The West Virginia Board of Education approved regulations for policies on name, image and likeness use for middle school and high school athletes. (Getty photos)
West Virginia high school and middle school athletes are now able to get paid for name, image and likeness deals.
The state school board in July approved the first NIL policy for student athletes, and the policy went into effect Friday.
Since the NCAA allowed college athletes to profit from their NIL in 2021, the ripple effects of this change have now affected high school and middle school sports. More than 40 states have laws and state high school association rules governing NIL for young athletes.
North Carolina’s first high school NIL year included a $1.2 million deal for a high school quarterback, Sports Illustrated reported.
Wayne Ryan
Wayne Ryan, executive director of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, said the state’s new policy sets general guidelines that will protect students from violating their eligibility under amateur athlete rules.
“It’s basically going to have to be evaluated on a case by case basis,” he said, adding that they pulled from other states’ polices to create a starting point for student athlete NIL in West Virginia.
“We’re just trying to serve the student athlete appropriately and keep our competitive rules and policy in place,” Ryan added.
The policy put forth by the WVSAAC outlines how students can use their NIL for monetary gain. It bans school employees, including coaches, from being involved in a student athlete’s use of their NIL.
Students are prohibited from making any reference to their school or wearing their school’s logo when engaging in any NIL activity. For example, they couldn’t wear their high school football or cheerleading uniform while participating in a local television commercial. Students also can’t reference the WVSAAC.
“They have to keep it independent of their school and athletic life,’ Ryan said. “Honestly, they have received notoriety for that, but they can’t use that as part of their advertisement.”
Student athletes also can’t engage in NIL activities to advertise for a number of products, including alcohol, cannabis, weapons, prescription drugs and more.
Paul Saluja
Paul Saluja, an attorney in Charleston, visited the state Capitol earlier this year with a successful student athlete and met with state lawmakers about the importance of an NIL policy. He said families don’t want multimillion dollar endorsements; they’re looking for flexibility. He argues that it gives student athletes a reason to stay in West Virginia.
“Some of these student athletes, they will do well in high school, they’ll do well at the collegiate level, but they’re not going to make it at the pro level,” Saluja said. “This at least allows them the opportunity to go ahead and at least, if not secure their future, but get a good head start on securing their future.”
Ryan said as NIL policies have become standard for states, he had received numerous inquiries from parents outside of West Virginia whose children had NIL deals and were considering relocating to the state.
Ryan said the policy will continue to be under evaluation “because NIL is an ever fluid ongoing situation.”
He encouraged students and parents considering NIL deals to contact the WVSAAC’s director of compliance to ensure there would be no issues with eligibility.