At a meeting Tuesday, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors considered a proposal to allow high school athletes in the state the ability to profit off their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
According to the proposal, student-athletes would be able to “engage in certain commercial activities to receive tangible benefits” during their high school careers. College athletes have been able to profit off NIL deals since July 2021. If this proposal passes, high school athletes could begin signing endorsements as early as July 1 of this year.
The introduction of NIL policies at the college level sparked a debate across the country, with many “purists” arguing the influence of financial compensation would ruin the sanctity of amateur athletics. Those same people think this new proposal would spell doom for North Carolina high school sports. But that isn’t the case.
One big point detractors of NIL policies like to make regards recruiting. Many believe students have been swayed to go to one school over another because of the NIL opportunities afforded to them, with wealthier schools reaping the benefits and smaller schools being left in the dust.
Could that happen in North Carolina if this proposal passes? It seems unlikely. In the write-up of the proposal, the first bullet under “Prohibited NIL Conduct” says school personnel, including coaches, cannot use NIL as a means for recruitment and enrollment.
School officials and coaches are also prohibited from facilitating NIL deals or acting as a student’s agent or marketing representative. Most NIL deals will likely come from local businesses and brands rather than those directly involved in high school athletics, which should curb any conflicts of interest that could arise.
Others believe the introduction of money into the high school athletics landscape will ruin the level of competition across all sports, as athletes will play with dreams of big paydays in their heads rather than aspirations of helping their team win. This argument seems to hold little weight, too, as North Carolina would become the 28th state to introduce an NIL policy for high school sports if the proposal passes.
Of the first 27 states, 23 permit full NIL monetization. In those states, there have been no reports showing that the ability of an athlete to profit off their name, image and likeness has had an adverse effect on the level of competition at the high school level.
My argument for the introduction of NIL policies for N.C. high school athletes is the effect even small levels of compensation could have on families struggling to make ends meet. For parents living paycheck to paycheck, having a little extra money coming into the house via NIL policies could have lasting benefits on both the mental and physical wellbeing of the household. It can also give student-athletes who have struggled to pick up scholarship offers a chance to earn money to further their education.
After the introduction of NIL policies at the college level back in 2021, Lead1 — formerly the Division 1A Athletic Directors Association — held a panel regarding the NIL and high school sports participation that featured National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) executive director Karissa Niehoff as moderator and UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance and Alexandria, VA director of athletics James Parker as guests. During the panel, one of the trio’s main takeaways was that the introduction of NIL policies at the high school level would “help student-athletes learn more about entrepreneurship and business at a much earlier age” as well and encourage female student-athletes to “start the learning process in terms of maximizing their future earning potential off the field.”
Athletics, like education, should be predicated on providing opportunities rather than taking them away. Allowing North Carolina high school athletes to profit off their name and likeness does far more of the former than the latter.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.