South Dakota High School Sports Embraces NIL: A Ripple or a Wave?

Remember when high school sports were all about school spirit, Friday night lights, and maybe a letterman jacket if you were lucky? Yeah, me too. But the game done changed, my friends. In a move that surprised some and had others saying “bout time,” South Dakota high schools decided that, yep, even teenagers can get a piece of that sweet, sweet NIL pie.

That’s right, in twenty-twenty-four, the Mount Rushmore State made it official: student-athletes can now cash in on their name, image, and likeness. Think local car dealerships with the star quarterback posing by a pickup truck, or maybe the state champ volleyball team repping that trendy coffee shop downtown. It’s a whole new ball game, and honestly, nobody’s quite sure if it’s gonna be a home run or a foul ball just yet.

While some folks are cheering from the sidelines, others are wringing their hands, worried about the potential pitfalls. But early predictions say the initial impact, especially here in the land of wide-open spaces, is likely to be pretty, well, minimal. Think more gentle ripple than a tidal wave. At least for now.

SDHSAA Says “Yes” to NIL, but with a Few Caveats

You gotta hand it to South Dakota, they don’t shy away from a little frontier spirit. Even with all the potential headaches, a whopping one hundred and fifteen out of one hundred and twenty-two schools voted “heck yeah!” to NIL. Guess they figured, if the big dogs in college can do it, why not us?

But hold your horses, buckaroos. It’s not a free-for-all. The South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA), those guardians of gridiron glory and all things prep sports, slapped some rules and regulations on this whole NIL shebang. No way were they gonna let this turn into the wild, wild west of high school sports.

First off, schools and booster clubs? Totally hands-off. They can’t be directly involved in an athlete’s NIL deals. That means no shady backroom deals or using the promise of endorsements to lure a star player to their school. Nope, the SDHSAA is all about keeping things above board, at least that’s the idea.

And another thing, no using school logos or uniforms in NIL deals. Want your star point guard sporting a local pizza joint’s T-shirt for their Instagram ad? Fine. But don’t even think about slapping the school’s mascot on there too. The SDHSAA wants to keep those lines clear. High school pride? Absolutely. Commercialization of education? Not so much.

NIL in High School Sports: It Was Bound to Happen, Right?

Let’s be real, folks. Denying high school athletes the same money-making opportunities as their college counterparts or, heck, even their classmates who are TikTok famous, was starting to feel kinda ridiculous. It’s like showing up to a gunfight with a butter knife. Just doesn’t make sense.

The whole idea of “amateurism” in college sports has been circling the drain for a while now. And with the floodgates open at the college level, it was only a matter of time before NIL came trickling down to the high school ranks. South Dakota might be one of the first, but they definitely won’t be the last. This train has left the station, my friends, and it’s full steam ahead.