High school athletes getting mixed messages on NIL, executive says

With college athletes now allowed to make money off their name, image and likeness ... could high school athletes soon follow suit?

Not so fast, according to the executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff points out in a column on the federation's website, nhfs.org, that "state associations have rules in place that prohibit student-athletes from receiving money in any form that is connected to wearing their school uniform."

Niehoff says high school sports are different from college sports in that their focus is "about the team, not the individual's own pursuit of excellence."

However, the NCAA's wording of its NIL guidelines does create some gray area for high school athletes during the recruiting process.

While NIL opportunities are not to be used as recruiting endorsements, the NCAA also says “prospective student-athletes may engage in the same types of NIL opportunities available to current student-athletes under the interim policy without impacting their NCAA eligibility.”

Niehoff acknowledges "this is disturbing and contradictory information" because a high school athlete could conceivably participate in an outside activity that would be permitted under the NCAA's guidelines, but would make them ineligible under their state high school association's.

"These two worlds cannot co-exist as the high school environment will be compromised," she says.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: High school recruiting grey area in name, image and likeness rules