V 12 N. 23 What the Hell is NIL?

 

NAME , IMAGE, LIKENESS  (NIL)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) interim policy, as of July 1, lets more than 480,000 athletes monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL), marking a dramatic shift for college sports. Through brand partnerships, athletes can now turn their successes on the field into cash in their pockets.Sept 30, 2021   on GOOGLE

This may be the future or the downfall of college sports,  especially those that sell a lot of tickets and sign big television contracts.  The NCAA has now allowed that college athletes under their aegis can sign marketing contracts to promote themselves, their mothers and their little siblings just about anyway they choose.  I'm just waiting for the first one to appear on a gaming site offering odds on their  next home game with Texas, LSU. or MIT.  Thing is each state still has to pass a law allowing such shenanigans to go on in their sacred domains. But it also seems that if the state hasn't passed a law regulating such activity, the NCAA still says it's okay to do so as far as they are concerned.    Makes me wonder if an athlete's picture appears in a game program, can that athlete request a percentage of the program sales for that game?  There are probably many more questions of this nature, and as they occur, an army of suits with law degrees will be figuring out the answers.  Each time an athlete's name is mentioned during a tv game, should he or she not get a piece of the action?   If the athlete is sidelined by injury and that is mentioned on a sports show or during a game, or if he/she is suspended for misbehavior, does he/she still get rewarded for that mention?  It does affect the betting odds.   Recruiting will boil down to which states or colleges can demonstrate the best opportunities to make six figure salaries if you come to their institutions where everyone else is there basically to work four to six years,  graduate with degrees and hope to get a six figure salary somewhere down the pike.  Can a hunk or a babe who isn't going to get into too many games still profit by appearing on a calendar or in the equivalent of Playboy wearing all or part of their game uniform?   Remember when Playboy used to run spreads like,  The Girls of the Big Ten?  Those weren't athletes under NCAA rules, but they drew a lot of readership.   How bout the athletes whose greater than life sized images are displayed on the walls of campus athletic facilities?  Will they get a piece of the action 30 and 40 years after their last game for old Turdball U. ?   Forty years ago, boosters were the name of the game.  They could throw big money at athletes under the table.  Now it's all above board, just between the athlete, the NCAA, and the IRS.  The football players at Oklahoma U. in the early sixties used to have jobs at a construction project in Lake Tahoe, run by an Oklahoma booster.  They all came back to school in the Fall driving new cars.  Other schools had other schemes.  You are what you're worth.  Capitalism run amok?  The football players also got a number of tickets for home games which they could sell under the table to wealthy alums.  The track guys got to sell programs outside the stadium.

Let's Make a Deal ESPN     Link   Check out this article from ESPN on athletes already connecting with companies to promote themselves.  It's not only the top athletes in the biggest schools in the two biggest sports of football and basketball who are scoring points in the NIL.   It's the smart ones who are scoring dollars as well.

Example:  (from US News)  Carley Barjaktarovich, a shortstop on the softball team at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, got in on the NIL action by signing a deal with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, a local minor league baseball franchise. Barjaktarovich, who was already working within the organization, will make appearances and help with marketing, promotions and social media.

And from the NCAA  last June 30, 2021

NCAA college athletes will have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness beginning Thursday. Governance bodies in all three divisions today adopted a uniform interim policy suspending NCAA name, image and likeness rules for all incoming and current student-athletes in all sports.

"This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. "With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level. The current environment — both legal and legislative — prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve."

The policy provides the following guidance to college athletes, recruits, their families and member schools:

• Individuals can engage in NIL activities that are consistent with the law of the state where the school is located. Colleges and universities may be a resource for state law questions.
• College athletes who attend a school in a state without an NIL law can engage in this type of activity without violating NCAA rules related to name, image and likeness.
• Individuals can use a professional services provider for NIL activities.
• Student-athletes should report NIL activities consistent with state law or school and conference requirements to their school.

"Today, NCAA members voted to allow college athletes to benefit from name, image and likeness opportunities, no matter where their school is located," said Division I Board of Directors chair Denise Trauth, president at Texas State. "With this interim solution in place, we will continue to work with Congress to adopt federal legislation to support student-athletes."

While opening name, image and likeness opportunities to student-athletes, the policy in all three divisions preserves the commitment to avoid pay-for-play and improper inducements tied to choosing to attend a particular school. Those rules remain in effect.

"The new policy preserves the fact college sports are not pay-for-play," said Division II Presidents Council chair Sandra Jordan, chancellor at the University of South Carolina Aiken. "It also reinforces key principles of fairness and integrity across the NCAA and maintains rules prohibiting improper recruiting inducements. It's important any new rules maintain these principles."

Division III Presidents Council chair Fayneese Miller, president at Hamline, said the Association will continue to work with Congress to develop a national law that will help colleges and universities, student-athletes and their families better navigate the name, image and likeness landscape.

