COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jamier Brown, the nation’s No. 1 wide receiver in the 2027 class, is at the center of a lawsuit filed against the Ohio High School Athletic Association Wednesday that seeks to allow him to benefit from his name, image and likeness while in high school, according to an ESPN report.
An ESPN report on the complaint said Brown, a Wayne High School (Huber Heights) junior who is verbally committed to Ohio State, has the earning power of more than $100,000 per year. Brown has 41 receptions for 590 yards and six touchdowns for Wayne (5-3) this season, according to the Greater Western Ohio Conference statistics. He also has two rushing touchdowns.
However, because Ohio is one of six states that don't allow NIL in high school sports, Brown makes no money while at Wayne.
"OHSAA's blanket ban not only singles out Ohio's high school student athletes for unequal treatment, but it also unlawfully suppresses their economic liberties, freedom of expression and restrains competition in the NIL marketplace," the complaint states, according to ESPN.
NIL at the high school level has spread rapidly across the country in the last several years since it became permitted at the college level.
"What pushed me was knowing that allowing NIL for high school athletes in Ohio could be a game changer for a lot of kids like me," Brown told ESPN. "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."
The OHSAA has maintained a lawsuit was a possibility even after OHSAA member schools voted down an NIL proposal by more than a two-to-one margin (538 to 254) in May 2022.
During the OHSAA regional update meetings in August and September this fall, school administrators were informed that a proposal on NIL was likely on the horizon.
In September, the OHSAA Board of Directors approved language on NIL to go to member schools in May 2026 as part of the annual referendum voting process. As with any referendum item, schools may be asked to vote on the proposal before the May voting period due to legal action, as permitted by OHSAA bylaw 8-1-1.
“We have been anticipating this day happening for quite some time,” OHSAA spokesman Tim Stried told WCPO 9 Sports in response to the ESPN report. “We met with schools in the fall with administrator updates. We informed schools this could happen this school year, whether in May during the normal referendum voting period or happen sooner. As in the past, legal action like this typically triggers Bylaw 8-1-1, which allows the OHSAA to do an emergency vote.”
An emergency referendum vote typically happens within 10 days. Stried said the OHSAA expects to have an announcement Wednesday or Thursday regarding the next steps.
There are 815 member schools in the OHSAA during this 2025-2026 school year.
Ohio has the third-largest participation rate in high school sports nationally behind Texas and California, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
The following states currently prohibit NIL for high school student-athletes: Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, and Wyoming, according to the NFHS. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia permit NIL in some form.
