Jeremy Henderson Capstone
What is NIL?
NIL deals are very new, so you may not know much about them. NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. Collegiate athletes had played for centuries without being able to earn a profit for their abilities. However, in the summer of 2021, the United States Supreme Court and the NCAA passed a bill that would forever affect college athletics. Today, NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA athletes have the power to be paid to play, because of NIL deals. As with most revolutionary changes, there has been plenty of debate about whether or not athletes should get paid in college. Nevertheless, the verdict has been solidified and athletes have already started earning some money.
Name
This is based upon how popular your name is. We have all met a name-dropper. When people hear your name, do they recognize it? Because you are popular, will having you represent my brand bring more customers and attention?
Image
This refers to how you choose to portray yourself. Do you use your platform and privilege to display an authentic version of yourself? Is there a risk of your image tainting the image of my brand or business? Are you a safe option?
Likeness
This pillar is the most subjective. This one is the part that's the hardest to work on. Some refer to this as the intangible factor. It is simply, do people generally like you? If you represent my product will your likeability or attract customers?
The highest-paid NIL athletes (of those reporting their profits)
1. Jaden Rashada, Univerisity of Miami, $9.5M (football)
2.Bryce Young, University of Alabama, $3.4M (football)
3. Livvy Dunne, Louisiana State University, $2.6M (gymnastics)
4. Caleb Williams, University of Southern California, $2.5M (football)
5. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State University, $2.4M (football)
6. Will Anderson, University of Alabama, $1.7M (football)
7. Bijan Robinson, University of Texas, $1.7M (football)
8. Hansel Emmanuel, Northwestern State University, $1.5M (basketball)
9. Sunisa Lee, Auburn University, $1.5M (gymnastics)
10. Sheduer Sanders, Jackson State University, $1.4M (football)
What the data does and doesn't show...
After looking at this top 10 list, one can make two clear observations: the business of NIL deals is an industry with millions and millions of dollars and football players account for a significant amount of NIL contracts thus far.
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Let's discuss the first observation. I stopped the list at the top 10 earners; however, there are roughly 35 collegiate athletes who are making over one million dollars. This list comes from a site called On3 NIL, which is the leading source for NIL contract tracking and rankings. On3 NIL has done an excellent job acquiring and following news with regard to contracts, but the company can only work with what is provided. There is no current regulation that requires athletes or sponsors to publicly disclose the details of any deal; therefore, many athletes are probably making significantly more than what the public is aware of. For example, one of the most notable athletes that isn't on the list above is Massai Russel, a hurdler from the University of Kentucky. She has chosen to keep the details of her contracts and sponsorships private, but she has announced some of the major brands she is working with such as Google's Youtube Shorts, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Hulu, Venmo, Walgreens, and Lululemon. Another well-known athlete who doesn't release the amount of money they are making is Shaqir O'Neal, the youngest son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Shaqir is a basketball player at Louisiana State University and he has signed a deal with NFT Genius, a new cryptocurrency startup company. When asked about the specifics of his contract, he stated that his profit "could be a crazy amount". These are just two examples of athletes who are making a good amount of money but keeping it private. NIL marketplace company, Opendorse, estimates that from July 2021 to July 2022 there was $917,000,000 spent on NIL deals. Of course, more time has passed and more athletes have signed deals now, so that number has likely surpassed the one billion dollar milestone. So for anyone who wants to know just how much money is involved with this new opportunity, the answer is that there is significantly more money than you or I will ever know.
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The second observation is that football accounts for a good amount of the top 10 highest-paid athletes. This should come as no surprise to most because NCAA football has always been the top sport. While this may not seem important to most, this fact actually reveals a dark truth that the NCAA and sports, in general, have been guilty of for decades: all sports/athletes are not treated equally. I have attached a graph below that illustrates the major inequalities we are already seeing in less than 2 years of NIL contracts. The chart consists of the top 10 sports making the most money, but it was easy to see that the list is mainly 3 sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association features 24 sports, but only 3 of them account for 82.5% of total NIL compensation. This staggering fact is a perfect example of how unfairly the money is being distributed already and this has caused some tension among the remaining, under-represented sports. One of the most prominent examples of pay inequality is at the University of Texas. In 2021, the Longhorn football team finished 5-7 and didn't even make a bowl game. On the other hand, the Longhorn women's track team was crowned national champions while the men's squad finished as the national runner-up. In that same school year, the football team made $900,000 in NIL deals while the men's and women's teams combined earned less than $100,000. Texas isn't the only school guilty of unfair pay, but the athletes from the school have pointed it out significantly more than other schools.
