OSC Friday Feature | High School NIL & The Prep Super League
This Friday Feature discusses the development of NIL at the High School Level and the recently announced Prep Super League
Where Things Stand: NIL in High School
As of today, twenty-nine States and the District of Colombia allow High School student-athletes to profit off their Name, Image, and Likeness. In the era of social media fame and fortune, these student-athletes have been able to profit earlier than ever before, provided that they live and compete in the correct state. Talent-rich states such as Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Ohio currently prohibit student-athletes from engaging in NIL deals while eligible for High School Athletics. This uneven legal landscape has led many student-athletes to either reclassify—and enter collegiate athletics early—or transfer to a state with more favorable law.
California, another historically talent-rich state, was the first to allow High School student-athletes to engage in NIL deals while retaining eligibility. Malachi Nelson, who will begin playing Football at USC this upcoming Fall, told Sports Illustrated last year that he expected to agree to nearly $1 million dollars in NIL deals by the time he enrolled at USC. Nelson then signed with Klutch Sports, an agency typically known for working with smaller, lesser-known athletes like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Deandre Hopkins.
Quinn Ewers and Leaving High School Early
The best example of a highly-rated high school prospect leaving early to pursue NIL opportunities is Quinn Ewers. Ewers, a Texas native, was the number one overall recruit in the nation for the class of 2022. He reclassified to the class of 2021, enrolling in the middle of August at Ohio State. While at Ohio State, Ewers played a grand total of two snaps, before entering the transfer portal and returning home to play for Texas.
Despite the lack of playing time at Ohio State, it was not an altogether unsuccessful year for Ewers. Given that he would be ineligible for NIL deals if he had remained in high school, Ewers made a phenomenal business decision to reclassify, landing a 3 year/$1.4 Million dollar deal with GTSM, a marketing company specializing in athlete autographs. In addition, the year on the sideline did nothing to harm Ewers’ professional potential, with most experts believing he will be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Where Things are Going: The Prep Super League?
Brian Woods, former president of the USFL and founder of the now-defunct The Spring League and Fall Experimental Football League is back with another attempt to interrupt the Football world. This time, Woods is targeting elite High School athletes, a far different approach from previous attempts.
The Set-Up
The Prep Super League is described as “an AAU program for 11-on-11 football.” The inaugural season will take place in spring 2024, with 12 teams to be spread throughout the country in large cities and talent hotbeds: Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa. About half of the teams will be located in states that do not allow High School athletes to profit off their NIL. The Prep Super League hopes to recruit highly-ranked High School student-athletes to compete in the league. Games will follow collegiate rules, and the players will be coached, if the promises are to be believed, by former FBS and NFL head coaches.
However, student-athletes participating in the Prep Super League are still subject to the NIL regulations of their home state. For this reason, Woods views the Prep Super League as the beginning of a new era.
“We should be viewed as a supplemental and complementary entity to traditional high school football, first and foremost,” Woods said. “In terms of NIL, parents and athletes are going to have to make their own decisions at some point. You know, I think the landscape is changing very quickly.
Players will be eligible to participate only if they are enrolled in an accredited high school curriculum, and Woods plans on targeting players entering their sophomore or junior years of high school.
The Catch
Potential participants in the league will pay what Woods refers to as a “player development fee.” He likens this fee to the money that families pay for AAU basketball, and said that it could help fund the league. Woods believes that the branding and NIL exposure benefits received from playing in the league will be worth the up-front cost to these players. Athletes will also have to obtain their own health insurance for the league.
Woods remained vague on whether players participating in the Prep Super League would remain eligible if they attend high school in a state that does not allow NIL deals: “I don’t know. Because to be quite honest, I don’t know of any sort of enforcement along those lines that’s taken place thus far.”
Woods’ fourth attempt at a viable alternative football league is certainly his most unique yet. Time will tell whether it turns out to be any more successful than his previous three.
Quote of the Week
Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek on collegiate student-athletes making too much money: “Young men and women are making decisions not to go to Major League Baseball or the WNBA or the NBA because they can make more money in college. Does that make any sense, that you can make more money by staying in college than you can by going and being a professional athlete? That's where we have some issues in college athletics.” LINK