The name, image and likeness era of South Dakota high school sports has arrived.
It has produced some waves of reactions from fans and followers. For now, its impact should be more like ripples in water.
Schools in the South Dakota High School Activities Association voted to approve a measure that narrows previously broad language and allows athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness, or NIL, as it is known.
In total, 115 of 122 schools voted in favor of the amendment. Realistically, schools had no choice but to approve the measure, as collectively burying our heads in the sand was not going to make this issue go away. The measure has many restrictions intended to keep the SDHSAA or member schools out of anything an athlete may be promoting, such as not using school images and not involving booster clubs or inducing athletes to enroll in a specific school with the promise of money.
Previously, closing down the possibilities for athletes to earn money from their name, image or likeness was always difficult to understand, especially when their classmates who are musicians or artists could do so without much trouble. And with the idea of classic amateurism falling apart for college players, it was only natural that the issue would reach high school sports.
Just like when the university rules were opened for NIL, it can be predicted that there will be reasonable opportunities for students to earn money from their skills and likeness. If Joe’s Hardware in Whereverville, South Dakota, wants to pay small-town basketball star John Smith $500 for a series of social media posts promoting his business, don’t hesitate. Of course, there are risks to having a 17- or 18-year-old spokesperson for your company, but that’s every business owner’s decision.
Just like in college, if Joe’s Hardware already donates to the town’s booster club and supports school functions, will that company redirect its contributions to a specific player? It seems unlikely. And will they be willing to do that year after year with new and up-and-coming athletes in a small town? Almost certainly not.
It will take a special breed of high school athlete to reach this level that guarantees NIL opportunities, and it will require a certain type of community. A star athlete in a Class B community will have a greater marketing impact in their community than the same athlete in Sioux Falls. Using past examples, Mike Miller could have been an NIL star for the Mitchell Kernels. Lincoln Kienholz has done well with NIL offers at Ohio State and it’s not hard to imagine Pierre would have done the same for him as a senior.
Fans gather at the Premier Center for the Class AA boys state championship game between the Mitchell Kernels and the Brandon Valley Lynx on Saturday, March 16, 2024 in Sioux Falls.
Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic
In a state without high-level professional sports, interest extends to high school and college sports, and NIL could be the same.
What college sports have that high school sports don’t (and shouldn’t have) is the transfer portal. And transfers and NIL have gone hand in hand in recent years, so it will be an issue to guard against in high school sports.
Depending on who is affected by the back-and-forth, a transfer in high school sports from one school to another has drawn attention for years. However, the application of these NIL rules will be a different and difficult question to answer. When some have criticized the abuse of open enrollment rules, SDHSAA leaders have pointed to the fact that they are not an investigative agency and have a limited scope of what they can test.
Like college-level questions about NIL, will the SDHSAA be able to credibly point to a booster or coach to say that School X manipulated a student into transferring and playing for them? Or if the athlete initiates a transfer to another school due to NO possibilities, can it be proven?
For many college athletes, the emergence of NIL has created more demands on being an adult. For example, paying taxes on these earnings is an adult task that is probably not on the minds of many young people. The importance of receiving good, honest advice from parents, coaches and mentors has never been more important.
Just like a few years ago, NIL shouldn’t be a scary acronym now that you’re in high school. It is a realistic element to consider in 2024.
But that also requires a clear look at the most likely scenarios. In a traditional state of mind, the NIL proposal is likely to only affect the top 1% of elite athletes in South Dakota.
It’s hard to imagine the NIL wave being bigger than that.
Opinion by Marcus Traxler
Marcus Traxler is the Mitchell Republic’s assistant editor and sports editor. A previous winner of the state’s Outstanding Young Journalist award and 2023 South Dakota Sports Writer of the Year, he has worked for the newspaper since 2014 and covers a wide variety of topics. A Minnesota native, Traxler can be reached at mtraxler@mitchellrepublic.com.
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