Name, image, and likeness (NIL) is uncharted territory for collegiate athletes and the universities that they attend. On the surface NIL is amazing, allowing players from all sports to generate revenue from their image. Though, reading between the lines you can begin to see the issues surrounding the ruling.
In 2021, the Supreme Court released NIL into college athletics with little legal parameters, leaving decisions and rulemaking up to the states. While NIL solves many moral issues with the NCAA, it ultimately creates more legal and moral problems.
Many people believe that NIL diversifies talent across all sports. The true reality may be the rich getting richer, and if players feel unsatisfied with their earnings they can leave whenever they wish.
An example of this is former UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka. At the beginning of the 24-25 season Sluka helped UNLV start 3-0 and played great, but left the team due to verbal NIL agreements being unfulfilled according to ESPN's Sara Coello. UNLV still made the Mountain West Championship game but lost the game with their new QB not playing great. Issues with how much money is earned at smaller schools and how much they can spend will continue to be detrimental to them.
Chad Wieberg, OSU’s AD voices these same concerns in statements to the Tulsa World.
Weiberg said that NIL could ruin or help Oklahoma State sports and states that if OSU does not take full advantage of this new opportunity it could set them back decades.
This shows the issue of schools with a larger money supply obtaining players from schools who cannot provide them with the money they want.
A great example is former OSU QB Spencer Sanders leaving for Ole Miss. Sanders had a good NIL deal with Oklahoma State but transferred and signed with the Grove Collective. This deal, along with his value, had an estimation of $240,000 according to On3. Sanders holds many OSU records and was going to be the starter for the season and instead left for more money, and didn’t start.
The good news for Oklahoma schools is that a new executive order from Governor Kevin Stitt will allow them to compete.
The executive order reads, “this order enables institutions to facilitate direct payments to student-athletes.”
In NIL's first full year do you believe it had negatively impacted your favored University?
Positive Impact
Negative Impact
Too Soon to Tell
While the ruling looks good, it does create a divide among the major schools in the state. A larger and richer alumni base, such as you might find at OU, will allow them to pay players more than a school like Tulsa.
This doesn't allow for diversity among talent and instead will centralize the top talent to OU and OSU. The Pokes also face a challenge as their brand and money is not as large as the Sooners, keeping the already big divide amongst talent at the two universities.
Ultimately NIL is a foggy future that will decide the landscape of college sports for the foreseeable future. While changes are coming, currently NIL doesn’t help with spreading talent across the NCAA but does allow players to obtain their fair share of money.
The NIL warning signs are here and its effects, whether long-term or short, are speculation. But NIL could become better thanks to possible legislation and rule changes that could balance the landscape of college athletics forever.