NIL

Ohio Court Expands NIL Rights to High School Athletes

Published

2 months ago

October 29, 2025

A recent decision by an Ohio court marks a significant development in the evolving landscape of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. On October 18, 2025, a Franklin County judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) from enforcing its prohibition against high school athletes profiting from their NIL. High school football player Jamier Brown, the plaintiff in Brown v. OHSAA, filed a lawsuit earlier this month challenging the association’s NIL ban under antitrust and state law principles.

The court’s ruling temporarily aligns Ohio with 44 other states that already permit high school athletes to engage in NIL activities. As a result, Ohio high school athletes can now enter into NIL agreements immediately without risking their eligibility while the case proceeds.

Brown, a high school junior, is the top wide receiver prospect in the 2027 recruiting class and has committed to play at Ohio State. Because he is still a minor, Brown’s mother initiated the action on his behalf. The complaint claims that Brown has lost more than $100,000 in potential NIL deals because of the OHSAA’s ban, asserting that the association’s restriction unlawfully limits athletes’ ability to participate in a legitimate marketplace for their publicity rights (“publicity rights” generally mean the rights of an individual to control the commercial exploitation of their name, image, likeness, persona, etc.). In response, the OHSAA maintains that its ban aims to preserve amateur competition and prevent improper inducements.

While the court did not make a final ruling, it found that Brown had established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, such as would justify a temporary halt to enforcement. The TRO remains in effect as the underlying claims continue to be litigated, granting Brown and other high school athletes at OHSAA member institutions the ability to enter NIL agreements during the pendency of the case.

This development follows the House v. NCAA settlement, which reshaped NIL rights in college sports. That settlement effectively ended the NCAA’s strict amateurism model and established a new framework for revenue sharing with college athletes. Following a string of victories by NCAA athletes seeking additional eligibility to pursue NIL at the college level, the Ohio state court ruling demonstrates the steady expansion of NIL issues and their impact on high school athletics.

The Brown decision also puts pressure on the few remaining states, including Michigan, Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Wyoming, that still restrict high school NIL opportunities. Each state operates under its own athletic association, and their respective rules vary widely. And, in the absence of comprehensive federal legislation that establishes a uniform set of rules applying to all states, each state is free to regulate NIL for high school and college athletes accordingly. However, with Ohio apparently on its way to joining the majority, the national trend favors expanding NIL access at all levels of competition.

Brown’s case against the OHSAA will now proceed to a hearing on a permanent injunction, where the court will determine whether the association’s NIL restrictions violate Ohio or federal law. A ruling against the association could influence how other state athletic organizations craft their policies. Whether or not Brown ultimately prevails on the merits, other states with similar restrictions are likely to face similar legal challenges.

From a legal perspective, the Ohio ruling highlights the tension between maintaining amateur athletic standards and complying with modern antitrust principles. Courts have consistently scrutinized rules that prohibit athlete compensation, especially when those rules lack a narrowly tailored justification. Although state athletic associations differ from the NCAA, both serve as regulatory bodies whose rules significantly impact athletes and third-party businesses seeking endorsement and other commercialization opportunities. However, Brown’s status as a minor provides an interesting wrinkle in this case, with the OHSAA almost certain to raise a host of policy arguments, including issues under state, labor law and other applicable restrictions for residents under the age of 18.

With the continued expansion of NIL, the line between education-based athletics and commercial opportunities will remain an active area of litigation and policy development. The Ohio case serves as a reminder that NIL issues are no longer confined to universities or the NCAA—they are increasingly shaping the future of amateur sports nationwide at every level. For institutions, sponsors, and collectives operating across multiple states, these developments underscore the increasing complexity of NIL compliance. Each jurisdiction may interpret NIL rights differently, and rules once clear at the college level now face challenges in high school settings. Athletic associations and individual schools will likely need to review and update their NIL policies to ensure they remain compliant and defensible under evolving legal standards.

As this case continues to develop, Buchanan offers a comprehensive suite of services, providing guidance tailored to institutions, collectives, and businesses involved in the NIL space and other activities related to student athletes to ensure compliance and support at every stage.

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Report shares why Penn State did not spend ‘a ton of time’ pursuing Kalen DeBoer, Mike Elko

Published

49 minutes ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Penn State‘s head coaching search may have taken longer than expected, but the Nittany Lions ultimately landed their guy — Matt Campbell from Iowa State. According to a recent report from ESPN, however, the search apparently featured a number of big-name college football candidates to replace James Franklin.

