Commissioner says association can't run away from NIL policy

(The Center Square) – Potential policy that would cover high school athletes in North Carolina being paid for product endorsements was brought before the state Board of Education on Wednesday.

Que Tucker, commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, said, “This not about paying students to play. It’s about using your name, your image and your likeness because you own it.”

An increasing number of states are allowing high school athletes to enter into name, image and likeness deals – colloquially known as NIL – in advertisements. Many colleges are also allowing athletes to make NIL deals.

“We can’t run away from it because it is here,” Tucker said. "And it is trickling down. How do you move forward as you take a look at that?”

A statewide policy should balance the interests of the student, the school and community, Tucker said.

“It has to be something that is consistent as we move from the mountains to the coast,” she said.

A state policy could give high schools guidance on how to handle the endorsement deals, and should comply with state laws and federal guidelines, Tucker said.

“We want to make sure our student athletes are not being exploited,” Tucker said. “School and team policies have to be consistent with the school values. An NIL policy if it’s in place, should help those student athletes who are able to benefit from it and that it is consistent with the values we teach through education-based athletics and the values that are taught up and down the halls of all our schools, each and every day.”

A policy should ensure that if an athlete signs an endorsement deal, it doesn’t cause them to miss class.

The work of the athletic association is a “good framework” for developing a statewide policy on NIL deals, board member Wendall Hall said.

“It’s opportunity,” he said of the potential for student athletes to earn extra money through endorsements. “I’ve spoken to some coaches in my area. Some are for it, some are against it.”

The key to a successful policy is educating student athletes and their parents, he said.

“We’re stabbing at something in the dark right now but we’re getting closer and closer,” Hall said. “I want to thank this organization for the work they’ve done on this.”