By Andy Walter

DOVER — They are just three letters.

But put together, NIL has brought some huge changes to the college sports landscape.

Court cases eventually led the NCAA to allow student-athletes to be paid for use of their name, image and likeness.

And while the idea seems simple enough, it’s led to schools creating “collectives” which basically pay those student-athletes to come to their schools — or to stay there.

Not surprisingly, NIL is now part of high school athletics.

The DIAA is currently working on NIL regulations for Delaware. On Thursday, though, the DIAA board of directors postponed a vote on the new rule until its next meeting on March 21.

The new rule still would need to be signed off on by the state Board of Education at the end of the school year.

However, with over 30 states, including the ones surrounding Delaware, already allowing it, most people assume it is inevitable that the First State will permit NIL as well.

“We’re going to have to confront it,” DIAA board member Dorrell Green said on Thursday.

Clearly, the amount of money and opportunities at the high school level are far less than in major-college sports.

The top NIL-earning college athletes reportedly make over $1 million now, headed by USC basketball player Bronny James at around $6 million.

So how does that picture translate to Delaware high school sports?

Nobody knows for sure.

“I think there’s a couple areas of concern,” said DIAA executive director Dave Baylor. “Number one is, will this create a division between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots?’ And that concern is, will the private schools benefit from this more than the public schools?

“I don’t have an answer to that. I just know that concern is out there.

“The other concern out there is will this create a situation where kids are trying to excel in sports to try to get money? Those are things we obviously have to take into account when something like this passes. Then you have to worry about boosters and all the other elements in this.”

Looking at the turmoil NIL has caused in college sports, DIAA board member Lenny Richardson said he hopes Delaware approaches the issue cautiously.

“I’ll be honest,” said Richardson, the former Polytech High athletic director and coach, “I’m terrified of NIL.”

New DIAA executive director Dave Baylor was formerly on the University of Delaware football program. University of Delaware sports information photo.

Delmar field hockey coach Jodi Hollamon clearly believes NIL is a good thing for Delaware.

She was one of the first people to contact the DIAA about making NIL money legal last year.

“I think it should have happened before now, in all honesty,” said Hollamon. “It’s moving forward, in the right direction, for good reason.”

Both her daughters, Josie and Jordyn, had the chance to endorse field-hockey stick manufacturer STX.

Josie, who is now playing in college at Maryland, could make the deal. Jordyn, a junior at Delmar High, could not.

It should be pointed out that the Hollamon sisters are the exception not the rule among Delaware high school athletes. As members of U.S. national teams, they both have higher visibility in the sport.

Jodi Hollamon believes NIL will really end up making a big impact on only a very few high school student-athletes in the state.

“I think there’s a lot of people who don’t understand,” she said. “I think they foresee kids riding around in a Porsche because they’re a good high school athlete. No.

“In the sport of field hockey, you might see a couple of players sponsored by a STX. They’re just given the stick to play with and then use their social-media platform to promote that stick. That kind of thing. You’re not talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

In a world where elite high school athletes are expected to play their sport year-round, many of them don’t have the flexibility to work jobs.

Playing sports, of course, can cost a lot of money. Travel and hotel bills can pile up quickly for families.

“I think it’s important because a lot of times these same athletes can’t have jobs because their sport is their job,” said Hollamon.

Like most high school athletes, Caesar Rodney High wrestler Trevor Copes is in favor of student-athletes having the right to be paid. But he also realizes there are limitations.

“I’m a big fan of it,” said Copes. “But, in wrestling, there’s really not much money to make. In football, there’s big social-media platforms for it.
“I like it. A lot of kids in high school are looking to make money because it’s hard to get a job, especially when you’re in a sport.”

Delmar head coach Jodi Hollamon huddles with her team on the sidelines as the game clock ticked off the final seconds giving the Wildcats a 5-0 over …

.... on the other hand

It’s not difficult to see the potential for major problems with high school NIL.
The combination of the NCAA transfer portal and NIL has led to a number of college athletes simply transferring to the highest bidder.

Maryland football coach Michael Locksley recently told the story of how his third-string running back said he needed $100,000 to stay with the Terrapins.

“I mean, I sat in my office and every meeting I had .... was like, ‘I want this. I want that,’” Locksley was quoted. “And the greatest team sport has now become kind of individualized.”

It should be pointed out that NIL still won’t allow high schools to pay students directly for being athletes. Student-athletes also have to do something in return for NIL money — like promote a sponsor on social media or make appearances.

Colleges collectives raise NIL money to be distributed to student-athletes. They also have people in charge of helping student-athletes find and navigate sponsorships.

What will Delaware high schools be allowed to do?

Recruiting strictly for athletic purposes is against DIAA rules. The current NIL rule proposal would not allow schools to actively promote NIL opportunities for their student-athletes.

Anything identifying the student-athlete’s school — like uniform or logos — would also not be permitted in endorsements.

On the other hand,, it’s not difficult to imagine that some schools will become known for having better NIL opportunities than others.

In a state that has school choice and where private schools win the majority of state championships, would the competitive disparity among schools become even bigger?

Of course, schools with access to donors aren’t only among the private schools.

“Kids are kids, they’re going to talk,” said Baylor. “If there’s one school that seems to be getting NIL deals versus another, guess where kids are going to start to navigate to?”

Coaches also wonder about how NIL will impact team chemistry.

If only one or two players on a team are making any kind of NIL money, how will the rest of the squad feel about it?

Will players start trying to make a name for themselves as individuals rather than putting the team’s goals first?

“At, the end of the day, who are we to essentially stand in the way between opportunities for student-athletes and their families,” said Milford athletic director and football coach Jed Bell. “But it all needs to be done with oversight and a system that actually can be governed and it’s not the ‘wild west.’ You don’t want to see it take away from what interscholastic athletics are.”

Milford High AD/football coach Jed Bell thinks Delaware should allow NIL cautiously. Daily State News/Andy Walter

A new reality

With all that in mind, a big factor in Delaware is how NIL money will be regulated.

Since the concept is still so new, nobody will know for sure what all the issues are until it’s been in place for a while.

There’s no question there will be a learning curve for everyone involved.

Baylor said he’s talked to several officials in other states to see what they’re doing.

“They’ve kind of jumped into it and are having to figure it out as they move along,” he said.

The DIAA, which has only three full-time staff members right now, will probably need more staff to help regulate NIL.

“We don’t have enough staff right now to keep up with what we have,” said Baylor.

Baylor said he believes most parents try to do the right thing. But the introduction of money into the equation always adds the potential for trouble.

“There are some parents that are going to take advantage of this situation, right?,” said Baylor. “All of the aspects to this make it not as easy to just pass the regulation and think, ‘OK, now we have NIL.’

“Now we have NIL, but what does that mean? I think one of the things that we’re going to have to keep in mind is that we’re going to have to be flexible enough that, if we need to, we can tweak our regulations after we pass them. We’re going to need to be ready to do that in a moment’s notice to protect all the kids.”

While there’s some huge differences between high school and college NIL, Bell thinks there’s lessons to be learned from what’s happening in college.

“I think it needs to be approached with caution,” he said. “We want to make sure people are going about it the right way.”

Hollamon, too, realizes there’s potential for problems. But she doesn’t think that should stop Delaware from having NIL.

“As long as people follow the rule and then people are held accountable if they’re not,” said Hollamon, “then I don’t think we should penalize these kids and not allow them to have these opportunities.”

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on X at DSNsports.

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