Report finds Florida high school football player paid coach as part of NIL negotiations

According to a report by the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday morning, a Florida high school football player paid a head coach at least $7,000 as part of a Name, Image and Likeness contract negotiation.

The Palm Beach County School District’s Office of Inspector General found that Santaluces Community High School head football coach Hector Clavijo III “exploited his relationship with the student athlete” and accepted $7,000, with $5,000 coming via bank transfer and $2,000 via Zelle, from a student-athlete he coached/taught in exchange for acting as an unlicensed NIL agent/negotiator. The NIL negotiating deal is a violation of state law, county district policy, and Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) rules, following a July 2025 complaint.

Rivals spoke to FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon on Wednesday afternoon and he confirmed that there’s currently an ongoing investigation looking into the potential violation.

Per Alexander Peterman’s report, the Palm Beach County School District opened up an investigation after the office received a complaint regarding the aforementioned alleged violation back in July of 2025. Clavijo holds the role of Director of NIL at Agency 1 Sports and has been mentioned by some profiles as a coaches’ agent.

The report goes on to say that when the district interviewed Clavijo, one of the comments made to officials was “messed up by, I don’t know, being too nice.” What isn’t clear at this time is how the FHSAA, which is looking into the situation, will handle penalties potentially given to Clavijo, Santaluces. Clavijo would be in violation of FHSAA Bylaw 9.9 labeled ‘FHSAA NIL Prohibition’ and says the following:

FHSAA NIL Prohibition (Bylaw 9.9)

No school employee, athletic staff member, or representative of a school’s athletic interests (boosters) may engage in NIL representation.

Clavijo has seen plenty of success when it comes to coaching Florida high school football as he led Champagnat Catholic (Fla.) to FHSAA state championships in 2017, 2019, and 2020. Since taking on the Santaluces job back in December of 2021, Clavijo has compiled an overall record of 30-14 over the course of four seasons at the helm.

The Chiefs finished last season with a 6-4 record and ranked as the No. 180, according to the final 2025 Florida High School Football Massey Rankings.

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