These names included Alabama‘s Kalen DeBoer, Notre Dame‘s Marcus Freeman and Texas A&M‘s Mike Elko. All surfaced as “potential candidates,” with Elko looked at as “the most realistic,” given his ties to the region.

“The whole time, we thought Elko was going to be the guy,” one SEC coach told ESPN. “Then he came off the board.”

Elko just finished an 11-2 season at Texas A&M, leading the Aggies to its first-ever College Football Playoff. His Aggies were undefeated for the first 13 weeks of the season while Penn State continued it’s head coaching search. Texas A&M went on to extend his on Nov. 15.

For DeBoer, he denied having interest in the Nittany Lions’ job. Freeman was in the middle of leading Notre Dame to a 10-game win streak to lose the season. According to another ESPN source, Penn State “never spent a ton of time on those guys knowing their current situations.”

It wasn’t until early December that Penn State announced the hire of former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. The hire appears to have been well-received on social media and recruits alike.

He’s bringing to Happy Valley a resume that includes a 107–70 overall as a head coach. He built the Iowa State program from the ground up after a successful stint as Toledo’s head coach. Starting with a 3-9 finish in his first year with the program, Campbell led the Cyclones to a program record five-straight bowl games.

In 2024, Iowa State had its best season yet under Campbell. Leading the Cyclones to an 11-3 record, they came up just short of the College Football Playoff after losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship game. They were ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP Poll last season.

He is expected to mirror that success and then some as the Nittany Lions’ new head coach, all while competing alongside the DeBoer’s, Freeman’s and Elko’s at the forefront of college football. Campbell’s effort is already underway in Happy Valley, and the product of it will be seen next fall.

The first step — the NCAA transfer portal. Penn State was left with two signees in its 2025 recruiting class, so he’ll be focused on bolstering his roster once it opens on Jan. 2.

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NIL

South Carolina EDGE Taeshawn Alston plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

South Carolina freshman EDGE rusher Taeshawn Alston plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Pete Nakos reports. Alston did not see any game action this season and redshirted.

The news of Alston’s transfer comes one day after it was revealed that All-SEC EDGE rusher Dylan Stewart would be returning to Columbia next season. The projected future top-ten NFL Draft pick signed a new rev share/NIL agreement with the school and announced his return on Instagram Tuesday.

Prior to enrolling at South Carolina, Alston was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 674 overall player in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 65-ranked EDGE rusher in his class and the No. 16 overall player from the state of North Carolina, hailing from Vance County.

Alston chose South Carolina over programs such as Colorado, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina coming out of high school. Alston’s secondary recruiter, defensive line coach Sterling Lucas, was poached by Lane Kiffin and LSU this offseason.

This past season was extremely disappointing for South Carolina, which opened the season ranked No. 13 in the Preseason AP Poll. The Gamecocks kicked off their season with back-to-back wins, but went just 2-8 over their remaining 10 games to finish with a 4-8 record.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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VIDEO: Cantwell goes one-on-one to talk navigating football & NIL

Published

3 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Part 1:

Part 2:

Nixa’s Jackson Cantwell made the transition from tight end to the offensive tackle and quickly realized that his talents would take him far. He racked up accolades like Gatorade’s National Player of the Year and No. 1 college football recruit in the 2026 class.

As a high school junior, he came to realize that his top-tier college recruiting brings NIL into the picture.

Cantwell and KY3’s Danielle King sat one-on-one to discuss how he navigated NIL, from hiring sports agent Drew Rosenhaus to enjoying the food that comes with brand deals.

Rosenhaus, one of the leading NFL representatives, also chatted with King about representing Cantwell, the young NIL landscape and more.

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Coveted dual-threat quarterback entering college football transfer portal

Published

3 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The college football transfer portal is only ten days away from officially opening for business. That hasn’t stopped players around the country from getting a head start on the action, as nearly 1,100 names are expected to transfer.

That number will continue to rise over the next few weeks. The movement could be unprecedented this offseason, as the spring window has been eliminated, meaning there will be only 15 days for players to appear in the portal.

The quarterback market is packed. Though the group might not be as top-heavy as the last few seasons, there will still be plenty of talented signal-callers available.

Former Freshman Of The Year Transferring From Arkansas State

On Tuesday evening, Arkansas State junior quarterback Jaylen Raynor revealed his intentions to transfer, per 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz.

Raynor spent the last three seasons as the starter for the Red Wolves. In 2025, he completed 333/501 passes for 3,361 yards with 19 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He added 154 rushes for 423 yards and 7 more scores.

