For years, college football fans clamored for athletes to get their fair share of the pie from universities making millions of dollars based on their names. Schools were selling jerseys, shirts—and more importantly, season tickets—based on the elite talent they had on the team.
Men’s basketball and college football continue to be the only profitable sports for nearly every athletic department. Universities take the money they receive to pay salaries, grant scholarships, maintain facilities, and fund the rest of the athletic program.
While receiving a full-ride to a top-tier university has its advantages for many students, there are several blue-chippers worth much more based on their value based on their name, image, and likeness. Let’s break down how NIL deals have changed the CFB landscape and what we can expect in the future.
What Is the NIL?
In the summer of 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the longstanding decision of NCAA v. Alston, which prevented student-athletes from receiving additional money from their name, image, and likeness on the grounds of their amateur status.
NIL grants athletes the freedom that regular individuals already enjoy. Student-athletes may take money from businesses in return for using their image in goods or commercials, and they can also use public appearances to promote themselves or other firms. Originally, any student with an athletic scholarship could not capitalize on their public notoriety.
Every state had varying opinions on the issue, but two constants remained: schools couldn’t open their wallet to acquire a player, and there wasn’t any quid pro quo. While these two rules are in place, you can tell these players and institutions loosely follow these guidelines when you look at the transfer portal.
The Newly Found Freedom of the Transfer Portal
Although the transfer portal began three years before the NIL, the two share a cause-and-effect relationship. There were good intentions behind the transfer portal, considering the old rules required a player to sit out an entire year and get the head coach or university’s approval to seek out other options before they could suit up and play.
The logistics of transferring were also a nightmare for schools to deal with. A school administrator had to contact the corresponding university an athlete wanted to go to. From that point, the new school needed documentation and collect information about their potential new student. If a player wanted to test the waters and consider five different schools, the compliance officer would have to do this process five times.
The portal eliminated the busy work for every party involved. Any student-athlete wanting to take their talents elsewhere could submit their name to the portal, which uploads them to a massive database of participants across all sports.
Currently, coaches and school officials are the only ones that can view the portal, as it’s not open to the public. However, it doesn’t take long for a reporter to learn that a player wants to bolt their current situation. With this new-found freedom, every collegiate athlete is on a one-year contract with their current school. No longer are they obligated to finish their career with the team they signed to as a freshman, nor are any obstacles permitting them to go to the highest bidder.
Examples of the NIL’s Effect
The leniency with transferring and the limitless potential of NIL deals opened Pandora’s Box regarding players jumping around a frog crossing the street. This year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Caleb Williams, was originally a part of the Oklahoma Sooners. But when his coach at OU, Lincoln Riley, headed west to USC, Williams followed.
Williams is only a sophomore, so he will be behind center for the Trojans one more year, increasing his NIL evaluation. Williams currently has deals with Fanatics, Futuremood, Athletic Brewing Company, Celsius Drink, and most recently, AT&T. With his current deals and prospects, Williams ranks fourth in all of the NCAA at a total value of $3.2 million.
The three individuals ahead of Williams are future Memphis Tigers basketball star Mikey Williams, Arch Manning, and Bronny James. Manning and Williams are comparable to Williams at around $3 million, but LeBron James’s kid has more to offer, nearly doubling Peyton and Eli’s nephew at $7.5 million.
NIL deals aren’t only for the top one percent of collegiate athletes. Other lesser talents have gotten extra cash in their bank account with amazing partnerships. A local Nebraska HVAC company wanted to sell their HVAC systems that produce the coldest air, so signing Decoldest Crawford to pitch their AC units only made sense.
Future first-round pick and former Texas running back Bijan Robinson inked a deal with Lamborghini, giving the uber-talented back an uber-luxurious car. Robinson’s deal led other high-profile car companies like Bentley and Porsche to use C.J. Stroud and Shilo Sanders.
In an example that proves NIL isn’t only for the future NFL stars, Norfolk State tailback Rayquan Smith earned the title of the “King of NIL.” Although he’s hanging up his football cleats to become a decathlete, Smith has over 70 NIL deals.
Finally, the NIL landscape can benefit entire teams. Texas Tech gave each football player on scholarship a salary of $25,000 on the condition that they complete the necessary community service. 25K may not influence a five-star quarterback to become a Red Raider, but it can go a long way in swooping up a nice collection of quality players.
The Ugly Truth
We’ve discussed the good and bad elements of the NIL’s influence on collegiate sports—now it’s time for the ugly. Jaden Rashada is a highly touted quarterback for the incoming 2023 class. Miami—desperate to return to the glory days—had a booster fork over $9.5 million to make him a future Hurricane.
Florida got wind of Rashada’s agreement with Miami and upped the ante, reportedly offering Rashada $11 million to come to Gainesville. Florida claimed no such offer occurred, and that Rashada flipped to Florida of his volition. But after the Gators recently cut ties with Rashada, which led the five-star QB from Pittsburg, CA, to look elsewhere, it was clear some shady practices were going on.
The NCAA is adamant about prohibiting nefarious deals akin to “pay-for-play,” and Florida didn’t want this ominous dark cloud hanging over them.
The Future
We’ve only scratched the surface of how NIL deals have changed the CFB landscape. We only know that money talks, and both sides want to make as much of it as possible.
Pregame wants to help you make as much money as possible with our NCAAF expert picks. The season may have ended, but that doesn’t mean you cannot look ahead to 2023. Will Georgia make it three in a row? Will Caleb Williams run it back and become the first back-to-back Heisman winner? We can answer those questions, allowing you to make money off the players’ backs like the 130 FBS schools.
