Ohio high school athletes will have to wait until college to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities.
At least for now.
Over a 16-day referendum period, 813 Ohio High School Athletic Association schools voted on an NIL proposal that would have given prep athletes in the state the ability to make earnings off their name, image and likeness. The proposal failed, with a vote of 538 against to 254 for, with OHSAA announcing the decision Tuesday morning.
#OHSAA REFERENDUM VOTING RESULTS: Member schools passed 12 of 14 referendum items. The #NIL proposal failed by a vote of 538 to 254.
— OHSAA Sports (@OHSAASports) May 17, 2022
FULL RELEASE AND COMPLETE RESULTS: https://t.co/00SwdFyX4f pic.twitter.com/ue6y6T78lE
The proposal mirrored the one passed at the collegiate level last summer, and would have limited prep athletes from using their high school teams' logos or uniforms in any endorsement deal and would have forbidden an athlete to endorse gambling, alcohol or drugs and tobacco. But with the proposal failing, Ohio athletes will have to wait until college to pursue NIL opportunities or risk losing their amateur status at the high school level.
Nine states have passed legislation permitting NIL deals at the high school level: California, Alaska, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Utah.