"The new interim policy provides college athletes and their families some sense of clarity around name, image and likeness, but we are committed to doing more," Miller said. "We need to continue working with Congress for a more permanent solution."

The temporary policy will remain in place until federal legislation or new NCAA rules are adopted. With the NIL interim policy, schools and conferences may choose to adopt their own additional policies. 

The line is getting very fuzzy here between college sports and reality TV.  It could be very profitable for a  number of smart athletes and their agent to turn it into a farce.   I think this has come about because we've seen college sports become a big money operation with football and basketball coaches being the highest paid civil servants in almost all of the 50 states of the union and that money not seen as being shared down to the level of the athletes on the field.  Now just getting a college degree opportunity for wearing the old green and gold on Saturday is not enough.  The cream of each year's crop rarely finish college during their playing days before they've signed a pro contract.  Now maybe it may become more lucrative to stay in the 'amateur' ranks a bit longer.  Who knows where this will go?    Maybe some of those Honey Boo Boo's whose wealthy parents scammed them into universities above their academic qualifications because they faked an athletic resume will even be gaming the system.  George

I see the potential to ruin college sports.  I'm an 18 year old top 5 QB.  I sure as hell will see what is being offered by the backers of each college.  Hmm, $100 grand for my photo on the billboard of the local Chevy dealer, $5000 for an hour of autograph signing at the Baskin-Robbins, 10 grand for a speech at the Kiwanis luncheon.....The school that stands to clean up is USC with its ties to the movie industry.  The kid that transferred from Oklahoma (with his coach), Caleb Williams is supposed to be the next big thing.  Caleb, would you like to have lunch with LeBron James and discuss the movie you will be in at the end of the season?  How about season box seats for Dodgers games where you can discuss business and be guided by a multitude of billionaires between innings?, a contract to be the tv spokesman for Farmer's Insurance?, the opportunity to learn to write for the new tv series, Caleb's Life, in which you will star as soon as you go pro in two seasons?....Of course it goes without saying that if you are fourth man on the Sonoma State cross country team, your options may be fewer.  Roy 

Looking forward to your comments:

  Personally, I enjoyed college sports more as they have traditionally existed, centered around education and the love of the game.  It was simpler and allowed the student-athletes to actually be part of the student body.  With escalated money from gate receipts and TV, it eventually became apparent that everyone was benefitting from these college games except the ones who actually played.  That realization has brought us to where we are today.  It seems to me that the people who most strenuously object to the benefits of NIL are also the ones who have embraced capitalism at its purest level.  Isn't capitalism all about organizing bodies like the government getting out of the way and allowing the market to dictate its rewards?  This is what has happened with the NIL.  So where is the conflict?  Is it that some people should benefit from this lucrative market whereas others should not?  In many ways we went down that road as a country quite publicly in the days preceding 1865 and found that plan to be fabulous for a few and destructive for many.

   Universities have embraced the NIL because in theory their athletes will benefit but they will not have to pay.  Instead, it will be businesses or corporations who will use the athletes to advertise their product.  In theory the school, athlete, and businesses will benefit.  Everyone wins.  But is that truly the case?  Clearly not because the divide between the halves and half-nots will increase dramatically as we have already seen with rumors about huge payoffs promised during the recruiting process.  So is the solution NCAA overreach which would send us back to the good old days of amateurism?  It seems as if the toothpaste is already out of the tube.  The NIL issue is a work in progress and so is its close cousin, the Transfer Portal.  It all makes me want to see reruns of the Cincinnati Bearcats beating the Buckeyes in the NCAA basketball finals in 1961, 62.  Bill Schnier

Bill, all I can say is I coach Division 3 football, and help out at the track meets.   no scholarships.   the STUDENT/athletes are students first.     I have some acquaintances that coach D1 football.    I wouldn't coach that level for all the money in the world 

Mike   

It's beginning to look like a big portion of 'all the money in the world'  is linked to sport including DI football.  George

Back in the mid-60s, a colleague of mine at Western Michigan University made an observation about athletic scholarships that, given NIL, makes even more sense today.

He felt colleges and universities should just hire semi-pro football teams to represent them and entertain the alumni and fans.  Then, student athletes could concentrate on being students.

Take care,

Tom Coyne

Hell, you're just jealous, George.  If this had existed back in the day, you could have been rolling in dough, driving the Corvette to practice and dating hot, slutty women.  Put bitterness aside, old timer, and be happy for today's youngsters.  Roy                 Tri Delts weren't all slutty.  Geo.

Trevor Bassitt, ashland u. (Bluffton, OH hs) was going to go pro last summer, but at last minute (due to NIL) went back to school. won d2 hh & 400 indoor, won usa 400, and finished 2nd at world indoor indoor in45.05. still deciding about competing outdoors for Ashland U. or going pro.  Bruce Kritzler