Welcome to the World of NIL

The conversation regarding the compensation of collegiate athletes has been a long and heated topic lasting for decades. A notable event of this being the Death Penalty of SMU in 1987 where the Southern Methodist University football team was suspended a whole season for paying players "under the table" through a slush fund. However, in June of 2021, a Supreme Court decision caused the NCAA to defer to the states regarding their own NIL rules. Finally, athletes are now able to pocket some money by selling the rights to their name without losing eligibility. Though this has provided tremendous new opportunities to football players, there has been some controversy, especially in regard to enforcement. Below I outline the basics and what you should now about NIL in college football.  

What is NIL?

It stands for "name, image, and likeness" and is what allows athletes to now profit off themselves in ways they were unable to before. Previously, college athletes could not sell their likeness while they were on scholarship at their school. The new NIL rules completely overturn that. Though, it is important to note that there are two things that remain prohibited: athletes cannot be compensated based on performance (AKA you can't give them "contracts" to play at a particular program) and no quid pro quo.

Now, how do these athletes get paid? A main source of compensation for the players is through a collective. These collectives are pools of money brought together by the wealthy alumni of a particular school. These alumni can then direct this money to players for doing various activities such as participating in community service or making appearances at charitable events. 

However, there are other ways players can be paid such as being endorsed by brands and doing advertising or selling their own memorabilia. The list for the ways a football player can be paid is endless, but remember, there cannot be any performance-based deals.

Above: Texas quarterback, Quinn Ewers, strikes deal with Wrangler

Impact on Football

This has changed the world of football in various ways, most notably being recruitment. When an athlete now determines which program they want to play for, it is no secret that these NIL deals are a contributing factor. 

Why wouldn't an 18-year-old kid want to play football and have the opportunity to get compensated with six- or seven-figure deals. You even now have scouting sites giving NIL valuations which predict the market for individual athletes. 

Of course, NIL may not be the only factor that determines where an athlete goes, but it certainly could play a significant role. As well, with the advent of the transfer portal, athletes have the ability to easily transition to new programs in the middle of their scholarship. NIL also may play a factor as to where these athletes want to transfer to. The picture on the right is the example of top receiver Jordan Addison transferring to USC for apparently a top-dollar NIL deal.

Therefore, it can be easily seen where the controversy comes in. Where does the NCAA draw the line in regard to collectives and boosters participating in recruiting incentives? 

As the NCAA has virtually lost the lead on NIL, one of the few areas they still have influence over is the regulation of boosters. A likely solution is an investigation led be the NCAA if they feel that there is interference from the boosters and then to be followed by a judge ruling. 

Though NIL is still young, and changes to it are inevitable, it is clear that it will continue to have a profound impact on college football and college athletics for generations to come. It presents an exciting new era of football and will be fascinating to watch as it develops over time.