Back in April, we noted the growing significance of NIL (money for Name, Image, Likeness) for college athletes, now available thanks to the Supreme Court.* Presumably, the idea was that those athletes who had developed high-profile reputations could cash in on brand endorsements, etc.
A recent LA Times article, however, suggests that NIL has opened the door to use of promises of NIL for recruitment. That is, athletes who have yet to develop high-profile reputations, but look promising as recruits, are being promised NIL deals through workarounds such as alumni donations. UCLA claims not to be doing this, and says it just facilitates already-recruited athletes in developing their own NIL deals. But if some universities are using NIL for workaround recruitment deals, it puts pressure on others to compete.
From the LA Times: College football coaches appear to have found a workaround for rules barring them from soliciting name, image and likeness deals for their players. Just create a sense of panic. Two months ago, Ohio State coach Ryan Day told local business leaders that his team would need $13 million in NIL money to keep its roster intact. A month later, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano reportedly informed a group of boosters that his team required an infusion of cash to keep players from being poached by more NIL-savvy teams. In each case, the message was clear to any fan, booster or business listening: Show us the money.
UCLA coach Chip Kelly said Saturday that he could only support his team’s NIL endeavors from afar. “I think people have kind of convoluted the whole rule,” Kelly said. “Name, image and likeness is the student-athletes can make money off of their name, image and likeness, but coaches can’t be involved in brokering deals for student-athletes. This is not pay for play, this is not recruiting inducements.” ...
Full story at https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2022-08-06/ucla-football-chip-kelly-nil-success-ncaa-rules.
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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/04/nil-aint-nothing-anymore.html.
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