Can high school athletes in Mississippi do NIL deals?

No. Mississippi prohibits NIL contracts for high school athletes outright. Signing an NIL contract is itself listed in the MHSAA Handbook as one of the acts that causes a student to lose amateur standing — and with it, eligibility. There is no conditional path, no category list, and no carve-out. A 2026 bill that would have opened high school NIL (HB 1400) failed in committee in February 2026 after the MHSAA testified against it.

Mississippi High School NIL Rules (MHSAA)

What's allowed

Nothing. Mississippi does not permit NIL compensation for high school athletes.

What's prohibited

All NIL contracts of any kind — a blanket ban stated in the Amateur Rule itself (Rule 2.39.2, item 10)

What the document is silent on

Silence is not permission and not prohibition — the governing document simply does not address these. We list them because most summaries wrongly convert silence into "no".

parental consent (moot — the underlying contract is banned)
agent representation
NIL-specific disclosure (general recruiting-violation reporting applies)

Parental consent, disclosure & representation

Parental consent required

Not addressed

Disclosure required

No

School marks allowed

No

Agent / representation addressed

Not addressed

State-law status

2026 Mississippi HB 1400 ('Mississippi High School Student-Athlete NIL Protection Act') failed to advance out of House Judiciary A Committee on Feb 10, 2026 — not enacted. No conflicting statute is in force.

Who sets this rule

Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) sets Mississippi's high school eligibility rules. High school NIL is governed by private association bylaws — not federal law, and in most states not statute — which is why the answer differs state to state and can change in a single handbook cycle.

Sources

2025-2026 MHSAA Handbook — Rule 2.39 (Amateur Rule) (July 1, 2025)
2.39.2 For a student to lose his/her amateur standing, he/she must have committed one of the following acts: ... 10. The state of Mississippi does not allow NIL contracts for high school students.

Governing text effective July 1, 2025.

Change history

July 19, 2026 — Initial publication from primary-source research pass (adversarially verified; see citations).

Not legal advice. This page documents publicly available rules and is not legal advice. Rules change, and associations do not always announce changes. Confirm anything you rely on with the governing association, your school compliance office, or your own counsel before acting.

Spot an error? Tell us and cite the source — we re-check the primary source before changing anything, and record what changed.