Ok I've been loving college football for decades, went to college and know how to read and all of that, and see and hear everyday about NIL in college athletics, and bits and pieces of this that and the other, including these values someone has come up with and now the Colorado QB has bought a Rolls Royce. But can someone please make it easy for people like me to understand?
1. Where does the money come from?
2. How is it given to the players?
3. Who/what determines how much they get?
4. Is is guaranteed? In other words what happens if they break their leg?
5. If a player leaves one school for another, does he loose the deal and have to start over?
6. Can a school (or whoever it is paying) offer a player more money to come play for them?
7. Is their "salary" renegotiated each season?
Thanks very much and please keep it simple. Just typing these questions makes me worry about the future of the greatest sport ever.
Take this with a grain of salt because I'm not a lawyer or expert, and what rules there are are unenforceable:
1. Anyone that wants to give. Some universities are attempting to route it through collectives, but from my understanding if you were a millionaire that wanted a particular player, you could hire him to post nice things about you and pay him whatever you wanted. Pretty sure I heard a NIL commercial at my kids HS game last Friday for a player and a local restaurant.
2. I don't think its complex, just a check.
3. Between the player and payer. Collectives are probably more controlled, outside that, the parties agree.
4. Short answer, it is like any business deal, if there is a contract, you are legally obligated to the enforcement you can command. If you don't get that, they can, and have, reneged. Once the player has the money, it is not supposed to be tied to play, meaning if he's hurt, they can't ask for it back.
5. Depends on the deal and contract I'm sure. Officially, they aren't supposed to be tied to recruiting and therefor not to the school, but if Dreamland hires you as a spokesperson, and you transfer to Texas, I doubt you get paid next time around.
6. The school isn't supposed to pay them beyond the stipend. Collectives are independent of schools. Also see #5, and the comment about rules being unenforceable.
7. Not a salary for play, its subject to renegotiation based on whatever the agreement was.
You've hit the nail on the head on why this is a problem. Prove you paid me to come here vs because I am here. There has already been a case where a player signed away a percentage of NFL earnings for money right now, and the agreement is ridiculous. (and they reneged on his money as well)
No rule to take money one year from here, and then money from someone else next year.
That being said, I think its going to settle down. People are realizing that a purchasing a recruiting class does not equal wins (TAM). The money isn't infinite. Cord cutting is about to crash the TV money market. So the available dollars are going to be less across the board. Eventually, transfers are going to realize that more often than not, it doesn't work out.
I don't know how long it will take, maybe 5-10 years or more, but things will reach a new normal. I don't know that we'll like what it is, but I don't think the sport will die.
