Short version: Four states say no to high school NIL, and each says it differently. Alabama never uses the word, Hawaii's no covers one sport, Mississippi's is one sentence about state law, and Wyoming's is now a statute.
Our high school map has 51 tiles, the 50 states and D.C. In 44 of them, the state athletic association's own rule lets a high school athlete sign a deal in some form. Four tiles say no: Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi and Wyoming.
On the map, those four look the same. In the rulebooks they don't. Each one gets to no by a different road, and what a student loses, and for how long, changes from state to state. Here's what each text says, quoted.
Alabama: a rule that never says NIL
The Alabama High School Athletic Association's 2026-27 handbook has no name, image or likeness wording anywhere. The no comes from its Amateur Rule, Section 8 of the eligibility bylaws, which opens with four words: "Only amateurs are eligible."
An amateur, it says, "does not use his/her knowledge of athletics or athletic skill for gain." Then the sentence that does the work: "A student who accepts material or financial inducement from any source is ineligible."
Inducement, in plain words, is something of value given to get you to act. The rule makes no exception for a deal. That's why every published list marks Alabama as prohibiting high school NIL. "Prohibited" is the lists' word. The AHSAA's word is "ineligible."
The way back is in the same section. A student who lost amateur standing "may be reinstated after the lapse of one high school season, or until reinstated by the Central Board of Control." One season, out of a career that usually has four.
The same section caps awards at $1,200, with medals, trophies, plaques and AHSAA championship rings left out of that figure. Cash awards and gift cards for playing "may not be given or received." Gift cards from food places are the exception.
Same map color, four different rules. The text is where they part ways.
Hawaii: no, one sport at a time
The Hawaii High School Athletic Association's regulations, revised October 2025, list the ways a student forfeits amateur status in a sport. Item 4 reads: "Having entered into a name image likeness contract related to that sport." Forfeit means you lose it.
The student is then ineligible "for further high school competition in that same sport." The next sentence keeps the other sports open. A student who loses amateur status in one sport "will remain eligible to participate in any other sport" where they still have it.
The regulation doesn't define "related to that sport." It sets no disclosure deadline, no list of banned products and no rule on school logos. Those rules exist in states that allow deals. Hawaii's text doesn't set up a way to sign.
The same paragraph has a rule about prize money. A student may compete for cash prizes "if they declare amateur status in advance" and the winnings are "held in trust" until high school eligibility ends. Held in trust means the money waits until then.
Mississippi: one sentence about state law
The Mississippi High School Activities Association's 2026-27 handbook puts it in a list. Rule 2.39.2 names the acts that cost a student amateur standing. Item 3 is "Accepted money." Item 10 reads: "The state of Mississippi does not allow NIL contracts for high school students."
That's the whole rule. It's written as a statement about state law, and it doesn't name the law. We haven't read a statute behind it, so we're quoting the handbook and stopping there.
There's no NIL process to describe, because there's nothing to process. Prizes have a cap instead. Entering a competition for prizes or merchandise worth more than $1,000 retail costs amateur standing too.
One small thing we noticed while checking. The association posted a new version of its handbook, labeled V7, in October 2026. Rule 2.39 reads the same in it as it did before.
Wyoming: a failed vote, then a law
Wyoming nearly went the other way. In April 2025 the Wyoming High School Activities Association's board voted 12 to 4, on first reading, for proposed rules "permitting Wyoming high school students to benefit from NIL."
A rule there needs a second reading. On October 2, 2025, the board's minutes record it in two words: "MOTION FAILS." The handbook stayed as it was, and it still reads that way for 2026-27.
Its Rule 5.7.2 says a student forfeits amateur status by "Capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money, gifts of monetary value, or merchandise." Rule 5.7.4 makes a violation cost eligibility "in the sport concerned."
Then the legislature wrote it into law. Gov. Mark Gordon signed Senate File 53 on March 3, 2026. It took effect July 1, 2026, as W.S. 21-25-401. Of the four states, it's the only no we've read in a statute.
The statute names NIL outright. A student forfeits amateur status by capitalizing on "the student's name, image or likeness" by receiving money or other consideration "related to competing in that sport or activity." Consideration is the legal word for anything of value.
A violation "shall result in the student becoming ineligible to participate in the sport or activity concerned." The statute lists ten things that don't count, such as money from a family member or a small fee for refereeing youth sports.
The four, side by side
| State | Where the no is written | Does it say NIL? | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AHSAA Amateur Rule, Section 8 | No | Eligibility; back after one high school season, or by the Central Board of Control |
| Hawaii | HHSAA regulations, Section 2, paragraph I, item 4 | Yes | Eligibility in the sport the contract relates to |
| Mississippi | MHSAA Rule 2.39.2, item 10 | Yes | Amateur standing |
| Wyoming | WHSAA Rule 5.7.2, and W.S. 21-25-401 since July 1, 2026 | The statute does | Eligibility in the sport concerned |
What sits on top of the rule
These are association rules. A school or district can be stricter, and a private school in another association follows that association's rule. Rules move, too. Wyoming's went from a proposed yes to a no in state law in under a year.
Lists move slower than rules. Indiana, which older lists still show as no, allows deals from 2026-27 as "Personal Branding Activity." Each state's page on our map quotes its rule and shows the day we read it.
What Leave does with this
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for your state, level and age. If you're 13 to 17, a parent or guardian creates your account, and businesses see you only when they turn that on and your state allows it.
It's a summary of the published rule, not a ruling on your eligibility. Your association's current text and your athletic director have the last word. Leave takes 0 percent of any deal. You decide what to sign.
Questions people ask
Does an NIL contract cost a Hawaii athlete every sport?
No. The HHSAA regulation forfeits amateur status in the sport the contract relates to. The same paragraph says a student who loses amateur status in one sport stays eligible in any other sport where they keep it.
Is Wyoming's rule a state law now?
Yes. W.S. 21-25-401 took effect July 1, 2026. A student forfeits amateur status by capitalizing on their name, image or likeness for money or other consideration related to competing in that sport, and becomes ineligible in it.
Does Alabama's handbook mention NIL at all?
No. The 2026-27 AHSAA handbook has no name, image or likeness wording. Its amateur rule says a student who accepts material or financial inducement from any source is ineligible, and that sentence is why lists mark Alabama as no.
Be your own agent. Leave.