An Ohio representative has proposed new legislation to ban name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation for Ohio high school students, a bylaw that was put into effect in November 2025. 

State Rep. Adam Bird proposed that the student-athlete's focus should not be on growing a social media following or making money playing sports, but rather on enjoying their time with classmates while learning to become a productive part of society.

“Athletics are an extension of the classroom; it’s a holistic approach to educating our students. Sports and co-curricular activities should be about discipline and character and team building and communication and fitness," Bird said during an appearance on WFMJ Weekend Today. "Those are the reasons why we provide these co-curricular experiences for kids and don’t spend the public tax dollars to build stadiums and weight rooms so that they can earn money for that.”

In November, Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Executive Director Doug Ute commented that while the bylaw has been passed in Ohio, the real work has yet to begin on doing all that can be done for transparency regarding the laws around high school student athletes. 

"Whether our schools or individuals agree with NIL at the high school level or not, the courts have spoken on this issue across the country that the NCAA and high school athletic associations cannot prevent a student-athlete from making money on their NIL,” Ute said. "The OHSAA will track NIL deals and make sure that our recruiting bylaws and transfer bylaws are still enforced, which is something our member schools have asked for throughout this process.”

OHSAA also said it believes the new bylaw will create a stable framework for NIL and Personal Branding Rights at the high school level. 

“When you set up a system like this, you’re going to have all-star teams that are created, you’re going to have wealthy alumni that are going to try to use NIL payments in order to direct students to their alma mater of choice,” Bird said. “I think it’s going to be a situation that will quickly get out of hand for the OHSAA just like it has in the NCAA.”

Within the NIL emergency bylaw, it states that students must not engage in any name, image and personal branding activities during school hours, as well as prohibiting any student from engaging in an NIL/Personal Branding Rights agreement that is provided as an inducement to attend a particular school.

Concerning NIL deals creating more opportunities to fuel the local economy for areas in the state, Bird felt that was not the intention of the voters.

“This isn’t about creating local economies; it will have no impact on that at all,” Bird said. “This should be about kids learning to have fun and learning to communicate with their classmates, and growing in a way that makes them better prepared to serve society.”

A 2025 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) High School Athletics Participation Survey showed that more than 8 million high school students across the country were involved in school sports in 2024-2025, higher than in previous years.