Is college NIL legal in Ohio?

Yes — college athletes in Ohio can earn from their name, image, and likeness. Status: Legal (state law). Ohio has its own NIL statute layered on top of NCAA policy and the House settlement. Confirm the current rules with each school's compliance office.

Can high school athletes earn NIL in Ohio?

High-school NIL status in Ohio: Allowed, per Executive orders (2021, 2024) + HB 315/HB 184 (2025-26) + OHSAA Bylaw 4-11 (HS). It's generally permitted under the association's amateurism and recruiting guardrails. This is a general overview, not legal advice.

Do athletes have to disclose NIL deals in Ohio?

The working disclosure threshold here is "$600." Under the House settlement, third-party deals at or above $600 at participating schools go to the NIL Go clearinghouse for review; some schools ask for every deal. Confirm your school's exact process.

Can Ohio schools pay their athletes directly now?

State law no longer stands in the way. The 2025 amendment to section 3376.02 protects compensation related to a student-athlete's position on the roster, which accommodates the direct revenue sharing the House settlement allows, subject to the settlement's cap and rules. Whether and how much a given school pays is up to that school. Ask the athletic department's compliance office how their program works.

What happens if an Ohio high schooler misses the 14-day disclosure window?

The OHSAA requires each NIL agreement to be disclosed within 14 days, with a notarized affirmation and a full copy of the agreement submitted through its reporting form. Reporting indicates late or missing disclosure can mean ineligibility or other penalties under the association's bylaws. File early and keep the confirmation. Verify current procedures with the OHSAA NIL Resource Center before you sign.

Can an Ohio high school athlete take a deal from a booster collective?

Reportedly no. Coverage of Bylaw 4-11 indicates collectives are strictly prohibited at the high school level, and deals cannot be used as inducements to attend a particular school or involve school names and logos. Deals need to come from independent businesses on the student's own merit. Confirm any offer's structure with your athletic director and the OHSAA first.

— NIL Rules · Midwest

Ohio NIL Rules

College and high-school name, image & likeness rules for Ohio (OH) — at a glance, in plain English. Not legal advice; confirm with a compliance office before acting.

At a glance

NIL in Ohio today.

College NIL: Legal (state law). High-school NIL: Allowed, per Executive orders (2021, 2024) + HB 315/HB 184 (2025-26) + OHSAA Bylaw 4-11 (HS). NIL collectives: operating. Deal-disclosure threshold: $600. Governing statute: Ohio collegiate NIL law, enacted via HB 110 (2021), as amended by HB 315 (2025) (Ohio Rev. Code ch. 3376 (§ 3376.02)), amended, effective September 2021. High-school governance: Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Last reviewed August 2026 — this is a plain-English overview pending verification, not legal advice.

What to know

How the rules play out in Ohio.

Ohio's college NIL framework layers a 2021 executive order (third-party NIL) with a 2024 executive order and HB 315 (signed January 2025, institutional direct pay) and HB 184 (signed December 2025, effective March 2026, adding contract-duration limits and athlete-agent notice rules) — all now fully in force. OHSAA's November 2025 Bylaw 4-11 allows high-school NIL but bans school marks, in-season promotion, and collective/booster funding, requiring 14-day disclosure; a 2026 bill to reverse it and ban HS NIL outright stalled a few votes short, with its sponsor saying it will be reintroduced in January 2027, so the current allowance is holding rather than imminently threatened. College-level collectives (e.g., Ohio State's Buckeye Sports Group and THE Foundation) remain fully legal and active, subject only to the national $600 NIL Go disclosure/clearinghouse threshold from the House settlement, not any Ohio-specific dollar cap.

Who governs NIL in Ohio

Ohio's college NIL rules started with Governor DeWine's Executive Order 2021-10D in June 2021 and were codified that year through the HB 110 budget bill as Chapter 3376 of the Revised Code, effective September 30, 2021. The chapter was substantially amended by HB 315, effective April 3, 2025, aligning state law with the House settlement era. High school NIL arrived much later: OHSAA member schools approved Bylaw 4-11 in an emergency referendum in November 2025, making Ohio reportedly the 45th state to permit prep NIL.

