A $300,000 Lamborghini? Multi-million dollar clothing brand deals? A collaboration with the biggest sports newspaper in the world? These are just a few great examples of student-athletes cashing in on the newly added NIL program.
Many people are left wondering what exactly the NIL program is. NIL, standing for Name, Image, and Likeness, allows college athletes to make money based off who they are. Brands and companies will reach out to the student-athletes with contract offers that they review with their agency.
While not being directly compensated by the school for playing their respective sport, the programs allow students to earn money off of their name. Examples of this include but are not limited to: TV commercial appearances, photoshops, product collaborations, etc.
Some notable examples of NIL recipients you have probably heard of are: Livvy Dunne, Carson Beck, Shedeur Sanders, and Angel Reese.
On September 30, 2019, California was the first state to put the law into effect. The bill, once put into effect, allowed college students to profit off of their personal image. The law became federal on July 1, 2021, and the rest of the nation soon followed. This was the “beginning of a national movement,” as stated by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
These programs have been great for college athletes as well as colleges themselves. The programs promote financial literacy, encourage students to remain in school longer, and allow student-athletes to make an income while simultaneously attending school and competing in their respective sports.
There are two primary ways in which financial literacy is promoted through NIL programs. INFLCR, which is short for Influencer, is an educational program.
These educational programs, set up as modules, teach student-athletes the basics of establishing a business, tax implications of making money, and other financial literacy concepts.
The second primary way is a resource called MoneyLion. MoneyLion acts as a financial literacy course. INFLCR and MoneyLion have partnered together. With this excellent collaboration, INFLCR users can watch short-form financial literacy videos covering topics such as money-saving hacks, investing and credit score improvement.
These two resources are instilled into student-athletes to ensure they are being smart and resourceful with their money, since for most of them it is the first time they are being offered such lucrative deals.
A follow-up reason the NIL is promoting financial literacy is there is an increased incentive to remain in school and receive an education. Before the days of “play for pay” in college, the athletic landscape was all or nothing.
Photo by David Bowie/Gatorcountry.
You either choose to commit to play in the pros and leave your education for money or play for free whilst receiving an education. However, NIL now offers the best of both worlds.
Students are able to make money while still playing for their school. The schools themselves also benefit from this by retaining their gifted athletes for additional years.
Now more than ever with the addition of NIL, we are seeing players who get drafted to the pros and even go back to school to complete their degree. One notable example is Jets star CB Sauce Gardner going back to his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, to complete his degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.
However, for those players who aren’t ready to make the leap yet, NIL is the perfect safety net. Take the NFL for instance. Only players in rounds 1-4 are guaranteed contracts, and only players selected in round 1 are given 100% guaranteed contracts.
NIL would be advantageous in situations like these where players may go in the later rounds if they were to leave college early to play for non-guaranteed money. However now, players can remain in college to “master their craft” while still receiving some sort of income.
Lastly, student-athletes can make off-the-field income because of their on-the-field success. These students have worked incredibly hard to get to the point where they are today and being at the top of their sport deserves recognition and reward.
Chance Miller, South Carolina’s senior deputy athletic director said it best when he said “People have said NIL is a departure from college athletics. I think it’s just a new endeavor.”