Beware — NIL in high school sports opens the door to troubling questions

I winced when I read about the pair of high school football players who’d signed deals to endorse a Tacoma-based burger chain.

I feel bad about this for several reasons.

No. 1: I wish nothing but the best for Lincoln quarterback Sione Kaho and Mount Tahoma corner Elijah Durr. I am not just saying that because Durr has indicated he plans to play football at the University of Washington, my alma mater. I want only the best things to happen for high-school athletes regardless of where they play or plan to play.

No. 2: Secret Burger Kitchen is an inspiring local business that sounds absolutely freaking delicious.

No. 3: I fully support college athletes being compensated given the vast sums of money generated by their games.

And yet I winced.

I winced because I realized this was inevitable. There was no reason to think high school sports wouldn’t follow colleges into the anarcho-capitalist free-for-all in which amateur athletes are paid for the use of their name, image or likeness (NIL).

I winced because I worry that pumping money into amateur sports will affect the development of teenagers not just as athletes, but as people.

I winced because I know I’m going to sound like a jerk, objecting to what is by all accounts a win-win deal between two Tacoma high schoolers and a local burger joint.

To be very clear: I don’t see a problem with this deal. I foresee the problems that will occur down the road.

Is it OK for a high school athlete to transfer schools because he or she believes there are better marketing opportunities at another school?

If the answer is no, how do you justify that prohibition? How do you regulate it?

If the answer is yes, have you looked at what’s happening in college football, the year-by-year turnover?

We haven’t even gotten to the shady part yet. Are you ready for agents to be talking to high school players about the endorsements they can line up? Are you ready for those agents to ask for 20, maybe even 25 percent in commission? Are you ready for disputes about someone failing to honor their end of the deal?

I don’t think any of those questions I just asked apply to this deal in Tacoma. I just don’t think it’s hard to see where things are headed.

This is not a slippery slope. It is an express lane to the continued professionalization of amateur sports. This was unavoidable for colleges given the vast sums of money athletic departments were mainlining from the television networks. I just don’t think we need to hurry up and implement the same things at the high school level.

High school sports do not have to be a business. I don’t think they should be a business. They’re about competing alongside the kid who sits in the back row of your math class. Helping them get up when they’re knocked on their butt. Learning to get up when you’re knocked on yours.

Yes, some of these high school students are so talented that they’ll be able to play sports in college. Some are genuine prodigies who’ll eventually turn professional. There’s no reason to rush it, though.

There’s already too much attention paid to the recruitment of high school athletes. There are Web sites dedicated to the subject, cataloging which schools have offered which players. There are customers who pay to get this sort of information. It adds pressure to what is already a challenging decision. Fans get involved. They lobby on social media. They react negatively if the player chooses another school.

NIL deals are only going to enhance this dynamic. The more money that’s injected into high school sports, the more pressure is added. Now, it’s not just a scholarship that’s a goal, but the marketing deal, too.

This is going to create incentives for high schoolers to do things to command attention. That’s what marketing is after all, attracting attention, and anyone who has a teenager or remembers what it was like to be one knows the last thing anyone that age needs is a reason to act out.

OK, I’m going to climb down off my soap box now. I’ll stop shaking my fist at the sky as I shout about the dangers of this darned innernet. I realize how old and grumpy I sound, and like I said, I feel bad about that.

I want nothing but the best for Sione Kaho and Elijah Durr and every other high school athlete who will step out on the football field this fall. I’m rooting for Secret Burger Kitchen, too. I hope it does become a national chain.

If I thought every NIL deal for a high-school athlete was going to be like this one, I’d offer nothing but applause and encouragement or at the very least keep my mouth shut. I don’t think that every NIL deal for a high school athlete will wind up looking like this one, though. I’m not sure how many will, which is the reason I winced when I read about it.

Danny O’Neil was born in Oregon, the son of a logger, but had the good sense to attend college in Washington. He’s covered Seattle sports for 20 years, writing for two newspapers, one glossy magazine and hosting a daily radio show for eight years on KIRO 710 AM. You can subscribe to his free newsletter and find his other work at dannyoneil.com.

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.