DOVER – Competition, camaraderie, the quest for championships and perhaps a scholarship have long been the lures of high school sports.

Soon athletes may also be able to make a buck.

Much like their collegiate comrades, Delaware high school athletes are on track toward being permitted to profit from their name, image and likeness.

The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association’s board of directors Thursday tabled without debate new regulations that after some editing of legal language will ultimately allow First State student-athletes to enjoy the same freedom as those in more than 30 other states, including nearby Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.

It was actually Oklahoma’s NIL standards that the DIAA came closest to replicating, said DIAA executive director David Baylor. The matter will come back to the DIAA board for final approval before being subject to State Board of Education authorization. NIL opportunities could very likely be allowed by the 2024-25 school year, Baylor said.

"Thirty-four other states have figured it out," said board member Dorrell Green, the Red Clay Consolidated School District superintendent and former University of Delaware football team captain. "… Who are we to withhold student-athletes from being able to capitalize on an opportunity?"

Delaware's version of name, image and likeness rules

The proposed DIAA standards say “a student may earn compensation from the use of their name, image and likeness provided that the compensation is not contingent on specific athletic performance or achievement, is not provided as an incentive to enroll or remain enrolled at a specific school, and is not provided by the school or any person acting as an agent for the school.”

A NIL agreement could not include DIAA or school names, logos, colors, mascots or acronyms, including on the student’s apparel, and school facilities may not be involved. Endorsing tobacco, alcohol or gambling products would also be prohibited.

Violations could result in athletes being barred from participation.

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The ruling should lessen the likelihood of Delaware high school athletes leaving the state for those in which NIL opportunities exist.

Typically, a high school athlete may seek NIL opportunities in six areas – autographs, appearances, merchandise, camps and instruction, product endorsements and social media promotion and posting, according to a NIL prep kit published by Triple Threat Leadership for high school administrators. Social media promotion and posting often involving apparel brands is particularly common.

Following colleges lead

State high school athletic organizations nationally have been implementing NIL rules since the NCAA, in June of 2021, ruled college athletes could financially benefit from using their name, image or likeness, previously prohibited as part of NCAA standards aimed at maintaining amateur status and preventing outside influence.

That came after several states passed laws allowing college athletes to accept endorsement opportunities. It followed a Supreme Court ruling that NCAA restrictions on “education-related benefits” for student-athletes violated antitrust law. In a quest for national consistency in such laws, the NCAA is pushing for federal legislation regarding NIL rules.

University of Delaware and Delaware State University athletes have been free to cash in ever since. Before that, colleges and coaches had raked in money while athletes could perhaps bank on a free education via an athletic scholarship but little else as a reward for their talent and renown.

It was only natural for high school athletes to also want to benefit from their local prominence. While many states have made that allowable, others continue to prohibit NIL for high school students.

"NIL does not provide the opportunity for kids to get paid to play their sport," said board member Mark Robinson, an athletic trainer, teacher and coach at St. Georges. "It's being compensated for, just like anybody else, to be able to influence a product or a service."

He added it's imperative that is done while abiding by a set of regulations.

Delaware high school athletes follow the Title 14 Education Delaware Administrative Code requiring students to maintain amateur status to be eligible to play on high school sports teams. That did already allow them to be financially compensated for “teaching lessons, coaching or officiating.”

Unless it is through a NIL agreement, other limitations remain in place, including being barred from capitalizing on their notoriety “to promote or endorse a commercial product or service on the internet; in a newsprint, radio, television advertisement or any other form of media; or personal appearance” or through “participation in an organized competition or instructional camp or clinic.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: DIAA close to allowing Delaware high school athletes to cash in on NIL