Almost a full year into the name, image, and likeness era, it seems as though we've seen it all. College football players signing million-dollar deals, female athletes partnering with Gatorade, and even entire teams, like BYU's football team – signing teamwide deals with Built Bar. This has raised questions and concerns about whether some athletic programs are better equipping their athletes with the tools to make successful and legal NIL deals.
The truth is, NIL is not exactly a level playing field at every single university – and some athletes do have advantages depending on their athletic department's preparation. It all comes down to two things: the specific NIL regulations and laws (or lack of) in each state, and the school's budget or desire to help student-athletes.
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NIL State Laws
Following the ruling that allowed athletes to profit off of their NIL, without any federal policy, states were given the jurisdiction to create their own policies. This means some states who were enthusiastic about the new legislation passed NIL laws detailing how athletes can profit off of their NIL, and others have chosen not to. Ironically, the states that chose not to are the ones that now have the least restrictions. This applies to states like Utah, Georgia, Virginia, and various others – where we have seen players and even entire teams sign endorsement deals due to the lack of specificity in their states' rules.
Due to this being the case in Utah, BYU's entire football program was able to sign and renew a semester-long deal with the popular protein bar brand, Built. Over the last few months, the school's NIL department has negotiated NIL deals totaling over 1 million for their athletes. However, athletic programs at colleges in Florida and Alabama would not be able to do the same for athletes, as those states' laws prevent schools from negotiating deals for their student-athletes.
Related: Navigating NIL Deals: What's Off Limits?
NIL Departments at Universities
After a few months of NIL going into effect, universities are finally starting to catch up – and recognizing how beneficial it is to have a department, person, or third party that guides in NIL education and even seeks out and negotiates deals. The University of Nebraska, for example, was the first school to invest in an outside NIL program: Opendorse. Months later, their NIL initiative is one of the most thorough and expansive in the country – educating athletes on how to build their brand and also teaching financial literacy. The University of Colorado also created a program called “Buffs With a Brand,” which offers rich education and mentorship aimed to help with NIL. Under this, they have also cultivated “Buffs NIL Exchange,” giving their student-athletes a direct platform to make partnerships.
BYU, Duquesne, University of Arkansas, and San Diego State are just some schools among the many that have created specific NIL positions in their athletic departments. Schools like Tennessee, Washington, and Florida State have all created NIL curriculum as part of coursework that student-athletes can take for credit toward their degree.
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This may all play a pivotal factor when student-athletes are weighing their offer options from different universities. In fact, the NCPA has already anticipated this and created State NIL Ratings, ranking states that allow their athletes the most freedom at 100%. Especially for highly recruited athletes who will be playing at the Division 1 level, the potential to make the most profit off of their NIL will be a deciding factor in college decisions.
To find out more about NIL policies at each University click here.
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* Originally published on March 8, 2022, by Celeste Gutierrez
