NIL In Action: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The emergence of name, image, and likeness deals has changed college sports as we know it. Players are transferring like never before, the amount of money that can be offered is now a major point of recruitment, and we are also seeing some endorsements that were just meant to be. For this third and last civic issues blog, I’ve compiled stories from different sports, viewpoints, and outcomes: the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

To start, the good. NIL has given players access to money they never could have expected to earn, whether they were headed for a multimillion-dollar pro deal or not. Though not statistically researched (as far as I know), it’s reasonable to think NIL deals could be keeping athletes in college longer and encouraging them to earn degrees. I hinted at this in the last blog about PSU linemen Caedan Wallace and Olu Fashanu.  

Players without scholarships have benefited as well: At BYU, “Utah-based Built Brands surprised every walk-on athlete on the football roster with an endorsement deal covering their scholarships” (Sallee). BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said in a statement he “could not hold back [his] emotions” when he heard what Built Brands would be doing. There are about 20 walk-ons on a D-I football roster, so this was no small deal. 

BYU isn’t alone in providing for large swaths of players; a Texas Tech NIL collective supports the entire football team. The Matador Club, as they go by, signed “all 85 scholarship Texas Tech players and 20 walk-ons to one-year, $25,000 NIL contract” (Olson). These players aren’t earning money for nothing, as that would be against the few NIL rules that do exist. In return for the money, “players will perform community service, serve as ambassadors for local and West Texas charities and appear at Matador Club events” (Olson).  

NIL deals have also resulted in some of the best team-ups you could imagine. SOS Heating & Cooling, an HVAC company from Omaha, signed Nebraska receiver Decoldest Crawford to a deal and the pair produced an awkward but funny commercial:

Crawford’s deal is reportedly exclusive and there are plans for more commercials in the future (Nebraska).  

Another deal that was meant to be was signed between Alabama’s Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry and the brand of his nickname (Scarborough). Both the brand and McKinstry had some fun on Twitter after the announcement. 

NIL deals have also brought fame and, in some cases, fortune to players that could have gone under the radar without it. Doug Edert, a member of the St. Peters basketball team that shocked the world on their run to the Elite Eight in 2022, received an endorsement deal from Buffalo Wild Wings after the tournament (Bentley). 

The Cavinder twins, a name that may be familiar to some via TikTok, also cashed in. The women’s basketball players, who have 5 million social media followers, signed multiple deals at 12:01 AM on the day NIL legislation went into effect (Knight). According to Forbes, they’ve earned almost $2 million from deals and have yet to touch any of that money, choosing instead to invest it (Knight). 

Some athletes have had mixed experiences with NIL. Take Pittsburgh linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who “has been very selective about business relationships that can help him now financially and into his future after football” (Barton). According to CBS Sports, “he would also like to use this platform to help others with causes close to his heart: sickle cell and ALS” (Barton). Clearly, good things can come from NIL. However, Dennis’ experience hasn’t been all positive. He had to protect himself from possible violations when “two schools contacted him earlier in the year despite Dennis never entering his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal” (Straka). Schools contacting a player not in the transfer portal is absolutely illegal under NCAA rules.  

Dennis’ former teammate, receiver Jordan Addison, may have been wooed away to Southern California by similar inquiries. Head coach Pat Narduzzi was reportedly suspicious “that USC tampered to get Addison to transfer” and “had multiple phone calls with Lincoln Riley to express his displeasure with the first-year Trojans coach” (Al-Khateeb). Addison won the Biletnikoff Award for the best receiver in the country the prior season. 

Yet another instance of bribery was waved in front of Boston College football player Zay Flowers. Flowers “reportedly received six-figure offers to change schools this offseason via intermediaries—with one offer as high as $600,000” (Selbe). Flowers ultimately turned down the offers due to his strong desire to stay at Boston College, but the fact that players who aren’t intending to transfer are receiving offers is ridiculous. This leads us into the ugly, where head coaches have begun to see frustrations boil over. 

Texas A&M is well-known for having wealthy alumni, and they noticeably have pulled in their highest recruiting classes in history after NIL was made legal. Alabama coach Nick Saban had something to say about this, claiming that “A&M bought every player on their team” (Kercheval). Saban also claimed that Alabama hadn’t bought one (Kercheval). That is unlikely to hold true in the future, as Alabama boosters will no doubt refuse to be outspent. Whether Saban thinks this makes him better than A&M or was trying to encourage his own boosters to start spending is unclear. 

Jimbo Fisher, A&M head coach, was happy to fire back, saying it was “despicable” that the athletes and their families had to defend themselves against the allegations (Kercheval). He added that “some people think they’re God” and implied that Alabama isn’t as squeaky clean as Saban claims (Kercheval). 

As it turns out, I did much more research than necessary for a 1000-word blog. There are plenty more examples of good, bad, and ugly with NIL from the so-called “NIL King” Rayquan Smith that has amassed more than 70 deals to the questionable flip from Florida State to relatively unknown HBCU Jackson State of 2022 #1 football recruit Travis Hunter.  

