High School NIL in New York: What Athletes and Families Need to Know
NYSPHSAA permits high school NIL deals, but with hard limits: no school names, logos, marks or uniforms, and no implied school or NYSPHSAA affiliation. Getting it wrong risks eligibility.
New York high school athletes can sign name, image and likeness deals. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) permits NIL compensation, but prohibits any use of a school name, logo, mark, or uniform, and any endorsement that implies the school or NYSPHSAA is behind it. Violating those limits puts eligibility at risk.
The permission and the restriction are equally important, and families tend to hear only the first half.
What is allowed
An athlete can be paid to promote a product or service, and can be identified as an athlete while doing it. A high school pitcher can appear in an ad for a local training facility. A soccer player can be paid by a sports drink brand. A wrestler can monetize a social following.
What makes it work is that the deal is with the athlete as an individual — not as a representative of their school program.
What is prohibited
The restrictions are specific and, once you see the logic, consistent. NIL deals may not:
- Use the school's name in the endorsement
- Use the school's logo or marks
- Show the athlete in a school uniform
- Reference or imply NYSPHSAA affiliation or endorsement
- Imply that the school or the association endorses the product
Underlying all of this is one principle: a public school's brand is not for sale through its students. The athlete's own identity is theirs to monetize. The school's is not theirs to lend.
Categories of product are also commonly restricted across state associations — alcohol, tobacco and vaping, cannabis, gambling, adult content, and firearms are the usual list. Check the current NYSPHSAA handbook rather than relying on any summary, including this one.
A quick compliance test
| Element of the ad | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Athlete's own name and face | Yes |
| Described as "a high school athlete" | Generally yes |
| Named as "a [School Name] athlete" | No |
| Wearing a school jersey | No |
| Filmed in front of a school logo | No |
| Filmed at a private facility in neutral gear | Yes |
| Suggesting the school recommends the product | No |
If the ad only works because the audience knows which school the athlete plays for, it is probably over the line.
Why the stakes are asymmetric
If a deal violates the rules, the penalty falls on the athlete's eligibility. The brand that paid them faces nothing.
That asymmetry is the single most important thing for a family to understand. A local business offering a few hundred dollars is not going to have read the NYSPHSAA handbook, and has no incentive to. The responsibility for compliance is entirely the athlete's.
Practical implication: the athlete's side has to control the creative. Ask to approve the final asset before it runs. Ask, in writing, that no school identifiers appear.
Before signing anything
- Tell the athletic director. Not because approval is required for everything, but because they know the current rules and you do not want to find out afterward.
- Read the actual current rule. State association rules change. A blog post from last year — this one included — is a starting point, not authority.
- Get it in writing. What is being promoted, where it runs, how long, and what the athlete is paid.
- Understand the tax side. NIL income is income. For most high school deals this is straightforward, but it is not zero.
- Ask whether it is worth it. Time is the scarce resource for a student-athlete, and content obligations consume it.
What a simple agreement should say
Most high school NIL deals are small and local, and the paperwork should match — but "small" is not a reason for a handshake. At minimum, get in writing:
- What the athlete is actually agreeing to do. Two Instagram posts is a different deal from unlimited use of their likeness.
- Where it runs and for how long. Perpetual, unrestricted rights to a minor's image is not a reasonable ask for a few hundred dollars.
- Approval rights. The athlete or a parent sees the final asset before it runs. This is the clause that protects eligibility.
- Payment terms. Amount, and when.
- How either side ends it. Including what happens to material already published.
Because the athlete is a minor, a parent or guardian will need to sign. For anything beyond a very small local deal, a short review by an attorney who has read the current state rules is money well spent.
Realistic expectations
The public conversation about NIL is shaped by a handful of nationally-known high school athletes with seven-figure valuations. That is not the market almost any family will encounter.
The realistic version is a local business — a training facility, a restaurant, a sporting goods store — offering a modest sum or product in exchange for social posts. Those deals are real and worth having. They are also small enough that the compliance risk can easily outweigh the payment if the rules are not followed.
The wider picture
Most states now permit some form of high school NIL, with each state's athletic association setting its own rules. A handful of holdouts remained as of mid-2026 — Alabama, Indiana, Mississippi and Wyoming among them. Rules vary meaningfully across state lines, so guidance written for New York should not be applied elsewhere.
What this has to do with training
For most families, NIL is a distraction from the thing that actually determines an athlete's options: being good, and being healthy enough to keep playing.
The athletes who end up with real NIL opportunities are, overwhelmingly, the ones who developed well and stayed available. That is a training and load-management question long before it is a marketing one. See how many hours a week a young athlete should train and sport specialization.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with your school's athletic director and the NYSPHSAA handbook before signing anything.
Frequently asked questions
Can high school athletes in New York earn NIL money?
Yes. NYSPHSAA permits high school athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness, subject to restrictions — most importantly that the deal cannot use school names, logos, marks, uniforms, or imply school or NYSPHSAA endorsement.
Can my child wear their school uniform in an ad?
No. Wearing school uniforms or using school marks, names or logos in an endorsement is specifically prohibited under NYSPHSAA's NIL provisions, and doing so can jeopardize eligibility.
What happens if an NIL deal breaks the rules?
The consequence lands on the athlete's eligibility, not on the company that paid them. That asymmetry is why the rules are worth reading carefully before signing anything — a deal worth a few hundred dollars is not worth a season.
Do these rules apply everywhere in the country?
No. High school NIL is governed state by state through each state's athletic association. Most states now permit some form of it, with a small number of holdouts. Rules differ meaningfully between states, so guidance written for one state should never be assumed to apply in another.