Value of high school athlete name-image-likeness deals a wait and see game, officials say

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·3 min read

Dec. 27—Top high school athletes in Pennsylvania looking to profit from their name, image and likeness will have opportunities, but an analyst who studies the deals says that any dream of earning significant income is unlikely for all but a fraction of athletes.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association's board recently voted to allow student athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness, or NIL.

It's too early to tell how much of an impact the decision will have locally. The experiences of collegiate athletes, who last year won the right to monetize their NILs, indicates only the top athletes in the nation likely have the potential for substantial earnings, said Braly Keller, an NIL specialist for Opendorse, an NIL marketing platform for athletes.

While there have been some six-figure deals at the collegiate level, the vast majority of athletes earn much humbler sums. As of November, the average yearly NIL earnings for a Division I athlete was $2,963, according to Opendorse, while Division II and Division III athletes earned an average of $328 and $432, respectively.

"It gets tricky to say exactly what a high school athlete could or couldn't make because it is so new," Keller said. "But I think we can certainly look to the college space as a little bit of a test to understand what the potential could be."

Athletic talent is a key factor, but the athlete's social media presence is, in some cases, equally important, Keller said. He cited the case of sisters Haley and Hanna Cavinder, college basketball standouts at the University of Miami who have signed multiple NIL deals.

"They were talented on the court, but the reason that they have gotten as much attention from brands is because they had 4 million followers on TikTok," Keller said. "I want clicks on my page. If we find an athlete with a very high following ... that's going to be our better route."

Locally, James Elliott, a Scranton attorney who has also worked many years officiating at PIAA sporting events, said he anticipates very few athletes will benefit from the deals.

"I just don't see lot of people benefiting from this locally if they're not a national or a major recruit," Elliott said, noting he was speaking personally, not as a PIAA representative.

George Sweda, owner of Sweda advertising in Clarks Green, expects some high level athletes to score endorsement deals, but they will not necessarily be through traditional advertising outlets.

"Everything has evolved so much," Sweda said. "Someone who has their own social media presence, whether it's on TikTok, Instagram, and has a following can set this up so that they control most of the profit whether they have an agent or not."

Regardless of how athletes choose to monetize themselves, they need to take great care in evaluating offers to ensure they do not violate PIAA rules, Elliott said.

Athletes are not allowed to make any reference to PIAA or a PIAA member school or wear school uniforms or apparel. They also cannot endorse adult entertainment, alcohol, gambling, tobacco or electronic smoking products, opioids or other prescription drugs, controlled dangerous substances or weapons, firearms or ammunition.

"You don't want to put your child in jeopardy of violating the rules and therefore they can come back and say you're ineligible to play," he said.

Parents should also consider having an attorney review the terms of the contract, Elliott said. Deciding an athlete's value will be tricky, but an attorney can help ensure other standard contract provisions are in place.

"It's going to be trial and error because you don't have anything to compare it to," he said. "There are parameters that an attorney might be able to help you with that are not necessarily sports entertainment."

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.