A New Era Dawns In College Sports, As The NCAA Scrambles To Keep Up

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The March Madness logo on the court during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. Soon, some college athletes can get money when using their name, image or likeness.

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18-year-old Kaiser says she was raised by a single mom and can envision sending NIL money back home.

«I think it’s all about trying to feed your family and making a way for them, she said, «and not necessarily about us. At least for me.

If University of Michigan basketball player Naz Hillmon decides to use the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA because of the pandemic, she’ll be able to take advantage of Michigan’s NIL law — it’s slated to go into effect in December of next year.

If she does, Hillmon has ideas.

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Naz Hillmon #00 of the Michigan Wolverines is among the college athletes speaking out about new laws allowing them to cash in while playing in college.

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Basing, again, on social media popularity, Axios noted that 8 of the top 10 most followed athletes in the Elite 8 rounds of this year’s men’s and women’s NCAA Division 1 basketball tournaments….were female players.

According to The Washington Post, other research found star athletes in women’s sports and Olympians now competing in college, could make up to half a million dollars a year in endorsements.

That’s big money of course. The majority of athletes, many in so-called non-revenue sports, doing camps and lessons, making occasional personal appearances, or working their social media, there’ll be more modest sums for sure.

You get what you put in

«The reality is, [making money off NIL opportunities] is just like anything else, said Jim Cavale, CEO of the content-providing software platform INFLCR (pronounced «influencer). «What you put in is what you get out. Any student-athlete who thinks this is just going be an automatic windfall of revenue, is insane.

«You’re going to have to work at it. Some athletes will have to do less work than others, just like playing time. Some athletes are so gifted they can get on the field very easily and play and score and do well. Other athletes have to work a little harder. But everyone is going to have to put in some work.

Cavale started his company in 2017, and is now using the last four years of connections and business to give INFLCR a leg up on the dozens of companies that’ve sprung up to take advantage of the NIL wave. Cavale says more than 100,000 athletes nationwide have the INFLCR app, which helps them manage their name, image and likeness opportunities.

Managing that business, doing the work to create their own brands, that’s a valuable lesson for any athlete, he says. From the star quarterback to the softball shortstop to the setter on the volleyball team.

«Even though they [may not make] a ton of money off NIL, Cavale said, «it’s going to help them make the most of the network and surroundings they have while they’re playing. So they can start to make those connections and build the foundation for the rest of their lives. A lot of athletes, unfortunately, experience the side of the ball being deflated. The game’s over and nobody cares anymore. They don’t care they used to play. They don’t care you were this position on this team. You’re now an adult trying to make it in a very tough world. [So], get a head start.

The NCAA plays catch up

The question remains, who will have the opportunities?

College athletes in at least seven states will as of July 1st. And it now appears all athletes will be included.

The NCAA’s quick game of catch up has the organization finally positioned to offer NIL rights nationwide.

Meetings last week led to the draft of an interim plan that, if approved, would take effect July 1.

Under the plan, athletes in the states with laws going into effect will follow those laws; in states without laws, schools can create their own NIL policies.

There still are prohibitions included in the NCAA’s plan, including NIL compensation can’t be tied to an athlete’s performance — not allowing, for instance, more NIL money for more points scored. The organization is trying to hold the line against pay for play, a bedrock of the amateurism model the NCAA has preached throughout its history.

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But the model has been harder to defend as the money has boomed in big time college sports.

Indeed, last week the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stinging and unanimous ruling that the NCAA can’t limit athletes benefits that are linked to education. It was a narrow ruling but one that eviscerated the NCAA’s claim that it should be exempt from the nation’s antitrust laws because the athletes are amateurs.

The decision is expected to lead to future challenges to NCAA rules. Patrick Bradford, a veteran anti-trust lawyer based in New York City, was part of a group that filed an amicus brief supporting the athletes in the Supreme Court case. Particularly the African American athletes who comprise the majority of athletes in revenue-generating football and men’s basketball.

Bradford predicts the Supreme Court ruling has a lasting impact.

«I think it’s just a matter of time, he said, «before the NCAA will have to divorce itself from regulating the economics of student athletes.

For now, with its temporary NIL plan, the NCAA, which did not respond to a request for comment, is stepping back by allowing schools to create their own policies. But the association also says schools and athletes should adhere to the plan’s guidance «until such time that either federal legislation or NCAA rules are adopted.

The NCAA Division 1 Board of Directors reportedly will meet Wednesday to make a final decision on the interim plan. If, as expected, the board approves it, the NIL policy would go into effect the next day.

Making the NCAA a partner, albeit belated, in a new era.