Committee advances bill to codify GHSA rules on high-school NIL, add sunset for agreements

The Georgia House Committee on Education voted to advance House Bill 383 (LC492009), a measure that would place statutory guardrails around name, image and likeness (NIL) arrangements for high school student athletes. The committee’s action followed testimony from GHSA leadership and several committee members.

Under the bill as presented, the legislature would codify existing GHSA NIL guidelines, prohibit use of school mascots and logos in high‑school NIL deals, and require that NIL contracts for high‑school athletes include a sunset clause so agreements terminate when the student is no longer a high‑school athlete and must be renegotiated at the collegiate or professional level.

Sponsor explanation and GHSA testimony Sponsor Representative Cox (introduced the bill as House Bill 383, LC492009) said the bill “is putting guardrails around NIL and high school sports” by codifying what GHSA already does and by ensuring contracts expire at the high‑school level.

Dr. Hines, identified in the transcript as a former GHSA executive director, told the committee GHSA supports the bill and that it “codifies what we’re doing already.” He said GHSA has not experienced large problems with NIL at the high‑school level and described the number of current NIL agreements in Georgia as small (the transcript noted 57 student agreements reported to the committee).

Why it matters Supporters said the statute will protect student athletes from long-term or predatory contracts that follow them into college or professional careers by requiring contractual sunsets and limiting use of school intellectual property. Committee members asked whether other states have experienced problems and whether GHSA supports codification; GHSA’s representative said the association favors the bill.

Committee action and vote A motion to report HB 383 favorably (“do pass”) was made and seconded. Committee members approved the bill by voice vote; the transcript records “Your bill carries,” with no roll-call tally recorded in the committee transcript.

Details noted in discussion - Contract sunset: Sponsor described language that would nullify a high‑school NIL agreement once the athlete is no longer a high‑school player so the athlete can renegotiate at the collegiate level. - Scope: The bill applies to K–12 student athletes at the high‑school level, with statutory language addressing minors and minor-league contracts. - Current scale: The transcript recorded that the committee was told there were 57 current NIL agreements reported in Georgia at the time of the hearing.

Next steps The committee voted to advance HB 383 to the next stage. The transcript does not include a roll-call vote or named mover/second for the final committee motion; the committee recorded approval by voice.