Authored by: Joshua P. Astin
For years, Indiana stood as one of a shrinking number of states that entirely prohibited high school athletes from profiting off their name, image, or likeness. That changes next school year. On May 4, 2026, the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Board of Directors voted 13-5 to adopt what it calls a “Personal Branding Activities” (PBA) framework, effective with the 2026-27 school year. With this change, Indiana becomes the 46th state, along with the District of Columbia, to permit some form of NIL activity at the high school level.
The rule represents a meaningful shift in Indiana high school athletics. But like most things in law, the details matter enormously. For student-athletes, their families, high school administrators, and businesses looking to partner with young athletes, understanding the boundaries of this new framework is critical. The line between a permissible opportunity and a violation that costs a student their eligibility is not always obvious.
Why “Personal Branding Activities” and Not “NIL”?
The IHSAA deliberately avoided the term “NIL,” the name, image, and likeness language that has come to define college athletics since the NCAA’s landmark 2021 policy change. The choice of “Personal Branding Activities” is intentional and legally significant. It signals that Indiana’s high school model is designed to operate differently from the college system, where schools, boosters, and collectives have become deeply involved in funding and arranging deals for athletes.
IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig was direct on this point: “Unlike the current college system, where schools often play a direct role in NIL compensation, the new rule keeps high schools out of arranging or funding deals for student-athletes. Instead, it allows students to benefit independently from their school, without using school branding or representing school-sponsored endorsements.”
The framework is built on a foundational principle: whatever a student-athlete does to monetize their personal brand, they do it as an individual and not as a representative of their school, their team, or their sport.
What Is Permitted Under the New Rule?
The IHSAA’s PBA framework creates three broad categories of allowable activity:
1. Non-School, Non-Athletic Personal Branding Student-athletes may engage in brand-building and monetization activities so long as those activities do not involve representing their member school and do not require them to perform athletic services. This includes social media content creation, personal appearances, and endorsement deals, which are the most common forms of NIL activity seen at the college level.
2. Personal Brand Development Through Social Media and Endorsements Students may develop and monetize a personal brand through social media platforms, personal appearances, and endorsement relationships, provided those activities are unrelated to their school’s athletic program. A student-athlete with a large social following, for example, may partner with a brand for sponsored content as long as they do not appear in school uniforms or reference their school affiliation.
3. Skills-Based and Instructional Services Students may provide non-athletic services for compensation. This includes tutoring, personal training instruction, and coaching youth sports. Importantly, a student may also provide athletic skills-based services, such as running individual lessons, clinics, or camps, so long as those services are not connected to their member school.
What Is Prohibited and Where the Legal Risk Lives
The prohibited activities are where families and student-athletes need to pay close attention. A violation does not just cost a student a deal. It can cost them their eligibility to compete.
Prohibited categories include:
School Representation: Any PBA activity that references or represents the student’s member school is prohibited. This prohibition is broad. A student wearing a jersey, tagging their school, or even heavily implying school affiliation in sponsored content could trigger a violation.
Certain Product and Industry Categories: Student-athletes may not enter into PBA deals involving gaming or gambling, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, illegal or banned substances (including performance-enhancing drugs), sexually explicit material, or firearms and weapons. These restrictions mirror prohibitions seen in college NIL policies and are unlikely to be controversial. However, businesses operating in adjacent industries should carefully evaluate whether their products or services fall within these categories before approaching a student-athlete.
School-Affiliated Athletic Services: A student cannot participate in athletic contests, demonstrations, or events that are organized, sponsored by, or affiliated with a member school as part of a PBA arrangement. The distinction between a permissible independent clinic and a prohibited school-affiliated event could, in some circumstances, require careful analysis.
PBA Collectives: The rule expressly prohibits participation in or acceptance of benefits from collectives that work on behalf of, in conjunction with, or for the benefit of any member school. This is one of the most significant distinctions from the college model, where collectives have become a dominant and controversial force in athlete compensation.
