Name, image, and likeness opportunities for Wisconsin students officially begins

MADISON, Wis (CIVIC MEDIA) – With the publication of May’s WIAA Bulletin, new rules governing name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities are now active for student-athletes in Wisconsin.

It’s one of four constitutional amendments approved by school administrators around the state at April’s WIAA Annual Meeting.

The new NIL opportunities come as nearly every state has passed some regulation about amateur eligibility and NIL in the past few years, with Wisconsin being one of the last handful to approve an NIL rule.

However, high school NIL opportunities in Wisconsin are much different than what is available to NCAA college athletes, and also different than what is available in other states.

The new NIL rules note several ways in which deals must be executed in order to preserve amateur eligibility. NIL appearances can’t involve any school, conference, or WIAA mentions, uniforms, or logos. That’s one key difference from NCAA rules.

Another difference is that high school students can’t endorse products that are age-inappropriate, such as tobacco, alcohol, gambling, firearms, or adult entertainment, to name a few.

High school students also can’t have an agent or other professional representation to make NIL deals, and anyone associated with a school program can’t act as a facilitator for deals. That’s a big departure from the NCAA rules that allow for agent representation.

One area where the WIAA rule and the NCAA rule are in agreement on: So-called “pay for play” practices are illegal. That means student-athletes can’t enter into NIL deals that reward athletic performance, influence a student to transfer or remain in a particular school, or are otherwise contingent on player or team achievements.

Other restrictions on high school student-athletes include hosting and running their own camps or clinics, school-based activities for NIL-related activities, or missing class to participate in an NIL-related activity.

The WIAA’s constitutional amendment change also doesn’t forbid individual schools from adding additional requirements for NIL.

One major component of the new rule is the clause that people associated with the school can’t contribute to NIL deals. The list is long, but it includes parents of other student-athletes, coaches, school staff, volunteers, or anyone that takes part in any activity at the student’s school.

A more cumbersome list of people considered associated with the school includes former coaches or staff members during the student’s tenure in the district, any person, business, or organization that has contributed financially or materially to a school, or booster clubs.

Wisconsin’s rule on personal association with a school is considered to be much more restrictive than what other states have in place for NIL.

WIAA membership easily passed the rule at April’s meeting. School administrators also approved an amendment requiring sportsmanship classes for fans ejected from games, a change to sub-varsity freshman-only team scheduling, and a more open summer coaching contact schedule.

To help students, parents, school staff, and community members understand NIL, the WIAA is providing informational videos. Even if a student is not considering an NIL deal, they are encouraged to learn about the rules.

A list of resources on name, image, and likeness is available on the WIAA website. This includes videos, FAQs, and other materials that can help in understanding what is allowed with the new NIL rules.

The same amendment was considered in 2024, where it failed 170 to 219. It easily passed 293 to 108 in 2025.

The NIL amendment was advanced to the Annual Meeting unanimously by the 14-member Sport Advisory Committee and the 17-member Advisory Council, as well as the WIAA Board of Control. In November of 2024, the WIAA announced an exclusive NIL partnership with Influential Athlete.