Opinion: The MHSAA’s Approval of NIL Is A Terrible Mistake
By Justin Scott
Why NIL Is Bad for Lowell High School Athletics
First off. For those who have followed me for a long time, you know I’m an adament defender of Lowell. The River Cities move made complete sense, especially for program’s like tennis long stuck in a conference they couldn’t compete for. I support the position that private schools have too much of an advantage over public school in athletics, having gone to Lowell and knowing the significant advantages that private schools have compared to Lowell. It’s one of the two opinions I have that are generally speaking public knowledge over the course of my work the last 15-20 years.
Now you’ll get the third. I don’t like NIL, and really don’t like that it’s in high schools.
To be clear, there are high schoolers that will get NIL in Lowell. I 100% support you and your newfound right to make some side money off your name. It is the potential negative effects I’m not thrilled with.
Background, I’m a Western Michigan University graduate. That’s my college team. I don’t like a lot of the Big Ten schools, and will lean Michigan State if you ask, but overall the Broncos are my team. That’s definitely rare in this day, but is important context in my opinion. NIL and the “pay to play” system that took over college sports at the D1 level has made the sport worse, and deepened the gap between WMU and the “larger” college programs.
I am not opposed to the idea that a college player should be able to make money off some autographs, memorabilia, and being in say the NCAA Football video games right? That was the general initial concept that Ed O’Bannon was fighting for.
Of course, in collegiate sports that completely changed and now you have college football teams, basketball teams, primarily, paying tens of millions to players just to compete. It’s blown up and I would again argue, made the sport worse. That’s what I don’t agree with.
Back to high school. Let’s walk through exactly what the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s new rule is, and how it affects us today.
What the MHSAA NIL Rule Is
Under the brand new, approved on the 27th of January 2026, current MHSAA policy, high school athletes are allowed to earn compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness. Michigan was the 46th state to approve this. It wasn’t super unexpected. It’s still a big deal. This can include activities such as social media endorsements, personal appearances, camps, private lessons, or promotions for businesses.
The key point is that NIL compensation must be independent of school involvement. Schools cannot arrange deals, promote athletes for profit, or use NIL as a recruiting tool.
Compensation must reflect fair market value, and it cannot be tied to athletic performance, playing time, statistics, or awards.
In short, athletes can profit from who they are, not from what their school can provide.
What the MHSAA NIL Rule Is Not
NIL does not allow pay for play. It does not allow boosters to promise money in exchange for enrolling at a specific school. This is already a rule. It does not allow schools or coaches to broker deals, and it does not allow athletes to use school uniforms, logos, or facilities to promote NIL activities unless explicitly permitted.
The MHSAA has been clear that NIL is not meant to professionalize high school sports. However, even with those guardrails in place, the real world impact tells a different story.
Why NIL Is Bad for Lowell Athletics
I would argue, NIL is bad at the high school level IN GENERAL. Specifically for Lowell though, I don’t like it even more.
Lowell High School has built its athletic success on community support and a “grit style attitude”. Lowell doesn’t churn out D1 athletes. We’re a small town, and we’re going to put our nose to the grindstone and outwork you as a team. NIL shifts attention away from team success and toward individual branding. That alone creates tension in a locker room where teammates are supposed to be equals.
I golfed at LHS. I didn’t football. I didn’t wrestle. We played for the logo on our chest though. We had a great team. Brandon Poll still holds the school 18 hole record. Joey Gauck and Ben Hart played at Olivet. Aaron Anderson and Luke Kloosterman can still beat me by 10 strokes if we played tomorrow. Point is, we weren’t thinking about endorsements or college golf every week, we just went out and had fun.
When one athlete is making money and another is not, even if both are contributing, it changes dynamics. Resentment does not need to be spoken to exist. High school athletes are still teenagers, and expecting them to navigate income, contracts, public perception, and jealousy is unrealistic.
NIL also favors sports with higher visibility. Football, wrestling, and basketball players benefit far more than swimmers, golfers, cross country runners, or band members who also represent the school with pride. Lowell has always celebrated all programs. NIL creates a hierarchy that did not previously exist.
There is also a community concern. It’s tough getting advertising. LHS athletics used advertising this year to ensure that they had defibrillators in place at their sporting events. That advertising money matters. Lowell’s not a big enough market that businesses should be paying kids to do their marketing.
NIL introduces private financial incentives into a system that has long been structured around kids being kids. That erodes the idea that athletes represent their school first, not their personal brand.
I fear that large corporations will begin to get involved with high school sports as big donors did with college football.
Finally, NIL opens the door to recruiting pressure particulary from private schools. Even more than it already exists. if rules forbid it, money talks. Families will notice where opportunities exist, and schools with larger markets or looser oversight will gain advantages. That threatens competitive balance across conferences and divisions. I have discussed at length the financial disparity Lowell has against wealthier districts and how that’s led to losses over the years. It does matter.
High School Sports Are Not College Sports
The argument in favor of NIL is often fairness. If a business wants to pay an athlete, why stop them. That argument works better at the college level, where athletes are adults in a national entertainment industry.
High school sports are different. They are educational, developmental, and local. They are meant to teach teamwork, discipline, and humility, not brand management. The stress of making a few hundred dollars on the side far outweighs that benefit.
The MHSAA NIL rule may be well intentioned, but intention does not equal outcome. For a program like Lowell, NIL risks undermining the very values that make high school athletics special.
High school sports should be about representing your school, your teammates, and your town. Once money enters that equation, something important is lost.
