One of the top high school football players in the country is challenging state rules that bar him and other high school athletes from making paid endorsement deals from their name, image and likeness (NIL).

The mother of Jamier Brown, a junior wide receiver from Dayton who has verbally committed to playing for Ohio State, filed a lawsuit Oct. 15 against the Ohio High School Athletic Association seeking a change to the organization’s bylaws.

“Each day that OHSAA’s prohibition remains in place inflicts irreparable harm to his career development, brand reputation, public exposure, goodwill and constitutional rights,” the lawsuit filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas alleges.

Brown has missed out on over $100,000 in potential revenue from NIL deals, according to the lawsuit. That includes licensing and promoting trading cards. His attorney Luke Fedlam declined to comment on specific deals but said “he has had opportunities well into six figures.”

“I want to use my platform to make a difference for athletes across the state,” Brown wrote in a statement posted to X.

“I’m being raised by an amazing single mom who’s always doing her best to keep things steady while helping me chase my goals on and off the field,” Brown said. “Like what’s allowed in other states, I want to be able to use my name, image and likeness to help my family financially and get the extra after school academic help and football training that can help me maximize my potential. NIL can make that possible for me and many other student athletes in Ohio.”

The NCAA started allowing college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness in 2021. According to the OHSAA, it is one of six state associations that does not allow NIL deals.

“Over these past few years, we’ve seen such a tidal wave shift of states allowing high school NIL,” Fedlam said.

He added that the regulatory changes in other states create a “clear pathway” for allowing student athletes to balance making NIL deals with playing their sport and being a high school student.

“Generally speaking, the public perception around NIL at the high school level has across the country evolved because schools, families, student athletes, high school athletic directors, principals, etcetera have seen that with the right regulations, NIL is simply an opportunity to help equip and prepare student athletes for education around NIL and for the opportunity to earn compensation off of their own social media following and abilities,” Fedlam said.

OHSAA floated a proposal to allow student-athletes to profit off of their NIL in 2022, but the member schools rejected it by a wide margin.

OHSAA was already planning to hold an emergency referendum on NIL rule changes in May before the lawsuit was filed, said Joe Fraley, an attorney representing the organization. But OHSAA is now talking about taking that vote sooner, depending on the court’s schedule, Fraley said.

“The time is now” for OHSAA to change its regulations, Fedlam said.

Who is Jamier Brown?

Brown plays wide receiver for Wayne High Schoolin Huber Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton.

He is one of the top-ranked wide receiver recruits in the country for the class of 2027, according to multiple national rankings.

As long as he stays committed to OSU and if he’s at the top of the list, Brown could be the first No. 1 WR prospect for the Buckeyes since Jeremiah Smith.

Brown has also received offers from over a dozen schools, according to ESPN. They include Notre Dame, Nebraska, Tennessee, Oregon and Michigan.

“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.

This story has been updated with new information.

Dispatch reporter Joey Kaufman contributed reporting.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the northwestern suburbs for the Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football commit Jamier Brown suing OHSAA over NIL