Exploring the new world of NIL for HS athletes in Florida

The ability for student-athletes to make money off their name, image, and likeness has altered college sports in the last few years.The latest: Sports coverage from WPBF 25 NewsNow, NIL is coming to the high school ranks.In June, the Florida High School Athletic Association unanimously voted to make Florida the 36th state to allow high school student-athletes to profit off NIL, and now players, coaches, administrators, and local businesses are trying to figure out what’s next. Can high school athletes really start to cash in?”It’s an opportunity for them to make an income at a young age. Who wouldn’t be excited about that?” said Benjamin School head football coach Eric Kresser. So, what kind of marketability does a teenager have for a local business? Look no further than their social media reach.”Social media has become their social resume. So they have their playing career and athleticism, but you have to be able to show a brand you have reach,” said Kevin Anderson, the CEO of ReachNIL.Anderson started ReachNIL to help college and now high school students navigate the uncharted NIL waters. The former Boca Raton High School, college and current XFL quarterback already secured NIL deals for some recent high school standouts that are now at big time division one programs — Benjamin’s Amaree Williams (Florida State) and Micah Mays (Wake Forest), Jupiter’s Luke Douglas (Florida State) and Palm Beach Central’s Ahmad Haston (UMass) to name a few. “How the kids are getting paid and who is paying them is changing, but I’ve been the representative to help them get through that,” he said.”We are hoping to create these rich brand relationships just by doing things the right way with our young athletes and by being pioneers at the high school level,” Anderson said.However, as high school NIL continues to evolve, high school students may want to wait before they quit their summer jobs.”I don’t think it’s really going to affect too many high school players. Maybe a handful that will be affected throughout the state or at least here in South Florida,” said Jupiter High School football coach Jason Kradman.”Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean there is a line out the door of companies wanting to pay high school players a lot of money to endorse their products or represent their company,” added Kresser.The potential pitfall for high school programs will be players transferring to other schools for NIL opportunities. A potential booster or business owner could shell out cash to create a so-called “super team.””It only takes one booster to say let’s do this, and that could happen anywhere,” Kresser said.”Which boosters, backers, or community supporters are interested in putting money into a 15- or 16-year-old student-athlete? It will vary wildly from community to community,” said Kradman.FHSAA is expected to ratify the NIL bill on July 24, at which point schools, players, and NIL platforms hope to figure out the new landscape.”We can’t sign anyone to July 24. We have some guys circled and a list of guys we want to have meetings with,” said Anderson.Yes, high school student-athletes are soon open for business.Get the latest sports updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

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