What Chapter 3376 actually says

Section 3376.02, as amended by HB 315:

§ 3376.02(A)(1): no state institution or private college shall uphold any rule that prevents a student-athlete from fully participating in intercollegiate athletics because the athlete earns compensation for use of their name, image, or likeness, or any other compensation related to the student-athlete's position on the roster of an intercollegiate athletics team.
§ 3376.02(A)(2): the same protection applies when an athlete obtains professional representation from an athlete agent or attorney.
§ 3376.02(B): NIL compensation and professional representation shall not affect scholarship eligibility or renewal.

High-school rules

OHSAA Bylaw 4-11 lets student-athletes be compensated for appearances, licensing, social media content, endorsements, and other personal branding tied to their public recognition. Member schools approved it 447-121 in a November 2025 vote that was reportedly moved up six months after a lawsuit and temporary restraining order over a top football recruit's NIL rights. The bylaw keeps pay-for-play, recruiting inducements, and use of school names or logos off limits, and reporting indicates deals in categories like gambling, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, firearms, and adult entertainment are prohibited, with school-focused collectives barred. Students and parents must disclose each agreement to the OHSAA within 14 days, including a notarized affirmation page and a full copy of the agreement; failure to disclose can bring ineligibility or other penalties.

The practical read

An Ohio college athlete has statutory protection for NIL deals, agents, and, since the 2025 amendment, roster-related compensation, which is the state-law hook for direct school pay under the House settlement. Deals of six hundred dollars or more go through NIL Go review. An Ohio high schooler can now sign NIL deals too, but the OHSAA's disclosure clock, its notarization requirement, and its category bans make paperwork mistakes the fastest way to lose eligibility.

What's moving

HB 315's changes took effect April 3, 2025, and the Legislative Service Commission updates Chapter 3376 as it reviews further enactments; additional NIL bills saw activity in the 2025-26 session. On the prep side, Bylaw 4-11 took effect immediately after the November 2025 vote and the OHSAA has been building out its NIL Resource Center, so the association's guidance is still fresh and could be refined.

Go deeper

Compare states, then run your numbers.

Compare Ohio with every other state in the NIL Rules by State tracker, estimate your take-home on NIL income with the free NIL Tax Calculator, and see what your name, image, and likeness is actually worth with HDBND's free athlete tools.

Frequently asked questions

Is college NIL legal in Ohio?: Yes — college athletes in Ohio can earn from their name, image, and likeness. Status: Legal (state law). Ohio has its own NIL statute layered on top of NCAA policy and the House settlement. Confirm the current rules with each school's compliance office.
Can high school athletes earn NIL in Ohio?: High-school NIL status in Ohio: Allowed, per Executive orders (2021, 2024) + HB 315/HB 184 (2025-26) + OHSAA Bylaw 4-11 (HS). It's generally permitted under the association's amateurism and recruiting guardrails. This is a general overview, not legal advice.
Do athletes have to disclose NIL deals in Ohio?: The working disclosure threshold here is "$600." Under the House settlement, third-party deals at or above $600 at participating schools go to the NIL Go clearinghouse for review; some schools ask for every deal. Confirm your school's exact process.
Can Ohio schools pay their athletes directly now?: State law no longer stands in the way. The 2025 amendment to section 3376.02 protects compensation related to a student-athlete's position on the roster, which accommodates the direct revenue sharing the House settlement allows, subject to the settlement's cap and rules. Whether and how much a given school pays is up to that school. Ask the athletic department's compliance office how their program works.
What happens if an Ohio high schooler misses the 14-day disclosure window?: The OHSAA requires each NIL agreement to be disclosed within 14 days, with a notarized affirmation and a full copy of the agreement submitted through its reporting form. Reporting indicates late or missing disclosure can mean ineligibility or other penalties under the association's bylaws. File early and keep the confirmation. Verify current procedures with the OHSAA NIL Resource Center before you sign.
Can an Ohio high school athlete take a deal from a booster collective?: Reportedly no. Coverage of Bylaw 4-11 indicates collectives are strictly prohibited at the high school level, and deals cannot be used as inducements to attend a particular school or involve school names and logos. Deals need to come from independent businesses on the student's own merit. Confirm any offer's structure with your athletic director and the OHSAA first.

Sources

Ohio Rev. Code § 3376.02 (institutional prohibitions regarding NIL) — Ohio Legislative Service Commission (codes.ohio.gov)
OHSAA NIL Resource Center (Bylaw 4-11) — Ohio High School Athletic Association
Ohio High School Athletes Can Now Benefit from NIL Opportunities — Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
NCAA Name, Image and Likeness (NIL Go and disclosure rules) — NCAA