2 Florida prep receivers reportedly have inked NIL deals. But is it legal yet?

The board meeting at which name, image and likeness legislation was approved for Florida’s high school athletes hadn’t adjourned Tuesday when controversy already surfaced over the new law.

Less than an hour after the Florida High School Athletic Association unanimously approved name, image and likeness rights for student-athletes, South Florida Express, an elite 7-on-7 program, announced via social media that Jacksonville Mandarin’s Jaime Ffrench and Orlando Jones’ Vernell Brown had entered into a partnership with American Eagle Outfitters clothing company.

On3.com also reported the pair had landed name, image and likeness deals with the company. Both athletes reposted the story on their respective X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

Problem is, the legislation hasn’t yet taken effect.

Florida High School Athletic Association spokesman Ryan Harrison confirmed Wednesday the new policy must be ratified by the state’s Board of Education, which doesn’t convene until July 24. Harrison couldn’t comment specifically on the deal reportedly landed by Ffrench and Brown, but indicated if it’s presented as an official allegation, the association’s eligibility and compliance department will investigate.

In an email sent to the Tampa Bay Times on Friday, however, American Eagle said it “has never entered into NIL arrangements with any of the team’s athletes.” Additionally, the post from South Florida Express announcing the partnership has been deleted.

Beyond the timeline, the reported partnership raises ethical questions — and possibly more legal concerns — over the new legislation, which was approved unanimously by the association’s board of directors.

Financial terms of the reported deal involving Ffrench and Brown weren’t announced, but it’s not a stretch to surmise both could enter their senior seasons as the highest-paid individuals in their programs — coaches included.

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Across the state, annual supplements for head football coaches range between $3,038 (Broward County) and $7,952 (Escambia, for coaches with six or more years of experience). The likely disparity between earnings of coaches and their most elite players was quickly noted Tuesday by the Florida Coaches Coalition, a nonprofit outfit seeking to improve pay statewide for prep coaches.

“While we are fully supportive of student-athletes monetizing their name, image, and likeness; we have always advocated that coaches should have been paid first,” the coalition said Tuesday on X.

“We’ll have situations where some athletes will be paid more than their coaches in public high schools (which is unacceptable), but based on the work we have done over the last three years, we are confident that it will only be a short-term problem.”

Additionally, the reported deal spiked concerns about college boosters getting involved in prep name, image and likeness deals to possibly steer elite recruits to their schools.

The CEO of American Eagle Outfitters, Jay Schottenstein, is a Columbus, Ohio native and prominent Ohio State University donor.

Brown, a four-star prospect whose X profile includes an email address for “business inquiries,” recently made a visit to Ohio State. Ffrench also is being recruited by the Buckeyes.

Contact Joey Knight at [email protected]. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls