The problem of NIL in College Sports
The Pros and Cons of the monetization of college athletes
Recently, the Supreme Court passed a law allowing college athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness. This is commonly referred to as NIL. This law was passed because there was a big problem in college sports. Universities, TV companies, and sponsors were making billions of dollars in college athletics. However, the product that generated all this revenue was the athletes themselves. They were not allowed to be paid before this law was passed. It started out as a great idea. However, NIL has been used in more unsavory ways.
The introduction of NIL might create an uneven playing field, as athletes from larger schools or with more marketable personas could garner disproportionate opportunities and financial rewards, leading to recruiting imbalances and potentially damaging the competitiveness of smaller programs. For example, schools like Alabama or Notre Dame who have very large budgets can spend a lot on recruiting. A smaller school like Minnesota or Oregon State will not have the means to spend as much, and thus will fall behind.
This will also affect high school athletes. These players can be recruited as early as 16. Just a year older than me. Now that large amounts of money are in play, the college decision becomes even more important. High school age kids are now making decisions that could result in million dollar differences.
Moreover, the focus on individual branding could overshadow the essence of collegiate sports as team-oriented. This could affect the unity and camaraderie within teams. There's also a risk that increased commercialization could blur the lines between amateur and professional athletics, altering the unique character that college sports have maintained. College football is different from the NFL because it’s “college” football. With the introduction of large scale NIL deals, the top tier of athletes drift further away from being real college students.
NIL deals could also introduce problems with academic priorities of student-athletes. If, for example, a big-name player like Caleb Williams is making 2 million dollars in college, he really has no reason to try to focus on school at all. In this scenario, the gray area widens between collegiate and professional athletics.
While it’s important that college athletes are adequately compensated for the value they provide, we must also make sure that the business doesn’t get out of hand.