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Committee advances bill to codify high school NIL rules and add contract sunset for student-athletes
Summary
The House Education Committee advanced House Bill 383 (LC492009) to codify Georgia High School Association NIL guidelines for K–12 athletes, prohibit the use of school marks in most NIL agreements, and add a sunset so agreements expire when the student-athlete leaves high school.
The House Education Committee voted to advance legislation that would codify high school name, image and likeness (NIL) rules and add protections intended to prevent long-term contracts signed by young student-athletes from affecting later collegiate or professional earnings.
Representative Cox introduced House Bill 383 (LC492009), describing the measure as a codification of current Georgia High School Association (GHSA) guidelines at the statutory level and as adding a sunset provision so NIL contracts would terminate once a student is no longer a high school athlete. The bill also would bar use of high school logos and mascots in NIL agreements, the sponsor said.
Dr. Hines, identified in the transcript as a former executive director of GHSA, told the committee GHSA supports the bill and that the association does not see the same level of problems in high school NIL that have appeared at the collegiate level. He said the main risk the bill addresses is long-duration private contracts signed when athletes are still young that could create entitlements on later, much larger contracts at the college or professional level; a sunset would limit that risk.
Committee questions focused on scope and existing practice. One member asked whether GHSA is comfortable with the bill; Dr. Hines replied, “We like the bill… it codifies what we're doing already.” Another lawmaker asked whether the legislation applies to K–12 generally or only to high school; the sponsor confirmed the statutory language targets high school student-athletes and that existing language on page 5 outlines how minors’ contracts and sunsets would operate. The sponsor told the committee there are currently 57 student-athletes in Georgia with NIL agreements, most of modest local value.
The committee moved the bill with a motion to approve and later recorded a voice vote. The transcript shows the committee advanced the bill; it does not show a roll-call tally in the record.
Why it matters: the bill formalizes existing GHSA rules in state law, adds a contractual sunset to limit long-term encumbrances on a student’s future earnings, and clarifies what uses of school intellectual property are permitted.
