Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 383: Georgia High School NIL Protection Act; enact
Last action February 12, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred
House Bill 383 would create the Georgia High School NIL Protection Act, letting high school student athletes earn money for their name, image, or likeness while barring schools and boosters from paying them to attend or play.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia currently has no statewide framework governing whether high school athletes can be paid for endorsements, social media posts, or similar name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. This bill creates one. It lets student athletes at public and private high schools receive NIL compensation, but bars any school, booster club, or athletic association from using NIL payments as a recruiting inducement to get a student to attend or stay at a particular school. It also bans athletes from wearing school gear or referencing their school while doing paid endorsements, and from endorsing products like alcohol, tobacco, gambling, firearms, or adult content. The bill requires NIL contracts to expire automatically within 10 days of graduation or 30 days after a student leaves the school, requires schools to give athletes written notice of the rules each season, and lets athletes hire certified agents or lawyers. It also updates Georgia's child labor law so minors can be compensated for use of their name, image, or likeness with the Labor Commissioner's consent. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it and would apply to contracts entered into or renewed after that date.
What the bill does
- Allows high school student athletes in Georgia to receive compensation for use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL), subject to new restrictions.
- Prohibits schools, booster groups, and their staff from paying student athletes NIL compensation as an inducement to attend or stay at a particular school.
- Bars athletes receiving NIL money from wearing school gear, referencing their school, or endorsing products like alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons, or adult content while doing paid promotions.
- Requires any NIL contract to automatically end within 10 days of graduation or 30 days after a student stops attending the school.
- Requires participating schools to give each student athlete written notice at the start of each sports season explaining these NIL rules and how they affect future college eligibility.
- Amends Georgia's child labor law (O.C.G.A. § 39-2-18) so minors can be compensated for use of their name, image, or likeness with the Labor Commissioner's written consent.
Who it affects
High school student athletes and their parents, public and private high schools and their staff, athletic associations that govern interscholastic sports, booster clubs and businesses that might pay athletes for endorsements, certified athlete agents and attorneys, and the state Department of Labor, which approves related minor employment consents.
Why it matters
Georgia high schoolers would gain a legal path to earn endorsement money, something not currently addressed in state law, while facing guardrails meant to keep NIL deals separate from school recruiting and to prevent contracts from binding a student beyond graduation or transfer.
Key provisions
- Section 2 adds a new Article 32A to Title 20 defining key terms like 'NIL compensation,' 'student athlete,' 'participating school,' and 'athletic association.'
- Code Section 20-2-2105.2 clarifies that scholarships covering enrollment costs do not count as NIL compensation.
- Code Section 20-2-2105.3 permits NIL compensation but bans payments tied to attending a particular school and bans endorsements of alcohol, tobacco, vapor products, cannabis, gambling, weapons, adult content, and products restricted to adults.
- Code Section 20-2-2105.4 requires schools to notify student athletes in writing at the start of each season about these rules and college eligibility effects.
- Code Section 20-2-2105.6 voids any contract provision that lets NIL deals survive more than 10 days past graduation or 30 days past enrollment ending.
- Code Section 20-2-2105.7 bars athletic associations from penalizing student athletes or schools for lawful NIL compensation, and conditions public school participation on association rules complying with this article.
- Code Section 20-2-2105.8 guarantees athletes the right to hire certified athlete agents or licensed attorneys, who must follow the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act.
- Section 3 amends the child labor law (O.C.G.A. § 39-2-18) to let minors be compensated for use of their name, image, or likeness with Labor Commissioner consent, subject to the same content restrictions.
From the bill
“No current or prospective student athlete shall be provided or shall receive NIL compensation in exchange, in whole or in part, for attending, participating, or performing at a particular participating school or a postsecondary educational institution.”
“No contract that provides for NIL compensation to a student athlete shall survive after the earlier of: (1) Ten calendar days after the date upon which such student athlete graduates from a participating school”
Discussed in meetings (7)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Education Committee, January 29, 2026
From 1:29:32 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair announced that the Policy and Innovation Subcommittee would take up HB 383 at Monday’s meeting. The committee did not discuss the bill’s contents or vote on it.
House Education Committee, February 5, 2026
From 0:31:20 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 383 would prevent high school name, image and likeness contracts from continuing into athletes' college careers. The sponsor described a proposed contract that could have reduced a student's future $1 million college agreement by $100,000 through continuing agent fees. The sponsor emphasized that the bill regulated existing activity rather than newly authorizing it. Members supported clearer education for families. One member suggested future consideration of trust accounts for large payments and raised concerns about recruiting through rent payments. Another asked about financial literacy and prohibited sponsors. The sponsor said agents would be accountable under law for prohibited arrangements involving products such as alcohol, tobacco and pornography, and courts would determine consequences. The sponsor favored education through athletic associations rather than mandatory trusts, citing parental responsibility and administrative costs. The committee adopted an amendment extending protection to eighth graders participating in, or eligible for, high school athletics. A second amendment replaced a reference to a repealed law with an updated definition covering the same postsecondary institutions, according to legislative counsel. The committee approved both amendments and the amended bill by voice votes, with no opposition heard.
House Rules Committee, February 9, 2026
From 0:39:34 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 383, the Georgia High School NIL Protection Act, would place limits on student athletes' name, image and likeness contracts. The sponsor said students would no longer be bound by those contracts after graduation and would have to renegotiate at the next level. No questions were asked, and the committee took no calendar action.
House Rules Committee, February 10, 2026
From 0:32:30 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 523
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 383 on the next day's calendar. The motion received a second, and no opposition was stated. No discussion of the bill's contents was shown.
House floor session, February 11, 2026 (legislative day 17)
From 2:06:32 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 540
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 383 adds protections to high school athletes' name, image and likeness compensation contracts, rather than first authorizing such compensation. The sponsor described an athlete whose agent's 10% fee could continue into college and professional sports because the contract had no end date. A member speaking in favor said the proposal lets athletes make new contract decisions after high school. Members asked about financial education, unethical parents, team sponsorships and logos. The sponsor said athletic associations would provide educational videos, parents and guardians would be responsible for reviewing contracts with minors, and existing child-actor laws would address parental misconduct. The sponsor distinguished individual endorsements from team sponsorships and said athletes could not use school logos or promote their school in these deals. Another member urged broader financial education. During voting, a member welcomed a provision delaying distribution until graduation. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill, 171 to 0.
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
Show full history (9 actions)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Brent Cox (R, HD-28)
- Trey Rhodes (R, HD-124)
- Chas Cannon (R, HD-172)
- Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
- Chris Erwin (R, HD-32)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 11, 2026
171 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 5 excused)
Topics
- high school sports
- NIL compensation
- student athletes
- athletic associations
- child labor law