Name, image, and likeness, also known as NIL, has created a new age of college athletics, allowing athletes from all sports to get branded deals through numerous sponsors. It has been an excellent source for collegiate athletes and has changed the overall landscape of the experience.
Players are now more willing to stay another year versus chasing the money for a potential pro debut. However, the good follows some bad, with concerns of unfair play at landing top recruits by pushing dollar signs before a recruit can make a clear decision.
The NCAA has been looking at ways to crack down on this issue and ensure a fair playing field regarding landing recruits. Tuesday, Mack Brown spoke to the media about a coaches’ meeting he and his staff had with the NCAA and his optimism about NIL control moving forward.
“We talked as a staff to one of the lead enforcement people for the NCAA the other day for about an hour and a half,” Brown said. “He told us that you cannot be promised money before you get to a school and that there is no difference between somebody giving you 200k years ago, then someone offering you 200k to come. So they are going to start making kids ineligible who accept that money.”
Brown continued to speak about how the NCAA and families adapt to this new age of collegiate sports.
“I think that the NCAA is learning more about how to manage NIL. The families are learning that a lot of the coaches that have offered them the money that it is illegal, and they could lose their eligibility. They are also learning that some of the collectives that have offered them the money when they get to the school that money is not there.”
Brown finished talking about the changes he saw this year in visits with recruiting in talking about NILs.
“We have not had a person in recruiting so far this year talk to us about NIL, and that is different than it was last year.”
As schools maneuver around NIL and the transfer portal, it is promising that an even playing field is on the horizon. With UNC’s extensive brand, they should be fine continuing to make waves in that department.
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