High school NIL talks heating up in Florida Legislature, FHSAA

The conversation around name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for Florida high school athletes is heating up.

The Florida Legislature is set to hear presentations on high school name, image and likeness on Friday during a meeting of the House’s education quality subcommittee. The agenda item doesn’t include any other information, and name, image and likeness isn’t specifically included in any of the three bills set to be considered at the meeting.

The state’s governing body for prep sports — the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) — does not permit participating athletes to make money from name, image and likeness deals. That makes Florida one of a dwindling group of states that essentially makes players choose between NIL compensation and playing sports for their high school team.

The FHSAA is soliciting feedback on the topic through a recently launched online survey. Its questions include whether players’ name, image and likeness earnings should be capped and whether boosters should be allowed to provide deals.

At least 28 states, including California and Georgia, allow high school players to make deals with third parties for things like social media endorsements. Florida risks losing top players if they can make money in other states; NIL was a reason why five-star basketball prospect Karter Knox left Tampa Catholic for Georgia, depriving the area of one of its best talents in years.

No bylaw changes regarding name, image and likeness are set to be discussed by the FHSAA during Tuesday’s representative assembly meeting.

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