High school NIL in Florida: Here's FHSAA's latest rule change after vote on collectives

The Florida High School Athletic Association amended its bylaws on amateurism in a remote emergency meeting on Monday, the latest step in the association's continuing process to regulate Name, Image and Likeness across the Sunshine State.

The FHSAA, which voted last month to permit NIL deals for Florida high school athletes under specified conditions, passed new language governing NIL collectives.

The new rule changed the text of Bylaw 9.9.4.2, governing NIL Collectives, within the larger amateurism heading "in light of recent activities across the state of Florida and the nation."

The board members voted unanimously, 13-0, in favor of the measure, which was moved by former Leon County Schools athletics director Ricky Bell and seconded by Florida Department of Education senior chancellor Kimberly Richey.

Executive director Craig Damon described the move as a "pressing matter," prompting the unusual emergency meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the 13-member board is Sept. 22.

In the FHSAA's rationale for approving the amendment, the association said that the new measure is consistent with the rules set forth by the other state associations — now 37 in all — that have authorized high school NIL in some form.

What is the new FHSAA rule on NIL collectives?

The new Bylaw 9.9.4.2 reads as follows:

"NIL Collectives include but are not limited to, groups, organizations, or cooperative enterprises that exist to collect funds from donors, individuals, or businesses to:

1. help facilitate NIL deals for student-athletes;
2. facilitate payments to or transfers funds to student-athletes;
3. create ways for athletes to monetize from their NIL; and/or
4. otherwise promote NIL for schools or student-athletes.

"NIL Collective shall not include school sanctioned team fundraising."

The new additions are the second and fourth items on the list, as well as the reference to individuals alongside donors as well as the sentence explicitly exempting school fundraisers from the definition of NIL collectives.

The FHSAA weighed two possible amendments for the new NIL language, one without the words "school sanctioned" and one with them. FHSAA counsel Leonard Ireland, who advises the association in legal matters, recommended the former.

FHSAA highlights NIL club concerns

Damon pointed to the rise of several NIL-connected platforms as the impetus for the FHSAA's amendment. Prominent on that list is NIL Club , an organization that was founded by former Notre Dame running back Mick Assaf and enables athletes to create and monetize paywalled content.

NIL Club has drawn interest from thousands of athletes both inside and outside Florida, but also opposition from administrators in various states who are concerned about its business model's compatibility with high school athletics.

Damon said NIL Club is only one element in an increasingly complex equation.

"Just as those companies have popped up like the NIL Club, I'm quite sure throughout the year that we will see other folks that pop up," Damon said. "We did see last week there was a company that is providing merchandising, online merchandising for student-athletes, and there's probably a couple hundred student-athletes in Florida that have already signed up with their picture and stuff on shirts before we have anything put in place."

He also encouraged coaches, students, parents and administrators to remain watchful.

"If you see or hear anything that sounds a little fishy or doesn't seem right, please notify our office so that we can stay on top of it and try to protect our student-athletes from bad actors," Damon said.

The next step in the NIL process comes at 9 a.m. Wednesday, when the Florida Department of Education is scheduled to meet at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando to formally ratify the FHSAA's policies.

Until the education department authorizes the new NIL rules, the FHSAA said last month, NIL agreements for high school athletes are not valid — even though several Florida athletes have already announced their deals , some within hours of the board's June vote.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school NIL in Florida: Here's FHSAA's latest rule change after vote on collectives