Recruitment-Related Deals: Perhaps the most legally sensitive prohibition involves recruitment. Any PBA activity offered to entice a student to attend a particular high school for athletic purposes is prohibited. This provision is designed to prevent high schools from using PBA opportunities as an indirect recruiting tool. In practical terms, it is a ban on using brand deals as a mechanism to influence where a student enrolls.
Legal Considerations for Student-Athletes and Their Families
The new rule creates real opportunities, but it also creates real legal exposure. Families should consider the following before a student-athlete enters into any PBA arrangement:
Contracts Involving Minors Indiana law generally allows a minor to disaffirm a contract. However, businesses may seek a parent or guardian to co-sign agreements to add enforceability. Families should carefully review any agreement before signing, including payment terms, exclusivity clauses, content approval rights, and termination provisions.
Eligibility Review Before Signing Before a student-athlete enters into any deal, the arrangement should be evaluated against the IHSAA’s PBA framework. A deal that appears straightforward may implicate a prohibited category, particularly the school representation and recruitment provisions. Consulting with an attorney familiar with Indiana sports and education law before signing a deal is a prudent step.
Tax Implications Compensation received under a PBA arrangement is income. Parents and student-athletes should be aware that these earnings will likely need to be reported and may affect a family’s tax obligations. Consulting with a tax professional is advisable as students begin generating income through PBA activities.
Intellectual Property Basics When a student-athlete grants a business the right to use their name, image, or likeness, they are licensing intellectual property rights. Families should understand what rights they are granting, for how long, in what media, and whether those rights are exclusive or non-exclusive. These provisions have long-term implications, particularly for athletes intending to continue playing at the next level, that may not be immediately obvious.
What This Means for Schools and Coaches
The IHSAA’s framework deliberately sidelines schools from the PBA process. Schools may not arrange deals, may not fund arrangements, and may not use PBA opportunities as recruitment tools. Coaches and administrators who become involved in facilitating PBA arrangements for their athletes, even with the best of intentions, could create eligibility complications for the student and potential liability exposure for the school.
Schools would be well-advised to develop clear internal policies that educate coaches and staff about the boundaries of the new rule, establish a process for students to report PBA activities to ensure compliance review, and create clear communication to families about what the school can and cannot do under this framework.
What This Means for Businesses
Indiana businesses, particularly those in the lifestyle, fitness, sports equipment, apparel, and food and beverage spaces, now have access to a new pool of influential young brand ambassadors. Indiana has produced nationally recognized high school athletes across football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, and track and field, among other sports. The opportunity is real.
However, businesses approaching student-athletes should understand that the compliance burden is shared. A deal that causes a student-athlete to violate the PBA framework does reputational and legal damage to the student, their family, and potentially the business involved. Before entering into any agreement with a high school athlete, businesses should verify that the arrangement complies with the IHSAA’s PBA rules, ensure that no school affiliation is implied or referenced in any content or promotion, confirm that the student’s parent or guardian is involved and has reviewed all agreements, and avoid any arrangement that could be characterized as recruitment-related.
Looking Ahead
The IHSAA’s adoption of the PBA framework reflects a broader national trend. With Indiana joining 45 other states and the District of Columbia, and only four states, Alabama, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Mississippi, continuing to prohibit high school NIL entirely, it is clear that this is the new landscape of high school athletics.
Commissioner Neidig framed the IHSAA’s proactive approach well: “We believe it is far better to be proactive and create thoughtful, education-based guidelines ourselves than to have policies forced upon high school athletics.”
That philosophy is sound legal thinking. It is far better for all stakeholders, including athletes, families, schools, and businesses, to understand the rules clearly and act within them than to navigate eligibility disputes, contract controversies, or compliance investigations after the fact.
If you are the parent of a student-athlete, a school administrator, a coach, or a business interested in partnering with Indiana’s talented high school athletes, our firm is available to help you understand the new PBA framework and navigate these opportunities responsibly.