The State Board of Education finalized new rules Thursday allowing North Carolina high school athletes to sign deals and profit off their name, image and likeness — mirroring changes that have upended college athletics in the past few years. The new rules on name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements will take effect ahead of the 25-26 school year. They prohibit students from making references to specific schools or school logos as part of their deal-related activity. They prohibit students from entering into NIL agreements to promote adult establishments, controlled substances, weapons, or casinos. Assistant General Counsel to the Board Ryan Collins said, there are some slight changes from when the rules were first proposed in September. For instance, the rules now specify students must submit the final, signed agreement to their school administrators.“This ensures that school administrators have a copy of the actually operative agreement and avoids the possibility that the parties could secretively change the material terms of the agreement after submitting a draft copy to school administrators," Collins said.The new rules also specify that students must notify their school administrators at least 10 days prior to the execution of an agreement.An earlier version of these rules has technically been in place for months. After the General Assembly passed legislation directing the state board to craft NIL rules, the state board passed a temporary ban on these agreements and proposed new rules for next school year. But in October, a Wake County Superior Court Judge halted the temporary ban in response to a lawsuit from a parent. This week, the state board also passed simpler temporary rules governing NIL deals for this school year as a placeholder.

NC board sets rules for high school athletes hoping to profit on name, image and likeness

An earlier version of these rules has technically been in place for months. After the General Assembly passed legislation directing the state board to craft NIL rules, the state board passed a temporary ban on these agreements and proposed new rules for next school year. But in October, a Wake County Superior Court Judge halted […]

An earlier version of these rules has technically been in place for months. After the General Assembly passed legislation directing the state board to craft NIL rules, the state board passed a temporary ban on these agreements and proposed new rules for next school year. But in October, a Wake County Superior Court Judge halted the temporary ban in response to a lawsuit from a parent. “This ensures that school administrators have a copy of the actually operative agreement and avoids the possibility that the parties could secretively change the material terms of the agreement after submitting a draft copy to school administrators,” Collins said.This week, the state board also passed simpler temporary rules governing NIL deals for this school year as a placeholder.Assistant General Counsel to the Board Ryan Collins said, there are some slight changes from when the rules were first proposed in September. For instance, the rules now specify students must submit the final, signed agreement to their school administrators.The new rules also specify that students must notify their school administrators at least 10 days prior to the execution of an agreement.The new rules on name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements will take effect ahead of the 25-26 school year. They prohibit students from making references to specific schools or school logos as part of their deal-related activity. They prohibit students from entering into NIL agreements to promote adult establishments, controlled substances, weapons, or casinos. The State Board of Education finalized new rules Thursday allowing North Carolina high school athletes to sign deals and profit off their name, image and likeness — mirroring changes that have upended college athletics in the past few years.