GHSA amends NIL rules to address collectives

The Georgia High School Association’s board of trustees voted 14-0 Thursday to amend its bylaws to make clear that name, image and likeness collectives that pay athletes are illegal and can cost students their eligibility.

“People are confusing high school NIL rules and what’s happening in the NCAA with collectives and the transfer portal,” GHSA executive director Robin Hines said this week. “We don’t have either of those things. NIL clubs and collectives have no place in the high school space. What we’re trying to do is make it very clear what is already in our bylaws.”

The amendment defines a collective as “any group organized or existing for the purpose of compensating or benefiting an individual student-athlete or a group of student-athletes of a member school.”

Athletes may use their NIL to endorse or promote products and businesses, Hines said, but they cannot earn money from fans and boosters for playing sports.

In October, the GHSA became the 30th state association to allow athletes to profit from NIL. Hines clarified the rules last month when a company called NIL Club, previously open to college athletes, began signing up high school athletes to produce and sell online content to subscribers through the NIL Club’s portal.

Hines immediately sent out a warning letter to GHSA member schools, pointing out that earning money off boosters and fans could make athletes ineligible. He noted that students may not make money off their school’s or the GHSA’s intellectual property, such as logos and uniforms.

Hines this week likened these organized platforms as “a GoFundMe page for kids with adults making money off those students.”

GHSA president and trustees chairman Jim Finch said that collectives also may break the GHSA’s recruiting and undue influence rules.

“We certainly do not need NIL opportunities acting as a way to advertise and promote GHSA schools to recruit new students,” he said.

Hines emphasized that high school athletics have a different purpose than college and pro sports.

“Scholastic-based athletics are a place to teach life skills, how to get along with others and be part of a team, how to lead, how to follow, things like that,” Hines said. “It’s not a place for students to make money off the intellectual property of the school or the organizations that own those properties. What [schools and the GHSA] don’t own is the students’ name, image and likeness. If they can monetize that apart from their team and school, then they should be able to do that like any other student in school can.”

Hines said last month that fewer than 100 Georgia high school athletes reported making NIL deals over the past academic year.

Hines, in his seventh year, is serving his final month as executive director before retiring. Tim Scott succeeds him officially in August.

Amendment to Appendix N of GHSA bylaws:

No student-athlete may be a member of, nor receive compensation or any other benefit from, a Collective or NIL Club. A Collective is defined as any group organized or existing for the purpose of compensating or benefiting an individual student-athlete or a group of student-athletes of a member school. NIL Clubs are defined as a group of student-athletes organized or existing for the purpose of soliciting funds or other benefits from fans, members or other sources, managing or promoting NIL activities of student-athletes or otherwise providing funds or other benefits to an individual student-athlete or group of student-athletes.

Booster Clubs are not considered Collectives or NIL Clubs if such Booster Club is operated under the supervision of a member school and provides monetary or other benefits to school athletic facilities, school athletic equipment, school team meals or other school team benefits rather than to an individual student-athlete or group of student-athletes.

Student-athletes violating this guideline may be subject to loss of eligibility to compete in GHSA activities, and any member school which knowingly allows any student-athlete to violate these guidelines may be subject to fines, forfeiture of contests, probation and being declared ineligible to compete in postseason GHSA contests or activities.