Ohio high school athletes can temporarily sign NIL deals after court ruling

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio high school athletes will be permitted to earn money off their name, image and likeness, at least temporarily, after a Columbus judge’s ruling Monday.

Franklin County Judge Jaiza Page granted a temporary restraining order against eligibility rules that prohibit high school athletes from signing endorsement deals and keeping their amateur status.

The order was granted after the family of Dayton-area receiver Jamier Brown, who has committed to play for Ohio State University starting in 2027, sued the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The OHSAA voted in 2022 against allowing NIL 538-254. See an earlier report on the case in the video player above.

The lawsuit said Brown received offers for endorsement deals worth over $100,000.

The temporary restraining order will last more than one month until another hearing is scheduled on a potential preliminary injunction. In the time between those hearings, the OHSAA cannot enforce its NIL rule on high school athletes.

NBC4 reached out to the OHSAA for comment, with a spokesperson saying they have received the judge’s ruling and are “finalizing communication to our member schools and the public/media.”

Ohio high school athletes that have signed endorsement deals over the past three years have had to forfeit their amateur status. One example is New Albany golfer Mia Hammond, who signed a deal with Sterling Sports Management in 2024 and became ineligible to play for the New Albany High School team.

Among the claims listed in the lawsuit on why NIL should be allowed in Ohio include the right to free speech, the current NIL rule being against the state’s antitrust law and equal protection.

Brown, who plays at Huber Heights Wayne, is rated as the 12th-best recruit in the country in the 2027 class, according to 247Sports. The four-star recruit is the second-best receiver in the entire class and the top-rated recruit in Ohio.

Over 40 states and Washington, D.C., have rules allowing high school athletes to sign NIL deals while keeping their amateur athletic status.