How to Sponsor an Indiana High School Athlete Legally

Indiana high school student-athletes can now be paid for endorsements, promotions, and appearances. If you're a business looking to work with one, IHSAA Rule 5-7 sets real limits on how those deals can be structured — and getting it wrong jeopardizes the student's eligibility, not just your campaign.

The rule calls these Personal Branding Activities (PBAs). Most people call it NIL, for name, image, and likeness.

Can businesses pay Indiana high school athletes for NIL?

Yes. Under IHSAA Rule 5-7, a business can compensate an Indiana high school student-athlete for NIL work, provided the arrangement stays independent of the student's school and athletic performance.

What that permits:

• Paying a student to promote your product or service on their personal social media, with no reference to their school
• Hiring a student for an endorsement or personal appearance unconnected to their school
• Contracting with a student for tutoring, private lessons, or coaching outside of school affiliation
• Supporting a student's independent personal brand and content

What NIL deal terms are prohibited?

Don't use school identity. No school name, nickname, logo, mascot, uniform, or references to team achievements — in the ad, the campaign, or the deal itself. This extends to indirect and implied references: anything suggesting endorsement, affiliation, or connection to the school's athletic program can count as school representation.

Don't tie compensation to athletic performance. Pay structured around stats, wins, playing time, or participation in the school's athletic program is prohibited outright, however it's framed — bonuses, tiered pay, performance incentives, all of it.

Don't operate as or through a "collective." If your business, or a group you're part of, functions as a booster entity operating on behalf of a member school, students cannot accept benefits from it under this rule.

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