The Future and NIL

Traditionalists beware: NIL will be significantly different than you may be used to right now.

When you think of NIL, you probably think of people like Bryce young using his spot at Alabama to secure millions in sponsorship money or someone like De'Coldest Crawford doing a commercial with an air conditioning company. However, there may be some changes coming that would make college football more like the NFL.

The NFL makes loads of money every year. TV deals, sponsorships, and ticket sales brings in billions, which the NFL divvies up to its 32 teams. The players and teams get checks for playing on Fox or from selling Nike jerseys. This is something that may be a future endeavor of college football.

Think about it: ESPN has a traveling show that garners thousands to show up as early as 6am, then they advertise the game all day and both teams draw a sellout of tens of thousands of fans. Millions watch on TV, seeing ads and stay tuned to see who wins. This whole process makes ESPN and the schools money hand over fist. The players will probably be drawing from those funds soon.

Brands like Nike or Ford aren't going to give clout or huge amounts of money to any one player in particular, as they are way too big and would have to trust that a player will be worth it. They could trade a big check to the school and players in exchange for a commercial slot during the big game. The players get NIL money and the schools or conferences get a certain cut as well. This would be particularly lucrative for schools who have famous Alumni, like Nike and Oregon or Maryland and Under Armour.

In this model, certain conferences or teams would seem more professionalized, as players receive steady checks from games. However, if we are gonna expand the playoff to be closer to NFL size and allow transfers like NFL free agency, this is simply the next logical step. This would give more leverage to the power five, as their TV deals are more lucrative and would pay more to players. This would also create a scenario where the collectives at schools would be extra money on top, so some players may end up making a killing to play college football.

Like it or not, the toothpaste does not go back into the tube. We changed the transfer rules. We expanded the playoff. It seems like college football may be well on it's way to officially being NFL junior.