The Expansion of a Michigan Student-Athlete’s Right to Monetize and Own Their Brand

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) recently expanded its regulations for student-athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL), known as personal branding activities (PBA). NIL has been the topic of national discussion as more student-athletes are recognizing the power of monetizing their personal brands. 

On January 27, 2026, the MHSAA began allowing students to engage in PBA, including social media advertisements and endorsements, camps, sports clinics, personal appearances, merchandise sales, autograph signings, and modeling. However, these activities must not be affiliated with the MHSAA, the student-athlete’s school or school mascot, logos, trademarks, or other brand identifiers. Additionally, schools, coaches, and employees cannot solicit, arrange, or negotiate deals on behalf of student-athletes, and student-athletes are further prohibited from engaging in PBA during school, practice, meeting, games, or competition/tournaments. 

The regulations further provide that students cannot engage in PBA that are deemed inappropriate or unsafe, thus, prohibiting student-athletes from promoting certain products or being affiliated with certain industries. For example, student athletes cannot promote products or services consisting of alcohol, banned substances, gambling, or firearms. Student-athletes are also required to make certain disclosures to the MHSAA. Any violation of the MHSAA’s prohibitions may lead to the loss of athletic eligibility. 

Why does this matter? Generally NIL allows someone to control the commercial nature of how someone else can profit from their personal identity, and a trademark allows a person to protect their name or brand identity in relation to certain products and/or services. Therefore, student-athletes should negotiate and understand their brand deals and contracts and consider registering their trademarks (i.e., name, logo, or slogan) as a source identifier in order to protect their rights and further monetize for their personal brand(s).