Ohio State 2027 wide receiver commit Jamier Brown training on Ohio State’s campus. Credit: David Petkiewicz/Cleveland.com via TNS
For one month, Ohio high school athletes had the same NIL rights as most of the country.
That window may not stay open.
Jamier Brown, a five-star wide receiver and Ohio State commit, sued the Ohio High School Athletic Association in October, challenging its ban on name, image and likeness compensation for middle and high school athletes. A month later, the OHSAA reversed course, allowing NIL statewide.
A Sunbury, Ohio native, Brown is a standout wide receiver at Wayne High School in Huber Heights who prompted the OHSAA to revise its rules statewide.
Now, Ohio lawmakers are trying to undo that change.
A bill introduced by state representatives Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, and Mike Odioso, R-Green Township, would prohibit Ohio’s middle and high school athletes from earning money through NIL deals, directly contradicting the OHSAA’s November decision.
Under the bill, a student-athlete who accepts prohibited compensation would lose eligibility in the sport connected to that deal but could continue competing in other sports. The legislation would also require athletic governing bodies to establish formal investigative guidelines and an appeals process for athletes seeking reinstatement.
Bird argued that allowing middle and high school athletes to receive NIL compensation would undermine the educational purpose of school athletics.
“High school sports are an extension of the classroom,” Bird said in a press release. “They teach character, discipline, leadership, work ethic and fitness. This bill is about protecting kids, keeping the focus on learning and development, and ensuring students across Ohio compete on a level playing field.”
Odioso echoed that concern, criticizing the OHSAA’s November decision to revise its NIL policy.
“The unwarranted, new OHSAA NIL by-laws changes dangerously undermine the most cherished aspects of grade school and high school education and cocurricular athletics,” Odioso said in the release.
Brown’s lawsuit argued that the OHSAA’s policy unfairly restricted athletes’ economic opportunities and treated Ohio students differently than those in states that already allow high school NIL.
A judge granted Brown a temporary restraining order in late October, allowing him to profit from NIL while the case moved forward. In response, the OHSAA voted to amend its bylaws, making Ohio the 45th state to permit NIL at the high school level.
According to Cleveland.com, Odioso criticized the decision, noting that most states allowing high school NIL did so through athletic associations rather than legislation.
House Bill 661 is scheduled for its first hearing Wednesday morning in the House Education Committee.
