Is NIL Ruining College Sports

By: Gage Snyder

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NIL, which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness, allows for college athletes to begin getting paid for the first time ever. Beginning in July 2021, college athletes could start getting earnings for endorsements and other deals. However, the big settlement by the NCAA was in July of 2025, allowing universities to pay athletes directly. Many schools have used this to their advantage by recruiting players by paying them to commit to and play for their school. Multiple people have argued that this has ruined college football because athletes will be tempted to go to wherever they will get the most profit, rather than where they actually desire to go and further their skills.

NIL is not just affecting players; it's affecting coaches. They have to not only keep recruiting high schoolers but also the players on their team each year, because with NIL, different opportunities could persuade the athlete to leave the school for more money. Even the athletes who are in college already have received offers from different schools for a much better paycheck. This has led to many different lawsuits over transfers alone. A final argument to this is that people are concerned that these athletes are only using the money for their own personal fun and blowing it, rather than investing in their future. While some people counter this argument and say athletes are making plenty of money and should be able to treat themselves however they like. NIL has a lot of good benefits but also some disadvantages; hopefully, in the future, NIL can continue to grow and become better.