The hottest topic in college sports today: NIL

Another View

The three-letter acronym NIL representing a third party paying a student-athlete for rights to their name, image and likeness has been around for a couple of years, but it still has everyone from coaches and administrators to fans and especially the players themselves scratching their collective heads in figuring it all out. It’s the latest hot topic in college sport today.

Last month, ESPN/Andscape Columnist William C. Rhoden moderated a panel of former players at the Drake Group’s college sport symposium in Washington, D.C., where NIL was mostly discussed. He asked them if NIL had been around when they played, how much it would have helped them. 

Former running back Maurice Clarett, who was suspended by Ohio State in the early 2000s for illegally taking money, answered emphatically. “Things in my life would drastically change,” he said if NIL deals existed back then. “I would have more than enough money to get a plane ticket [to attend a friend’s funeral]… A business owner or booster would have been able to help me.

“The sole reason I got into trouble in college was the transmission [in his car] had broke and I went to a dealership to use a vehicle because I couldn’t afford $1700 dollars to fix the transmission. I linked up to a dealer to use a car, and that was illegal,” he pointed out. 

“Get a NIL [deal] when we were in college—one thousand percent, yes,” admitted Brendan Cole, who played football at Hampton University and is now a high school athletic director.

The panelists also raised concerns about these private deals, such as student-athletes having no time to work due to the time demands of school and sports.  

“Your sport is your job. There is no time,” said Sherill Baker, George Washington assistant women’s basketball coach. She was an All-American defensive player of the year at Georgia in 2006 and played professionally in the WNBA and overseas.  

But the group agreed that football and men’s basketball bring in tons of money for their respective schools and players have always been undervalued. Baker recalled family members asking her, “You’re on the poster and you don’t get any money for that?”

“We made the university over $80 million in four months, and I played a major role in putting the Ohio State brand and contributed to that season to win a championship,” Clarett said.  If indeed the players bring such value to the school, they should be fairly compensated for it, he noted.

Longtime opponents of college players getting paid contend that a college scholarship is their pay. But unlike non-playing students on scholarship who can work during the school year, college athletes are not allowed to do so. Therefore, NIL can now give the players some walk-around money. 

The panelists expressed their fears that student-athletes can be vulnerable to financial mismanagement, or sign bad deals. They might also be discouraged from fully pursuing their college degree, if NIL deals are so lucrative.

“You are a brand at 18 years old,” said Baker. “Are we giving all the information needed to our 18-22-year-olds attending school? There’s a fine line from being a brand and just enjoying the college experience.”

The 90-minute panel did come to a consensus. No one knows where NIL will ultimately lead college sport.  

Jeremiah Carter recently was named senior associate athletic director for NIL/Policy and Risk Management at Minnesota. Our conversation next week will be with the Gophers’ “NIL czar.”