The Good And Bad About NIL

MIAMI, FL – NIL, also known as Name, Image, and Likeness is what has taken over the college athletics world, most notably in football. As we are now over two years since NIL was implemented into college athletics, there is a lot of good and bad to look over.

College NIL is a good way for college athletes, who work extremely hard throughout the week and struggle to have a normal college schedule to be rewarded and it is a good way for them to earn extra cash off of their Name, Image and Likeness.

As it was and will be discussed, NIL can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing in the world of college athletics. Although the athletes are cashing in, the colleges themselves aren’t.

The Good

According to an article from Sports Illustrated’s FanNation site, which goes into what exactly NIL is, they describe it as it “gives players the right to the publicity that ordinary citizens already have, but that the NCAA previously didn’t allow.”

According to “First Point USA,” the list of the most valuable college athletes in 2023 includes Bronny James, Arch Manning, Mikey Williams, Caleb Williams, Olivia Dunne, and Shedeur Saunders. Just are just a few that were included in the article.

A perfect example of a college athlete earning and benefiting from NIL is Dunne, who is a Tiktok star, but more importantly, a star gymnast at LSU, where she reportedly made one million dollars in her first year with NIL and is expected to make north of three million in 2023.

Now, although we can go through the big names that are earning millions off of NIL, the perfect example of smaller, but beneficial deals is right here in Miami at Florida International University where we see the most recent beginning of the “Blueprint Collective for NIL Initiative.”

As described in the article which was recently posted on the FIU Athletics website, the Blueprint Collective “is on a mission to transform the lives of FIU student-athletes during their collegiate journey and beyond.”

NIL may sound nice for college athletes, but it is also important to know what to do and how to make the correct decisions when deciding what deals you want to take and what to do.

In 2021, FIU launched the “ROAR” program which gives student-athletes “the knowledge, resources, and skills they need to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”

For a more concise look at when NIL began, it was in June of 2021, when the “Supreme Court unanimously ruled in NCAA v. Alston that the NCAA was not legally allowed to limit any education-related payments to students.”

The Bad

Just like we can talk about Olivia Dunne and other college athletes earning big amounts of money, we can talk about what schools get out of NIL.

In the case of LSU Olivia Dunne, who is known worldwide, will bring in high fan attendance to certain sporting events such as her gymnastics meets.

We can also talk about the fact that colleges need to ensure that despite how big the deals are, students are grounded and focused on improving their careers in the sport that they are playing.

Regulation of NIL is something that needs to be discussed. According to an article from “Inside Higher Ed,” which was published in June of 2023, reported that officials from the Southern Conference will meet with lawmakers in Washington to discuss the issue.

Although there are still state laws, there hasn’t been any sort of bill passed to regulate NIL and ensure that it doesn’t get out of hand with the original intentions, which was for college athletes to make money off of their Name, Image, and Likeness.

A name that should be followed throughout this whole NIL process is a former governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, who had a very strong quote throughout this process.

“NIL is a powerful vehicle that rightfully allows student-athletes the ability to earn compensation from their unique market value,” said Baker. “At the same time, the lack of transparency in today’s NIL marketplace puts student-athletes in jeopardy of exploitation by bad actors.”

NIL Collectives, as mentioned in the “Inside Higher Ed” article, is “structurally independent of a school, yet fund NIL opportunities for the school’s student-athletes.”

Just like we mentioned with FIU, which has an NIL Collective program, top programs don’t have it, which is an issue and it takes away the opportunity for students to earn an NIL deal or even learn what they need to learn about NIL.

NIL Collectives have also been an issue, especially when it comes to a school with the NIL Collective stealing recruits from another school that does not have it.

NIL Collectives can give bigger payouts which is tempting to any high school prospect or college transfer who is looking for a new school, so the NIL Collective is still an issue in some sort of form.

There are still a lot of cases going around surrounding NIL, as the myriad state laws, which was the initial reason why we have NIL today is still going on and only getting stronger, which is why the NCAA wants a bill passed to see regulations.

Latest Updates And Conclusion

The latest player to sign an NIL deal is Colorado State two-way player Travis Hunter. He signed a deal with Squishmallows, which are plush toys.

Hunter not only is known for his play on the field but also for his YouTube channel which has over two million subscribers and continues to grow his name and image.

Despite the ongoing investigation at Michigan, quarterback J.J. McCarthy has an NIL deal with the Brady brand. NFL Legend Tom Brady spent his college days at Michigan and the Heisman Trophy favorite looks to release a collection with the Brady brand.

The popularity of NIL has grown to the point where the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden has been talking about it. In an article from “On3NIL,” Biden stated the following, which can be seen in the following paragraph.

“(President Biden) talked about the advancement of player rights, college athletes in general, but specifically to college football rights, and what they go through with medical coverage down the road as well. I think the President was curious about, ‘Hey, the safety of the sport, these athletes moving forward and how does NIL look after the last couple of years.”

via. On3NIL

NIL presents a lot of opportunities for college athletes of any sport, just like Dunne has proved by being a gymnast and how that has not only helped her but her school’s attendance.

Although NIL has been off to a good start for the most part, there still lies the fear that it can go out of control and that measures will need to be taken, which they already have as the NCAA looks to continue to talk to lawmakers to pass a bill regarding NIL.

NIL Collectives can also be a good thing for this new world that is just over two years old, but it certainly presents its challenges.

Although there is still a lot of work to be done, there is a lot of work that has already been done and is making the lives of these hard-working college athletes a lot more affordable and easier to work with.