When the NCAA lifted its ban on name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals on July 1, 2021, it ended a century-old amateurism model that had kept college athletes from earning a dollar from their own fame. Since then, critics have warned that paying players would destroy college sports as we know it. But much of that criticism rests on misunderstandings about what NIL actually is, how the market really works, and who benefits.
Here are four common arguments against NIL and what the evidence and economics actually show.
Myth 1: NIL is just ‘pay-for-play’ by another name
Critics often lump NIL deals together with paying athletes salaries, arguing that boosters funnel money through collectives to recruit or retain players. There’s some truth to that concern: booster-funded collectives have indeed become de facto salary pools, with deals sometimes informally tied to roster decisions. But NIL itself is not pay-for-play. It’s compensation for commercial activity — an autograph signing, a social media post, a local car dealership ad. The NCAA’s interim policy explicitly prohibits deals that are contingent on athletic performance or enrollment, even if enforcement has been inconsistent.
More fundamentally, the distinction between NIL and pay-for-play is blurry in any context. Professional athletes are paid for their labor, but they also earn endorsement money based on their fame. College athletes, by contrast, are not employed by their universities. NIL simply recognizes that their personal brand has market value — value that the NCAA suppressed for decades while its own broadcast revenue grew past $1.1 billion annually.
Myth 2: It ruins the ‘college experience’ and amateurism
The romanticized notion of the ‘student-athlete’ playing purely for love of the game ignores the reality that college sports have been a multi-billion-dollar industry for years. Coaches at top football programs earn $8–10 million annually; athletic directors and conference commissioners pull in seven-figure salaries. Meanwhile, athletes were prohibited from earning even a few hundred dollars for signing autographs — a rule that enriched everyone around them except the players.
Amateurism was never about purity; it was a legal construct the NCAA used to avoid paying athletes. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in NCAA v. Alston (2021) called the model ‘unlawful’ in Justice Kavanaugh’s concurrence, noting that the NCAA’s restrictions would not survive antitrust scrutiny. NIL doesn’t ruin the college experience — it finally lets athletes share in the commercial value they create.
Myth 3: It only benefits a handful of star athletes
Yes, the top of the market is skewed. Bronny James, Shedeur Sanders, and LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne (whose NIL valuation reportedly exceeds $4 million) capture headlines. But the average NIL deal is modest — often a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, including free products, local endorsements, and youth camp appearances. Estimates put the total NIL market at $1 billion to $1.17 billion annually, but that figure is spread across thousands of athletes, not just the few at the top.
What’s often overlooked is how NIL has benefited women’s sports. Female athletes in gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, and softball have secured a disproportionate share of deals relative to their sports’ revenue generation — a contrast to professional leagues where women’s earnings lag far behind. NIL has created new income streams for athletes who were previously invisible to the money machine.
Myth 4: Athletes shouldn’t be paid because they already get scholarships
A full scholarship covers tuition, room, board, and books — but it doesn’t cover the true cost of attendance, like travel, laundry, or a pizza with friends. And for athletes in revenue sports, the time demands are akin to a full-time job. The NCAA’s own rules historically limited scholarships to cost of attendance, which is a fraction of the value these athletes generate for their schools. NIL doesn’t replace scholarships; it supplements them. And unlike a scholarship, NIL money is not controlled by the university — it comes from third parties who value the athlete’s brand.
Moreover, the argument ignores that many college athletes are not on full scholarships. Walk-ons, partial scholarship athletes, and those in non-revenue sports often struggle financially. NIL offers them a way to earn money from their skills and fame, regardless of their scholarship status.
The real problem: a patchwork of rules
Critics aren’t wrong that NIL has created chaos. There is no federal law, so regulation is a patchwork of over 30 state laws plus individual school and conference policies. This inconsistency has led to confusion and, in some cases, abuse. Boosters have used collectives to lure players, and enforcement of the no-inducement rule has been nearly impossible. International students face visa hurdles. High school athletes in some states can sign deals while others can’t.
But these are problems of implementation, not proof that NIL is a mistake. The NCAA has repeatedly asked Congress for a federal standard, but none has passed. The solution isn’t to roll back NIL — it’s to create a coherent framework that protects athletes while allowing them to profit from their own names.
The critics’ case against NIL often rests on nostalgia for a system that was never fair to athletes. The evidence shows that NIL has opened doors for a wider range of athletes — including women and those in non-revenue sports — and that the average deal is far from life-changing. The real challenge is not whether athletes should earn money, but how to regulate a system that finally acknowledges their value. As the market matures and federal rules potentially emerge, the focus should be on making NIL work for all athletes, not on returning to an era of suppression.
Summary
- NIL is not pay-for-play; it’s compensation for commercial use of an athlete’s name, image, and likeness.
- The ‘amateurism’ model was a legal construct that enriched coaches and administrators while prohibiting athletes from earning even modest sums.
- The average NIL deal is small (hundreds to a few thousand dollars), but total market value exceeds $1 billion annually.
- Women’s sports have benefited disproportionately from NIL, challenging the notion that only male stars gain.
- The biggest problem is the lack of a federal standard, not NIL itself.
FAQ
Q: Is NIL the same as paying college athletes a salary?
A: No. NIL deals are independent contracts with third parties for endorsements, appearances, or social media promotions. They are not paid by universities and are not guaranteed based on athletic performance, though enforcement of that distinction has been uneven.
Q: Who benefits most from NIL?
A: While star football and men’s basketball players at Power Five schools attract the largest deals, the average deal is modest. Female athletes in sports like gymnastics and volleyball have captured a significant share of NIL earnings, often more than their sports’ revenue generation would predict.
Q: Why did NIL become legal in 2021?
A: State laws, led by California’s Fair Pay to Play Act (2019), created pressure for a uniform policy. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in NCAA v. Alston (2021) also signaled that NCAA compensation limits were legally vulnerable.
Q: What are collectives?
A: Collectives are third-party organizations funded by boosters that pool money to arrange NIL deals for athletes. They have been criticized for functioning as de facto pay-for-play systems, but they operate outside direct university control.
Q: Is there a federal law governing NIL?
A: No. The NCAA has asked Congress for a federal standard, but none has passed. Regulation remains a patchwork of state laws and institutional policies.
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