Jamier Brown's attorney breaks down new Ohio high school NIL opportunities

Last week, Buckeyes five-star commit, Jamier Brown's family, filed a lawsuit against the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), challenging them on NIL earnings.

At least for now, a judge has ruled in the family's favor.

"My family is getting by, but being able to use NIL would take some weight off my mom and me by helping cover things like tutoring, training and travel, which help me grow as both a student and a football player," Brown told ESPN.

On Monday, Oct. 19, Franklin County Court Judge Jaiza Page granted a temporary order that halts the OHSAA rule from preventing high school athletes from profiting on name, image and likeness (NIL).

This decision is a massive turning point in the case, which began just days ago, and has opened new doors to high school athletes.

For years, Ohio has stood amongst a small group of states who have not allowed these athletes to take advantage of NIL oppurtunites. The argument, which is being led by Brown's mother, is built on the basis that over 40 other states across the nation allow high school athletes to sign endorsement deals.

This ruling does not yet make NIL permanently legal in Ohio, but it does open the door for high school athletes to capatlize on them for a small time frame. The temporary order will last until the hearing on Dec. 15, later this year.

In an exclusive interview for BIGPLAY Sports Network on SI, Brown's attorney Luke Fedlam, provided more information on the lawsuit.

"Last week, when we filed the lawsuit, the complaint we filed with it also motion for temporary restraining order," Fedlam said. "We ultimately wanted to...really kind of stop OHSAA from applying their restrictions and so with that TRO motion, you are given a hearing very quickly because of the urgency of the matter.

When asked about the timeline in which Brown and his family decided to file this lawsuit, Fedlam explained this has been a long-time coming.

"The conversation [has been happening] over a while because there continued to be opportunities that he had to pass on from the fact that OHSSA has or had this ban on name image and likeness for high school student-athletes," he said. "So there have been plenty of conversation over the past number of months around what would be the best avenue to try to change OHSSA's bylaws. Ultimately we decided [this] would be the best path forward with the motion for temporary restraining order, and we were granted that order today.

"Now, high school student athletes across the state of Ohio have the opportunity to earn compensation through name, image and likeness.

With this being a statewide motion from the Judge Jaiza Page, the OHSAA has said publicly they will start sending out communications to its member schools.

"If OHSAA doesn't permanently change their bylaws themselves, then that then that hearing on December 15th will be to to call the court in to ultimately make sure that adjustment stays in place until we go through the full hearing," Fedlam said.

Fedlam added that he could not comment on if this situation has had any ramifications on Brown's connection with Ohio State.

He concluded with the belief that NIL should be allowed across the nation and that it will not ruin the scene of high school athletics.

"NIL at the high school level is very different. It is for that athlete that has the opportunity to earn compensation by licensing or lending for a fee the use of their name, their image, and their likeness," he said. "There are some people that think that this is going to ruin high school sports. We've seen across 40 plus other states that it has not ruined the integrity of high school sports or the level of competition in high school sports.

"It's just time that Ohio finally got up to speed with other states across the country."

NIL was approved for college athletes in June, 2021, with many states reevaluating their rules at that time as well.

For now, Brown and his family's efforts are paying off.

The only question now is what will happen when the hearings and court appearances begin later this year.