On October 20th, an Ohio judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing Ohio high school athletes to profit from name, image, and likeness deals. The TRO comes out of a lawsuit filed by Jasmine Brown on behalf of her son, Jamier Brown[1]. Brown is the country’s top wide receiver for the class of 2027 and has already committed to play for The Ohio State University.
The lawsuit seeks to allow Brown to benefit from his name, image, and likeness while he is in high school. According to the complaint, Brown has the earning power of more than $100,000 per year, and the ban has caused him to miss out on this compensation[2]. The complaint names the Ohio High School Athletic Association (“OHSAA”), claiming that the ban not only allows for the unequal treatment of Ohio high school student athletes, but also unlawfully suppresses their economic liberties, freedom of expression, and restrains competition in the NIL marketplace[3].
The temporary restraining order issued on Monday not only allows Brown to profit from his NIL, but for all students who are a part of the 818 high schools in the OHSAA to enter into and profit off from their own NIL deals[4]. The judge said that restraining the enforcement of OHSAA’s NIL ban will help to align Ohio’s policies with most other states in the country, since Ohio’s ban is atypical from a national student athlete perspective[5]. Currently, Ohio is one of six states that prohibits high school athletes from profiting from their NIL, while the other 44 states allow for high school students to earn in some capacity[6]. The TRO will block OHSAA from enforcing its NIL ban at least until the preliminary injunction hearing that will happen on December 15th[7].
OHSAA previously struck down a NIL proposal back in 2022, maintaining that the restriction on high school NIL provides a clear line of distinction between educationally based athletics and professional sports[8]. Recently, the OHSAA board of directors approved language for another NIL proposal that they had originally planned to vote on in May, but because of the lawsuit, the vote has been moved up to early November[9]. The proposed bylaw would allow high school student-athletes to enter into NIL agreements and would also establish reporting procedures and limitations so students do not jeopardize their athletic eligibility[10].
[1] Pete Thamel, Lawsuit seeks to allow top high school WR to profit from NIL, ESPN (October 15, 2025).
[2] Thamel, supra note 1.
[3] Id.
[4] Joe Reedy, Judge grants temporary order allowing high school athletes in Ohio to profit from NIL deals, Associated Press (October 20, 2025).
[5] Michael McCann, Ohio’s High School NIL Ban Blocked by Football Star’s Lawsuit, Sportico (October 21, 2025)
[6] Reedy, supra note 4.
[7] McCann, supra note 5.
[8] Id.
[9] Joe Reedy, High Schools in Ohio will vote in special election next month to allow NIL for athletes, Associated Press (October 23, 2025).
[10] Reedy, supra note 9.
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