NIL Library / NIL-026
Ohio Made a Documentary About NIL Contracts. Here Is What Every Family Needs to Know.
A local news station in Columbus, Ohio just launched a documentary series to teach families how to read an NIL contract. I am a sports photographer who works with young athletes, and when I saw that, my first thought was: a TV news crew had to do this because nobody else did.
NIL is now legal for high school athletes in most states. The contracts are real, the eligibility consequences are real, and the families signing them are often doing it without a playbook. ABC6 On Your Side launched a series called NIL Kids, and what they found is exactly what I see from the outside of these conversations all the time.
What the series is and what it found
ABC6 Columbus launched NIL Kids on June 22, 2026. Reporters Rodney Dunigan and Matt Fonow follow a real two-sport Ohio high school athlete and her family as they sit down with NIL attorney Luke Fedlam and go through what an NIL contract actually looks like, what the eligibility consequences of signing can be, and what to watch out for before anyone picks up a pen.
The series is playing out against a live legislative fight. Ohio's high school athletic association allowed NIL, with 47 percent of member schools voting in favor. But a bill in the state legislature, HB 661, would ban high school NIL in Ohio entirely, and it reportedly has enough support to be a real threat. A family navigating this in June 2026 genuinely does not know what the rules will be in September.
What families need to know before any offer arrives
Here is what Fedlam and others in this space have been saying consistently, and what the series documents. Most families are not bad at this because they are uninformed. They are behind because nobody with authority gave them a roadmap when the rules changed.
The practical things every family should understand before an NIL offer arrives:
First, disclosure. Most states that allow high school NIL require the athlete to report the deal to their athletic director within a specific window, often 48 to 72 hours of signing. A missed deadline can mean a missed season.
Second, eligibility impact. A poorly structured deal can create problems at the college level. Schools and conferences have their own rules about what NIL history looks like for an incoming freshman. A local business deal that seemed simple can create complications you did not see coming.
Third, who is in the room. When a brand, a collective, or a business sits across from a fifteen-year-old and their parent, the other side has done this before. The family usually has not. An hour with an attorney before signing, not after, is the whole difference.
The Ohio fight, and what it means beyond Ohio
The HB 661 situation in Ohio is worth watching even if you are not in Ohio. Every state that has opened high school NIL has also seen pushback from legislators, coaches, and school administrators worried about recruiting chaos, competitive equity, and the pressure it puts on kids. Ohio is the most active front right now, but it will not be the last.
If you are in a state where high school NIL is currently allowed, the most conservative and protective thing you can do is have the conversation before a deal arrives. Not because NIL is dangerous, but because a rule that changes is better navigated by a family that understood the rule in the first place.
What to do right now
You do not need a documentary series or an expensive attorney on retainer to get started. You need three things. First, look up your state's specific rules around high school NIL, the NFHS and your state's athletic association are the starting point. Second, talk to your school's athletic director about what disclosure looks like at your school, because they are often the first checkpoint. Third, when an actual deal arrives, before signing anything, have someone with legal or business experience read it with you.
Your kid's name, their tape, their following, that is already an asset. Knowing what it is before anyone comes calling is the whole advantage.
Source: ABC6 On Your Side, Columbus, OH (June 22, 2026). This is education and observation, not legal or financial advice.
Source: ABC6 On Your Side (Columbus