HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Houston County High School's quarterback, Antwann Hill, is a rising star in the game of football.
The Houston County junior's stock has grown since Georgia head coach Kirby Smart offered him a full scholarship as an eighth grader.
The 4-star signal-caller is considered the fourth-highest-ranked quarterback in the country in the class of 2025.
New policy changes from the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) could possibly mean big bucks for some high school athletes, like Hill, and it all centers on three words: name, image and likeness — or NIL deals.
With his success on the field, Hill is a prime candidate for someone who could benefit from NIL deals.
"He carries himself first class, and that comes from being a part of a great family," Houston County coach Jeremy Edwards said. "Anybody that decides to use his name, image and likeness for their company or whatnot is making a good choice."
In the summer of 2021, the face of college sports shifted after the NCAA allowed student-athletes to be paid off their name, image and likeness.
Those three elements make up the "right of publicity," a legal term used to prevent or allow the use of an individual to promote a product or service.
Instead of schools paying their athletes, this option allows student-athletes to make money through endorsement deals and other partnerships.
For some college players, the policy changes have allowed college players to be paid anywhere from under $100,000 and — in some extreme cases — six to seven figures. You heard that right: some college athletes can make over $1,000,000 if they are at the top of their game.
Now, NIL policy has trickled down to the high school level right here in Georgia, and it has raised questions about how NIL deals could change high school sports here in the Peach State.
Executive Director of Georgia High School Sports Association Robert Hines says that the new policy has precautions baked into it.
"We want to get ahead of it and have some guard rails on such as undue influence rules and recruiting rules that remain in place, as well as our amateur rule, which states a student-athlete cannot capitalize off athletic performance," Hines said. "They can't be paid to play."
Plus, Hines notes that the NIL deals students sign have to be separated from their school's brand.
"They can't be involved in an NIL activity that's using the school's intellectual property such as uniforms, name recognition, logos, facilities, those type of things," Hines said.
In early October, Georgia joined 31 other states with NIL laws on the books, with seven other states considering NIL rights.
As you would expect, some indications suggest that there won't be nearly as much money in high school sports as there is in college.
According to Hines, out of 430,000 eligible athletes in the state, only six have reported deals.
Hines says he doesn't feel that number will be too much higher to cause concerns.
"We're talking about way less than 1% that will try to dip in on the NIL and build their brand and those types of things," Hines said.
WATCH: GHSA Director Robin Hines discusses NIL deals
However, Hill is a part of the 1%, and recently, the junior committed to play college football for Head Coach Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado.
He understands the potential of securing the bag with NIL is greater at the college level, but he says that's not what motivates him the most.
"I got the love and passion from my pops," Hill said. "That's most definitely the biggest goal is to retire my parents and to be able to tell them that is the greatest gift feeling ever."
While NIL deals offer athletes the chance to capitalize on their talents, Hill says the game itself is still the driving force. It all starts on the field.
"NIL deals are cool, but you'll get the NIL money from playing good on the field and producing, so I'll let my game do the talking, and the NIL deals will start rolling in," Hill said.
Antwann's parents tell us they have been approached by several companies who would love to have the quarterback's services now and in the future, but they aren't in a rush to make any deals.
They say they are considering all offers.
With AJ's on-the-field play and nearly 50,000 followers on social media, Hill definitely is a prime target for NIL deals that — before the GHSA policy changes — would have not been possible only a year ago.