FHSAA releases first NIL proposal for Florida high school athletes: Report

The NIL proposal is slated to be discussed at Monday's FHSAA board meeting

Author:
Andy Villamarzo
Publish date:
Feb 24, 2024 4:39 PM EST

According to a report by USA Today's Jon Santucci, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has released its first NIL proposal that will be discussed in Monday's board meeting in Gainesville.

What's important to note here, per the report, is the proposal is listed by the association as just a discussion item and not an action item to be voted on.

Another key to keep in mind with NIL being discussed and potentially coming to Florida is the state's laxed transfer regulations compared to other states around the country.

"A major difference almost all the other 50 state associations that are members of the NFHS have over Florida is they have strict transfer regulations in place," FHSAA executive director Craig Damon said in the report. "These regulations are designed to help mitigate recruiting. Without transfer regulations, our association would have difficulty governing it in a manner to protect our student-athletes."

Per Santucci's report, down below is the proposal being discussed among the board members come Monday.

FHSAA FIRST NIL PROPOSAL

Student-athletes would be prohibited from NIL deals with adult entertainment products or services, alcohol, tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products, cannabis products, controlled substances, prescription pharmaceuticals, gambling (including sports betting, the lottery and betting in connection with video games, online games and mobile devices), weapons, firearms and ammunition.

The association's proposal also states that school employees, boosters or representatives can “form, direct, offer, provide, or otherwise engage” in NIL agreements with a student-athletes and that NIL activities should not be used as a disguise for athletic recruiting.

A student-athlete who transfers during the season to another member school will be prohibited from securing an NIL Agreement during that season unless a 'Good Cause Exemption' is granted by the FHSAA.

The proposal also spells out discipline for student-athletes who violate the NIL bylaws. A first offense results in a formal warning as well as immediately having the NIL agreement terminated with any compensation having to be returned. A second offense would make the student-athlete ineligible to represent any member school for one year and a third offense would make a student-athletes ineligible for their high school career.