NIL has given many athletes new opportunities but has created quite a headache as well. It remains to be seen how or if more regulation will be brought in, whether by the NCAA or the government. Regardless, the new landscape will be entertaining for all in a multitude of ways. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading these and feel a bit more informed about college athletics, just as I do!

 

Works Cited:

Al-Khateeb, Zac. “Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi Rips Jordan Addison for Transfer to USC: ‘Sometimes People Forget How They Got Where They Are’.” Sporting News, 24 July 2022, https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/pat-narduzzi-jordan-addison-pitt-usc-transfer/truplurtzqqhbonvmrtbsdjh.

Barton, Jared, and Bob Pompeani. “Pitt Linebacker Sirvocea Dennis Takes Advantage of Nil Opportunities.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 31 Aug. 2022, https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pitt-linebacker-sirvocea-dennis-takes-advantage-of-nil-opportunities/.

Bentley, Coleman. “Saint Peter’s Cult Hero Doug Edert Scores Nil Deal with Buffalo Wild Wings, Is the New King of March.” The Loop, GolfDigest, 23 Mar. 2022, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/saint-peters-doug-edert-buffalo-wild-wings-march-madness-ncaa-tournament.

Kercheval, Ben. “Alabama’s Nick Saban Goes in-Depth on out-of-Control Nil: ‘[Texas] A&M Bought Every Player on Their Team’.” CBSSports.com, 19 May 2022, https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/alabamas-nick-saban-goes-in-depth-on-out-of-control-nil-texas-a-m-bought-every-player-on-their-team/.

Knight, Brett. “Cavinder Twins, Stars on TikTok and Basketball Court, Are Nearing $2 Million in Nil Deals, with More Ahead.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 July 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2022/07/01/haley-hanna-cavinder-twins-ncaa-nil/?sh=3ce58d9e5a41.

“Nebraska WR Decoldest Crawford’s Nil Deal Leads to Viral Ad for HVAC Company.” University of Nebraska WR Decoldest Crawford’s AC NIL Deal Leads to Viral Ad, Sports Business Journal, 17 Aug. 2022, https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2022/08/17/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Decoldest-Crawford-AC-NIL-deal.aspx.

Olson, Max. “Texas Tech Boosters to Offer $25k per Player.” The Athletic, The Athletic, 3 Sept. 2022, https://theathletic.com/4165622/2022/07/19/texas-tech-collective-to-offer-25000-nil-deals-to-100-plus-football-players/.

Sallee, Barrett. “Every BYU Walk-on Football Player Receives Nil Deal from Sponsor Covering Cost of Scholarships.” CBSSports.com, CBS Sports, 12 Aug. 2021, https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/every-byu-walk-on-football-player-receives-nil-deal-from-sponsor-covering-cost-of-scholarships/.

Scarborough, Alex. “Alabama Crimson Tide Freshman Ga’quincy ‘Kool-Aid’ Mckinstry Signs Nil Deal with Drink Company.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 18 Aug. 2021, https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32045155/alabama-crimson-tide-freshman-kool-aid-mckinstry-signs-nil-deal-drink-company.

Selbe, Nick. BC’s Zay Flowers Says He Turned down Huge Nil Transfer Offers. Sports Illustrated, 5 May 2022, https://www.si.com/college/2022/05/06/boston-college-zay-flowers-transfer-portal-nil-offer.

Straka, Dean. “Pitt Football: Sirvocea Dennis Says He Spurned Two Transfer Suitors That Made ‘Illegal’ Contact, Nil Offers.” 247Sports, https://247sports.com/Article/Pitt-football-SirVocea-Dennis-says-he-spurned-two-transfer-suitors-that-made-illegal-contact-NIL-offers–189075380/.

3 thoughts on “NIL In Action: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

  1. I actually like that college athletes are now allowed to be payed for their efforts and that they can engage in business deals of their interests. I also think that bribery and “under-the-table” transactions are found in many parts of the world today, with sports being no exception. Saying that, I believe this policy should be kept legal! It is up to individuals universities, organizations, boosters, and athletes to do the right thing.
    On a separate note, I will say Decoldest Crawford’s SOS Heating and Cooling summer commercial was actually funny. I can definitely see college sports fans having a lot of fun with their favorite athletes starring in commercials in the future too.

  2. Once again, your post was well-researched and informative! I liked that you included the good and bad things that have come from NIL. Everything has its pros and cons and NIL is no exception. I feel that without more regulations, people will continue to use bribery and other underhand deals to benefit themselves. For your issue brief, you could look more into the ways that people have found loopholes and see how a change in policy could have prevented those illegal or questionable activities. NIL seems helpful for many collegiate athletes, so it would be shame if it was taken away because of a few individuals and groups.

  3. Hey Michael, what another amazingly executed blog. I especially liked the details that you outlined in the “good” section, stating that scholarships are playing a crucial role in players taking school seriously. While there is no doubt that school comes first, I am so glad to see that players are earning degrees at much higher rates than before. Without a backup plan, in case of injury or burnout, athletes could be setting themselves up for a career-less future. Despite the many drawbacks that you listed, I think that this should come foremost, as it could come in handy in or out of the professional sports scene. Great job!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *