Today’s interviewee is University of West Georgia assistant department chair and assistant professor Tommy Jackson, whose research expertise includes the development of legislation pertaining to name, image and likeness (NIL). The bipartisan Georgia HB 838, which would require that at least 15% of NIL earnings of a minor go into a trust available only to the minor, originated from Jackson’s research and is called “Tommy’s Law.’’ An Opelika, Ala., native, Jackson is a former Auburn and Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman. At West Georgia, he is an assistant department chair in the department of counseling, higher education and speech-language pathology.
1. What was your reaction to the GHSA ratifying a bylaw this week to allow athletes to profit from NIL deals? “I was pretty excited, especially knowing that we’ve been working on a law that pertains to NIL, and now they’re allowing student-athletes to make money from NIL much like those in collegiate athletics. If you look around at the landscape of high school and college athletics, it was inevitable, and part of my job is to look at those trends that are happening in my field. The thing that came to mind for me was protection. With HB 838, what we’re looking to do is have these students protect their earnings by putting about 15% in a blocked trust account to make sure they have something no matter what happens. So when I saw the GHSA coming out with this policy, I was excited because it makes the law germane to this matter.”
2. What is the significance of this bylaw? “This bylaw makes it an even playing field as it relates to other states. For a lot of students, if they don’t like what the policy says for high school students in their state, they’ll go to another state. We’ve seen it happen. If I’m not mistaken, we have the No. 1 quarterback in the country here right now. What we’re doing is protecting those students’ interest and keeping Georgia athletics competitive nationally. We want to be able to say that not only do we have the best athletes, but those athletes can benefit from their name, image and likeness. It keeps us on par with other states.” [The No. 1 quarterback in the country could mean Buford’s Dylan Raila, a Georgia commit who is the consensus No. 1 prospect nationally in the class of 2024, or Carrollton’s Ju Ju Lewis, the consensus No. 1 sophomore who appears this month on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Money Issue on the topic of NIL deals.]
3. Will NIL deals be valuable only for those blue-chip, widely known athletes? “No, not at all. Numerous athletes have the opportunity to benefit if they’re in a place that really supports their high school teams. I’m over here in Carroll County, and I just had a conversation with someone who was talking about Bowdon. That’s a small school, but they just won a state championship in football. People in that town support that program. Who’s to say that someone from the local restaurant or car lot or other entities who know their customer base won’t be willing to build those partnerships. There are also opportunities online with social media and companies willing to pay thousands of dollars now with deals without endangering their eligibility. So it’s not just the No. 1 quarterback in the nation. It’s truly any athlete that’s involved in sports, whether it’s a soccer player or tennis player or track-and-field athlete. It’s an exciting time to be a high school athlete in the state of Georgia.”
4. What advice would you give to high school athletes regarding NIL? “No matter how much you make, protect those earnings. Put them in a place that will allow you to grow wealth. Get financial advice and legal counseling and accounting because NIL earnings have tax implications. You need people with knowledge in this space so you can maximize the opportunity.”
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
