According to Opendorse, the NIL market is expected to be worth approximately $1.7 billion in the 2024-2025 season. Of that amount, $1.1 billion will go to college football. Men's basketball players earned approximately $389 million. Women's basketball players received about $75 million. The Olympian earned about $134 million.
The money-making spree dates back to July 2021, when the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA could not prevent student-athletes from profiting from their name, image and likeness. Since that decision, a legal battle has continued between the NCAA and state legislatures.
“It will be very interesting to see the competitive balance between the states,” said Rob Sain, CEO of Blueprint Sports. “Tennessee is more aggressive, Florida wants to be more aggressive, and Texas wants to be more aggressive. More state laws are passed, repealed, and passed again. .”
Blueprint Sports oversees several high-profile collectives across the country. Boosters, individual donors, and corporations often fund organizations that choose to pay athletes for appearances and endorsements. These groups are estimated to control approximately 80% of the NIL market.
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“Schools are already spread out very thinly, so for the professional services department, they're happy to know that we're going to have staff on campus that represent them and our student-athletes,” Sine said. “As a marketing agency, Collective handles all the work. We provide the sports department with a third-party department where they can negotiate with agents. We can also negotiate with athletes. We can also respond if there is a 'portal, termination of contract, or something like that. ”
Blueprint Sports oversees collectives across the country, including One Pack NIL in North Carolina, 5430 Alliance in Colorado, Happy Valley United in Pennsylvania, and Arkansas Edge in Arkansas.
“Pennsylvania has different rules than Arkansas or North Carolina,” Sine said. “The NCAA guidelines are really there to set guidelines, and in certain areas you have to follow state law.”
Initial guidance from the NCAA in 2021 was consistent with the Supreme Court's ruling. Players could be compensated if state law allows. This rule sought to prevent schools from using NIL funds to recruit athletes.
“It was a lot easier,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). He said this while referring to how the NIL Act has changed the hiring process in recent years. “Now there's no recruiting at all. We're buying. It's completely different.”
Before Tuberville was elected to the Senators, he coached at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati. He has since co-sponsored the NIL bill with Sen. Joe Manchin, IW.V. He plans to work with Democrats in the next Congress to reintroduce or amend the Protection Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act (PASS Act).
“In football and basketball, it's about who has the most money,” Tuberville said.
California signed its first state NIL law in 2019. Several other states have begun to follow suit. Eventually, Congress began passing laws that bypassed NCAA guidance and allowed NIL funds to be used for recruiting efforts.
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“As the years went by, the money got more and more expensive, and student-athletes thought, 'Wait a minute, what if we took some of that money? What if we split the revenue?' ” Tuberville said.
Tuberville says groups have too much influence and that laws like the PASS Act would help level the playing field. But the group disagrees with this.
“I don't think the federal government is the way to do it. I think the federal government would create a lot more complexity,” Sine said. “I've seen public hearings before, but there's not a lot of direction or bright ideas coming out of them. There are a lot of draft bills. I think it's going to be hard for them to get anything passed. .”
Not all university officials believe the federal government should not be involved in NIL discussions.
“This is a free market economy. We live in the greatest country in the world. And it's great that student-athletes are finally able to get paid what they're worth. “But we need national standards in college sports.''Every coach needs to know that when that ball is tipped off, we're all playing by the same rules. , that's not the case right now,'' Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said.
Alabama and South Carolina's original laws reflected NCAA guidance prohibiting the use of NIL funds for recruiting. Other states have begun passing laws that deviate from that guidance and allow loopholes for third-party donors to promise money to potential student-athletes. This led to a change in the NCAA's stance. In 2022, the Division I Board of Governors clarified that schools can ask donors to fund organizations as long as they are not directed toward a specific sport or athlete.
“It used to be about graduation rates. Or, can you help me get to the NBA? Are we going to win championships? What is the culture of the program like? That was more important to parents. ” says Pearl. Said. “Now it's more transactional. What is my market value? How much will I get if I go to that school? And of course, everyone is playing with a different budget now. And That makes it somewhat unfair.”
The latest NCAA guidance causes Alabama and South Carolina to repeal their original NIL laws. Both states decided that other schools had a better chance of recruiting better players.
“It gave us a little more freedom,” Pearl said sadly. “We want the conference and the people who lead our programs to be empowered. Everything is going to court right now. They're losing every case.”
Texas passed a bill in 2023 that would deviate from NCAA guidelines that allow donations to certain sports. The law also allows for perks and perks for fans who donate to the NIL Collective. The provision also made it illegal for the NCAA to punish schools that took full advantage of the NIL.
“A lot of people started noticing the gray area. So donors and other organizations across the country looked at this situation and said, “Okay, let's raise $2 million instead of $100,000.'' “Or we're going to raise $20 million and actually start building this and create a huge competitive advantage.'' Because no one says we can't do it,” Sine said.
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New transfer portal rules have increased competition to find better players and pay more money. Months before the Supreme Court handed down its NIL ruling, the NCAA updated its transfer portal policy to give Division I players the opportunity to transfer on time and play immediately.
Initially, athletes could transfer, but unless they were granted a waiver by the NCAA, they were required to take a year off before playing. In 2024, the association updated its guidance to allow unlimited transfers as long as players meet certain academic eligibility requirements.
“Almost everyone on the Marshall University football team transferred. They had to drop out of the bowl game,” Tuberville said. “Their coach left and they followed them.”
Marshall was scheduled to play Army in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. Instead, dozens of Marshall players entered the transfer portal. Army will play Louisiana Tech instead.
“We understand that families are in a situation where they may never earn more than what they're making now, and that's what's guiding them. We tell our kids, don't fight. I'm teaching you to run away.”
UNLV quarterback Matthew Sulka announced in September that he intended to enter the transfer portal for the second time in his college career. Sulka's agent said that NIL's $100,000 payment was defaulted after Sulka agreed to transfer to UNLV.
“The combination of the NIL and the transfer portal destroyed graduation rates and made them free agents,” Pearl sad. “In some cases, it can cost a lot of money.”
State laws also vary regarding who can represent student-athletes. In 2019, the Uniform Law Commission recommended that states adopt uniform athlete representative laws. This allowed student-athletes to hire agents to protect themselves from unfair practices. At least 39 states have adopted this law, but it does not mention NIL. Some legislatures have added agency provisions to state laws.
“Athletes have agents, they have lawyers, they have accountants. That's what we've been fighting for all these years. Don't sign with agents. Keep agents out of your life. But college Football, college sports have grown.”
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The NCAA will now allow universities to pay players directly, on top of what they already receive through scholarships and third-party payments. Each school has a maximum cap of $20.5 million across all sports. The school has already directed most of that money to its football program.
“If we don't find some kind of solution, we're going to lose a lot of football programs, basketball programs, women's sports. The NCAA has to work with us,” Tuberville said. “When you have so many people involved and everyone wants their way, there aren't many answers.”
