Alabama Bill Would Allow High School Athletes to Make Money Off of Their Image
Lawmaker鈥檚 bill could allow high school athletes to make money.
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An Alabama state representative has filed a bill that would allow high school athletes to make money off of their image.
The legislation,sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, would be a name, image and likeness (NIL) bill for high school athletes. The bill is limited to the athlete and does not allow the use of 鈥渕arks, including a school logo, school name, school mascot, or trademarked logo or acronym of an athletic association,鈥� alongside some other restrictions.
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 already happening on a college level and what better way to get kids trained to the mindset of NIL by starting in high school,鈥� Gray said in an interview on Monday.
Alabama has had a state name, image and likeness law since 2021, The NCAA allows college athletes are allowed to profit from their image, name and likeness under NCAA NIL, ranging from the use of merchandise to autographs to running camps and clinics.
at least 30 states and Washington, D.C. have legislation that allows high school students to make money off of their image.
Gray鈥檚 bill says that no student athletes in the state 鈥渟hall be prevented from receiving compensation for the use of his or her name, image, or likeness.鈥�
Gray, who played football at North Carolina State, said he doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 fair that schools, but not the athletes, are allowed to make money off of athletes. One reason for the bill, he said, is the difficulty in predicting how long an athletic career might last.
鈥淲e may not make it to the NFL, NBA, WNBA, but a lot of athletes are training their entire lives for a moment where they can get actually compensated for their skills and talents,鈥� he said.
Ron Ingram, a spokesman for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, said no one from AHSAA was available to comment this week.
Gray also said he wants to put Alabama on a level playing field with other state that have NIL laws for high school students.
鈥淢onetization is important to me when it comes to student athletes, and especially on any level of high school, college or in the NFL because so many people are making money off the athletes and they鈥檙e not being able to capitalize on those opportunities, their sales, so this bill just really came from the premises of other states are doing it and we just need to move towards that,鈥� he said.
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