TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida High School Athletic Association voted unanimously Tuesday to allow student athletes to cash in on their name, image and likeness.

The ruling will let high school athletes have endorsement deals while still being eligible to play in high school sports.

This new approval makes Florida the 36th state to allow high school student athletes to profit NIL deals.

But with the approval comes limitations

Only parents and guardians of the high school athlete may negotiate such deals. There would also be consequences for violations, from formal warnings to athletic bans.

Student-athletes will not be allowed to use their school name, logo, or uniform without prior consent from their school district. Other rules prohibit NIL deals to recruit athletes. And high school athletes who transfer schools in season will be prohibited from securing a NIL agreement that season unless under certain circumstances.

Staff with Addition Financial Credit Union provide financial literacy and educational resources for young athletes taking NIL deals. They say this now impacts a family’s ability to make positive financial decisions.

“You may see a dollar amount coming from an organization to support this student and we're like, 'Let’s discuss this,' because we don’t want to put them into a situation where they are seeing this high dollar amount coming to their checking account and put themselves in a tough situation where they start searching for credit cards to early at an age or affecting their credit score in a negative way before they even graduate from college,” said Richard Barbari, Addition Financial Community Engagement & Partnerships Manager.

With about 40 players on the field learning the plays as they head into the 2024-2025 season, Sanford native and Seminole High School head football coach Karl Calhoun received an opportunity to come back to his hometown two years ago to coach at his alma mater, a job he doesn’t take lightly.

“It’s almost like looking in the mirror," he said. "Some of these kids, I’ve known their parents, cousins. So coming back to where I’m from and building up the community and building up the guys in this community feels really good. It’s a blessing I can’t describe."

Calhoun learned about the NIL approval during practice, but he said the topic is not new. He believes it adds motivation for student athletes.

“I know a lot of people who wish they had it back then," he said. "But the guys whose names, images and likeness is used, I think they should be compensated for that, recognized for that."