021-10D on June 28, 2021, later codified in Chapter 3376. HB 315 authorized direct institutional payments as of April 3, 2025.
- Paperwork
- Disclose each NIL agreement to the OHSAA within 14 days of signing, through the Personal Branding Rights Parent Portal
- Penalty
- Failure to disclose, or a deal that violates Bylaw 4-10 amateurism or recruiting rules, is an eligibility matter handled by the OHSAA. Because the bylaw is new, expect enforcement to be strict while the association sets precedent.
Where high school NIL stands in Ohio.
Ohio is one of the newest states to allow high school NIL, and it got there through the courts. OHSAA schools had voted the idea down 538 to 254 in 2022. In October 2025 a Franklin County judge issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit brought by a student-athlete, and the OHSAA moved its planned May 2026 vote up to November. Member schools approved Bylaw 4-11 by 447 to 121, making Ohio the 45th state with high school NIL.
The bylaw treats NIL as personal branding: appearances, licensing, social media, endorsements, and branding tied to an athlete's public recognition. It sits apart from Bylaw 5 on awards and from Bylaw 4-10 on amateurism, which still bars pay for play. The key obligation is disclosure: every agreement must be reported to the OHSAA within 14 days through its Personal Branding Rights parent portal. Legislation introduced in 2026 would prohibit high school and middle school NIL in Ohio again; watch the General Assembly.
Effective: November 2025. Member schools approved an emergency bylaw 447 to 121 in a vote held November 17 to 21, 2025, effective immediately. Rules updated May 2026.
What a high school athlete can and can't do.
Allowed
- ✓Paid appearances, licensing deals, social media content, and endorsements
- ✓Wearing a sponsor's equipment or apparel during games if it is required gear for the sport (shoes, gloves, bats, clubs, helmets)
- ✓Building and monetizing a personal brand that draws on athletic recognition
Not allowed
- ×School or OHSAA logos, trademarks, or mascots in the NIL content itself
- ×A sponsor using game images or video of the athlete in its advertising
- ×Pay for play, professional contracts, or recruiting inducements (Bylaw 4-10 still applies)
- ×Deals that require the athlete to wear or display the sponsor during school competition beyond required equipment
- ×Any of the nine agreement requirements in Bylaw 4-11-2 being skipped
The high school checklist.
- →Disclose each NIL agreement to the OHSAA within 14 days of signing, through the Personal Branding Rights Parent Portal
- →Submit the agreement itself along with the required student and family attestations
- →Review the nine requirements in Bylaw 4-11-2 before signing; businesses need to know them too
- →Keep school and OHSAA marks out of every ad, post, and shoot
Agents and advisors
The bylaw does not bar NIL representation, and the OHSAA's own FAQ contemplates families getting help with agreements. Ohio regulates athlete agents under the Ohio Athlete Agents Act (Revised Code Chapter 4771), which requires registration with the Secretary of State. MSG works with Ohio high school athletes on NIL and brand within those rules.
Penalties
Failure to disclose, or a deal that violates Bylaw 4-10 amateurism or recruiting rules, is an eligibility matter handled by the OHSAA. Because the bylaw is new, expect enforcement to be strict while the association sets precedent.
College NIL in Ohio.
Ohio college NIL started with an executive order. When a 2021 bill collapsed over an unrelated amendment, Governor DeWine signed Executive Order 2021-10D on June 28, 2021 so Ohio State and other programs would not lose ground to states whose laws took effect July 1. The order was later codified as Revised Code Chapter 3376.
In November 2024 a second executive order allowed schools to pay athletes directly, and HB 315 wrote that into law effective April 3, 2025, ahead of the House settlement. Ohio State announced direct payments beginning July 1, 2025. Athletes must disclose NIL contracts to their school, deals cannot conflict with school rules, and schools may bar contracts with alcohol, marijuana, and adult entertainment companies.
Effective: Executive Order 2021-10D on June 28, 2021, later codified in Chapter 3376. HB 315 authorized direct institutional payments as of April 3, 2025.
Ohio law: key points
- ✓Schools may not restrict athletes from earning NIL compensation or penalize scholarship status for it (R.C. 3376.02)
- ✓Direct payments from the institution permitted since April 3, 2025 (HB 315)
- ✓Athletes must disclose NIL contracts to the school; contracts may not conflict with school rules (R.C. 3376.06)
- ✓Schools may prohibit deals with alcohol, marijuana, and adult entertainment companies (R.C. 3376.07)
- ✓HB 184, effective March 19, 2026, updated contract-review procedures, disclosure rules, and permissible-category limits for the post-settlement era
- ✓Agents must register under the Ohio Athlete Agents Act (R.C. Chapter 4771)
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 Ohio athlete.
Ohio just opened, which means the market is uncrowded. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati have real brands and real high school football and basketball audiences, and almost no athletes have deals yet.
The 14-day disclosure clock is the thing to respect. MSG files it for every Ohio athlete before content goes live, and keeps school marks out of frame so a first-year bylaw never becomes a first-year violation.
Ohio NIL FAQ.
Can high school athletes in Ohio do NIL deals?
Yes, since November 2025. OHSAA Bylaw 4-11 allows athletes to be paid for appearances, licensing, social media, and endorsements tied to their public recognition. Every agreement must be disclosed to the OHSAA within 14 days, and school or OHSAA marks cannot appear in the content.
When did Ohio allow high school NIL?
November 2025. After a Franklin County judge issued a temporary restraining order in October 2025, OHSAA member schools approved an emergency bylaw 447 to 121 in a vote held November 17 to 21, effective immediately. Ohio became the 45th state to permit it.
Do Ohio high school athletes have to report NIL deals?
Yes. Bylaw 4-11-3 requires each agreement to be disclosed to the OHSAA within 14 days of signing, through the Personal Branding Rights Parent Portal, along with the agreement itself and student and family attestations.
Can an Ohio high school athlete wear a sponsor's shoes in a game?
Yes, if the item is required equipment for the sport, such as cleats, gloves, bats, or helmets. The contract cannot require it, and the sponsor cannot use game footage or images of the athlete in its advertising.
Can an Ohio high school athlete have an agent?
Bylaw 4-11 does not prohibit representation for NIL matters. Ohio requires athlete agents to register with the Secretary of State under the Ohio Athlete Agents Act.
What is Ohio's college NIL law?
Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3376, which codified Governor DeWine's June 2021 executive order. It bars schools from restricting NIL compensation, requires athletes to disclose contracts to the school, and lets schools block deals with alcohol, marijuana, and adult entertainment companies. HB 315 authorized direct school payments effective April 3, 2025.
Can Ohio State pay athletes directly?
Yes. HB 315, effective April 3, 2025, permits Ohio institutions to compensate athletes directly, and Ohio State began payments July 1, 2025 under the House settlement's revenue-sharing cap.
- OHSAA NIL Resource Center
- OHSAA NIL FAQs (Bylaw 4-11)
- Ohio high school athletes gain NIL rights after OHSAA vote (WSYX, November 2025)
- Ohio Revised Code § 3376.06 (amended by HB 315, April 2025)
- Ohio institutions to directly pay for NIL (Vorys)
- 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 Ohio High School Athletic Association, your college\u2019s NIL policy, and your school before signing anything.