Raynor led the Sun Belt Conference in completions, attempts, yards, and interceptions.

Arkansas State finished 7-6, defeating Missouri State, 34-28, in the Xbox Bowl.

Raynor signed with the Red Wolves as a two-star prospect in the 2023 class. He leaped into the starting role early in his true freshman season, taking the reins for the final 10 games of the year.

Raynor was named the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Year after completing 166/285 passes for 2,550 yards with 17 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. He rushed for 5 more scores.

The North Carolina native tied Arkansas State’s program record with six touchdown passes against UMass on September 30, 2023.

Raynor continued to lead the Red Wolves as a sophomore. In 2024, Arkansas State went 8-5 and defeated Bowling Green in the 68 Ventures Bowl.

Overall, Raynor is 20-16 as a starting quarterback and he’s 2-1 in bowl games.

During his college career, he’s completed 758 of 1,206 passes for 8,694 yards with 52 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. Raynor has rushed 414 times for 1,183 yards and 15 more scores.

The 6-foot-0, 202-pound quarterback has two years to play one at the college level.

Out of high school, Raynor held offers from programs such as UMass, Miami (OH), Army, Air Force, and Navy.

Two things about NIL and Brohm

Published

4 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

1. The latest actual numbers I can find…per 247 sports, U of L was 20th in NIL monies in college sports at about 450 million. Now we are approaching 2026 and things obviously have changed, but we were at least trying to play the NIL game.

2. Jeff did not leave Purdue the first time because the timing wasn’t right or he still had a job to do with the Boilermakers. I respected Jeff for that and quite frankly made me feel more proud of who he was as a person .

I could be naive and stupid but:

A. This crazy money by rich people to pay athletes is just that, crazy and not sustainable long term.

B. U of L is probably doing the best it can but can not compete against oil monies etc.

C. Love him or not, (I love Jeff as our coach) he is the best we could have and feel safe he wants to stay. (Is this a dumb statement given the leaving fears?)

D. Let’s keep winning at Jeff’s level or better

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4 Missouri football staffers, including lead NIL exec, follow Moore to WSU

Published

5 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 24, 2025, 2:51 p.m. CT

Four Missouri football staff members, including the lead executive of the Tigers’ NIL agency, are leaving MU to follow former offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to Washington State.

Brad Larrondo, who was the CEO and general manager of Every True Tiger Brands, is moving to take a role at WSU. He is a Boise State grad and still has significant connections to the region.

The Tigers also are set to lose tight ends coach Derham Cato to the same role with the Cougars, and Mizzou assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie is set to become Moore’s lead O-line coach. Those staff changes were first reported by Matt Zenitz at CBS Sports.

Finally, Mizzou assistant director of football athletic performance Malcolm Hardmon will become Washington State’s strength and conditioning coach, per Bruce Feldman at The Athletic.

The most significant loss of the group, arguably, is Larrondo, who has been instrumental in the name, image and likeness space for Missouri.

Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz originally hired Larrondo, who like the MU coach had spent time working at Auburn and Boise State, to oversee recruiting and external relations. Larrondo ultimately became the lead executive at Every True Tiger, where he helped establish the core of Mizzou’s current NIL structure.

Every True Tiger and Larrondo are influential in negotiating both revenue-sharing and third-party NIL deals for Missouri athletes, as well as distributing money to athletes and making sure the football program remains within its spending cap. The agency also is a marketing arm and has helped facilitate deals for Mizzou student-athletes.

The college football transfer portal is approaching, which brings significant challenges for both roster retention and recruitment for teams — something Larrondo would have been closely involved with.

The portal officially opens Jan. 2 and remains open for new entries through Jan. 16.

Missouri football has not hired a general manager partly because, with Drinkwitz at the forefront, it has recreated that role in the aggregate through Larrondo and other staffers.

Drinkwitz responded to reports of Larrondo’s exit via his personal X/Twitter account.

“Good luck to Brad and thank you for all he did, but MIZZOU NIL was started way before Brad, and is a STRONG POSITION! Carry on!” Drinkwitz wrote Wednesday, Dec. 24.

Beyond Larrondo, the staff shakeup was seemingly expected. Drinkwitz indicated Dec. 16 that some assistants could end up following Moore to Pullman, Washington.

“Could lose a couple more people off of our staff from analyst roles as coach Moore finalizes and puts his staff together,” Drinkwitz said Dec. 16. “It shouldn’t change the dynamic of what we do at all.”