NIL Rules Held Outside Scope Of State Action Exemption

A California federal court has delivered a significant decision assessing the scope of the California Interscholastic Federation's (CIF) authority over high school sports, offering important guidance on the contours of the state-action immunity doctrine and its broader implications for private regulatory bodies.

In Calhoun v. California Interscholastic Federation et al., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California upheld CIF's traditional amateurism and transfer rules under the state-action immunity doctrine but refused to extend that protection to CIF's prohibition on student-athletes licensing their name, image and likeness (NIL) while referencing their school identities.¹ The ruling keeps CIF's compensation caps and transfer restrictions intact for now but subjects its NIL ban to full scrutiny under the antitrust laws – a development that could reshape how high school athletes monetize their personal brands.