Could name, image, and likeness compensation seep into Mississippi’s high school sports scene? One state lawmaker has opened the door for it to become a reality.
At the collegiate level, NIL has become a norm with the top players earning deals estimated to be worth millions of dollars. Student-athletes in Mississippi are no strangers to the financial fruits of suiting up for one of the state’s universities, with players across a myriad of sports at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, and other institutions being compensated for their efforts.
At the high school level in Mississippi, amateurism has seemingly prevailed. However, House Bill 1400 could change that. The legislation, authored by Democratic Rep. Jeffery Harness and called the “Mississippi High School Student-Athlete NIL Protection Act,” establishes a framework for high school athletes to earn compensation under specific parameters.
Under the bill, a high school athlete could get paid for endeavors such as endorsements, social media posts, and appearances, as long as the money did not happen to be performance-based or an enticement to transfer to another school. Any monetary gains an athlete earned would also have to adhere to state law. These deals would exclusively serve to benefit the individual pupil, per the bill, as schools, coaches, and staffers would be prohibited from facilitating NIL contracts or profiting from them.
NIL contracts for student-athletes under 18 would be required to be in writing and with a parent’s signature, per the legislation. Any deal done without a parent’s consent would be nullified. If a high schooler’s NIL deal exceeded $10,000 annually, any additional earnings beyond that point would have to be placed in a restricted trust account that the student could access upon turning 18 or after finishing his or her senior year.
Copies of all NIL deals would have to be disclosed to the Mississippi High School Activities Association within a “reasonable time” after their execution, though the governing body will have no regulatory authority over compensation for student-athletes. Additionally, the MHSAA would be prohibited from barring an athlete from competing due to his or her involvement in obtaining an NIL deal.
HB 1400 has been referred to the House Judiciary A Committee. If the legislation passes its respective chamber, moves through the Senate, and is signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves, it will go into effect on July 1.
If enacted, Mississippi would join a growing list of states legalizing NIL for high schoolers. The Magnolia State is currently joined by very few peers in not having a defined infrastructure in place for high school athletes to capitalize on opportunities to strike an NIL deal.