Georgia now allows NIL for high school athletes, restructures classifications

The Georgia High School Association, the high school sports governing body, passed guidelines on Monday regulating name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for student-athletes. The new rules now allow high school athletes to make money from their Name, Image, and Likeness or NIL.

NIL deals have turned college athletes into millionaires. The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) approved the decision 66-9 for a modification to by-law 1.92-c, according to meeting executive committee notes.

Georgia is the 30th state to allow athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. It joins two dozen-plus states that allow NIL deals for high school athletes.

Among the more significant provisions in the guidelines is a stipulation that NIL compensation cannot be “contingent on specific athletic performance or achievement” or “provided as an incentive to enroll or remain enrolled at a specific school.”

They also include a prohibition on athletes utilizing school logos, names, uniforms and other marks or apparel/equipment as part of their NIL deals.

The full language of the amended rule reads as follows: