By: James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.
March Madness made me reflect upon how things have changed in college sports. If you are a part of today’s generation, you know about name, image and likeness agreements. You know athletes in college can become millionaires while playing a sport.
While if you have been here for a bit, you can remember when athletes in college weren’t making money or endorsing products. In fact, student-athletes were at the low end of the financial spectrum.
They were receiving purely athletic scholarships. However, there were some who were receiving money “under the table”. We have read some of the stories.
Coaches were paid to coach players who were on athletic scholarships. That was the scene on college campuses across America.
Back then, coaches would come to your house and make a pitch to you and your parents about the school along with the athletic programs. I know this to be factual because of my personal experience of having coaches come to my house to recruit me. I say that humbly as those were defining moments in my life.
Now, let us fast forward to the era of name, image and likeness. Obviously, NIL agreements are now at the forefront of colleges recruiting student-athletes. That is probably one of the first concerns raised by potential recruits.
This has created a real problem for coaches. Now, many schools have hired general managers for their sports programs. They are specifically hired to coordinate all NIL activities. That includes raising money, too.
In my opinion, it is a dauting task given the athletic landscape in America these days. NILs are the tools athletes use to get what they want. They are in control and coaches know that, too.
So, when a coach is recruiting a player, they need to have some NIL money to put into the equation. If you are coming only with a traditional scholarship, you are toast and burnt, too.
Millions of dollars are now part of athletic budgets which include of course NIL resources. Would-be athletes sign these agreements with different terms and conditions. The players also have agents and spokespeople as well.
Colleges that have sizable NIL monies are winning more games than they lose. When you can, look at teams for example, in March Madness and how they faired.
What is happening with NIL agreements does beg the question of legislation and enforcement. So far, that is not happening. At some point the NCAA or a congressional committee will have to step up and do something. We will see.
In the meantime, do student-athletes value the scholarship or are NIL agreements the main priority? I am on the outside looking in, yet I do hope they are being encouraged to graduate from college.
Is that an idealistic view? I hope not. Having a college degree is still important. Reports show student-athletes at the Division I level have a 90% graduation rate. It further shows that 39% of them receive graduate degrees during their playing time in sports.
For example, in the year 2024, 3,568 student-athletes had already received their college degrees and were in graduate programs. These numbers suggest that they are taking full advantage of the academic component and the NIL agreements, too. That is good news.
The Name, Image and Likeness model will continue to draw comments about its present state and what will happen in the future. Bryan Seeley, CEO of the College Sports Commission said, “I think it’s fair to say that the NIL market in college sports is not a normal organic market. It’s a market in which schools are manufacturing NIL for their student-athletes.” Allegiance to one school isn’t much of a factor these days. That is my opinion. Pride in being at the same school was important for those in the old school like me. Now, it’s a new day with a new story.
James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D. is a long-time educator who hails from Winston Salem, N.C. Ewers is a life member of the NAACP and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists
