Short version: Until this school year, a high school athlete in Indiana couldn't be paid for an ad. In May 2026 the state's association voted 13-5 to allow "Personal Branding Activity," and by October, 54 athletes had deals.
For years, Indiana sat on the "no" list. Published lists of states that let high school athletes earn from their name put Indiana with the few that didn't. For the 2025-26 school year, that was right.
What the old rule said
The Indiana High School Athletic Association, the IHSAA, writes the rules for sports at its member schools. Its rule on amateurism, which means competing without pay, is Rule 5.
In the 2025-26 By-Laws, Rule 5-2 says that to stay an amateur, a student can't have "capitalized on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of a monetary nature." Break it, and you're ineligible in that sport from that day.
The rulebook's questions and answers made it concrete. Could your picture appear in a business's ad? Yes, "provided the student(s), collectively or individually, receive no remuneration from the advertiser." Remuneration means pay.
Getting eligible again took a written request to the commissioner. The conditions included paying back what you got and a wait of 365 days, or another period the commissioner found appropriate.
The vote in May
On May 4, 2026, the IHSAA Board of Directors met for its yearly review of the By-Laws. It approved Personal Branding Activity, PBA for short, by a vote of 13 to 5. It starts with the 2026-27 school year.
The name was a choice. The IHSAA's release says "Personal Branding Activities (PBA)" was picked "to clearly distinguish the high school model from the college version of Name-Image-Likeness (NIL)."
Commissioner Paul Neidig put the difference in one line. Unlike college, "the new rule keeps high schools out of arranging or funding deals for student-athletes." The school stays out of the money.
Last school year, a paid ad could cost an Indiana athlete their eligibility. This year, it can be a deal, with 48 hours to tell the school.
What the new rule says
It's Rule 5-7, new in the 2026-27 By-Laws. Students may "develop and monetize their personal brand through social media, personal appearances, and endorsements unrelated to their school athletic participation."
The limits come with it. No school name, mascot, logo or uniform. No deals in seven categories, from gambling and alcohol to firearms. No collectives working for a school, and no deal offered to pull a student to a particular high school.
You tell the athletic director in writing within 48 hours of entering a deal. The school may review it but "may not prohibit compliant activities." A violation can cost up to 365 days of eligibility in that sport.
Every condition is on our Indiana high school page, quoted from the IHSAA's own text.
One line stayed. The 2026-27 By-Laws still carry the sentence about capitalizing on athletic fame, word for word. A page later, Rule 5-7 lists what a student may do "without jeopardizing amateur status." Both now sit in Rule 5.
The first months
On October 14, 2026, Neidig spoke to the Indiana General Assembly's Interim Study Committee on Education. The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported what he told lawmakers.
By then the IHSAA counted 54 student athletes making money from brand deals. The deals ran from a $5,000 contract for a cross country athlete to wear New Balance sneakers to Instagram posts for local businesses.
Another kind was apparel with the athlete's own name on it, sold for a share of the sales. "Everyone owns their own name," Neidig told the committee. "We understand that."
The IHSAA doesn't approve deals. Neidig said the association often hears about possible violations from people in the community. "Our first approach is to fix it," he said. "We don't go immediately to penalty or suspensions."
What lawmakers did
Indiana has no state law on high school deals, or on college ones. The rule is the IHSAA's. In the 2026 session, Rep. Alex Burton of Evansville brought a House floor amendment on high school deals. It didn't become law.
Burton asked for the October study. At the hearing he listed his questions, starting with "How do we prevent exploitation?" He also said the deals can teach financial management, entrepreneurship and marketing.
The committee didn't recommend a bill for the next session. It informally asked the IHSAA to add financial literacy education for athletes. Burton said he hopes to keep the discussion going next session.
The question nobody has settled
Sen. Spencer Deery asked about a car dealership offering $10,000 to every quarterback at one high school. Would that be recruiting? "It could be permissible," Neidig said, though he expected it would draw an investigation into undue influence.
That's the gap in a first-year rule. The text bars a deal "offered to entice a student to attend a particular high school for athletic purposes." Proving why a deal was offered is harder, and Neidig said so himself.
The board reviews its By-Laws once a year. Until it changes them, this is the text.
What Leave does with this
If you're 13 to 17, a parent or guardian creates your Leave account and is your Teammate until 18. Every deal in Leave carries a rules summary for your state, your level and your age.
The disclosure for your school comes with a countdown to the deadline, so Indiana's 48 hours sits next to the contract it belongs to. Leave takes 0 percent of anything you sign, and you decide what to sign.
Questions people ask
Why do some lists say Indiana doesn't allow high school athletes to sign deals?
They were written under the old rule. Through 2025-26, IHSAA Rule 5-2 said a student could not have "capitalized on athletic fame by receiving money," and a student pictured in an ad could not be paid by the advertiser. Personal Branding Activity starts in 2026-27.
How many Indiana high school athletes have deals so far?
54, as IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig told the Interim Study Committee on Education on October 14, 2026. The deals he described ran from a $5,000 New Balance contract for a cross country athlete to Instagram posts for local businesses.
Is there a state law on high school deals in Indiana?
No. The rule is the IHSAA's. A 2026 House floor amendment on high school deals did not become law, and in October the study committee did not recommend a bill for the next session.
Be your own agent. Leave.