Photo taken By Lauren Pence

By: Kennedy Leppert, Lauren Pence and Elle Woodward

On a cold Christmas morning, snuggled up in a blanket, Lauren Leal was told she had one last gift to open. Instructed to go outside to the mailbox, Lauren figured her brother had forgotten a gift and ordered it last minute.  When she retrieved the letter addressed to her in the mailbox, she soon came to realize this was more than a Christmas gift, it was life-changing. Her brother, Anthony Leal who is a senior on Indiana University men’s basketball team, had paid off her student-loan debt.

When Anthony was just a sophomore at IU, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of college athletes making money off of their Name, Image and Likeness; often referred to as NIL. NIL provides a way for athletes to make money while attending college, which has become a controversy with recruiting and the transfer portal.  NIL has the ability to provide a generational impact, especially for athletes that are great college players but not good enough for the pros, they can capitalize on their collegiate abilities.

Dr. Glen Clavio, professor at Indiana University, is an expert in how NIL impacts collegiate athletes and the benefits it provides. Talking to a C250 lecture hall, Clavio described what NIL is and all the components it adds to an athletes college experience. “This is not a case of new rights being granted for college athletes, instead a removal of the restrictions that were being imposed by college athletic departments on college athletes .” Clavio said. With the recent ruling on House vs. NCAA stating collegiate athletes from the last 10 years who were unable to receive monetary compensation for their Name, Image and Likeness can now be paid for their monetary impact on the college they attended, there has been some pushback about how much these collegiate athletes are making.

After a long month of traveling to watch her brother play in Vegas, studying for finals exams with an impending college graduation, Lauren was hoping to push the stress of the upcoming student-debt payments off past the holidays.  Anthony, seeing this stress that Lauren had, knew something had to be done. With brand deals as big as Adidas, or local Bloomington restaurants like Mother Bears,  Anthony has been able to use the Supreme Court ruling in his favor. “I don’t think I’ve ever truly felt shock like that, I had so many emotions.” Lauren said.  Her brother had paid off all of her student debt without her knowledge. Without the implementation of NIL, Anthony never would have been able to help his sister with her student-loan crisis.

Collegiate athletes at all levels, not just Division I, are feeling the ramifications of NIL. Hanover men’s basketball player Rhett Johnson and his family also had a positive impact once the NIL ruling was passed. “It helps with the small things, even just gas for them to come visit me.” Johnson said.  While there are going to be cases of young collegiate athletes spending money on items deemed irrelevant or reckless, the everyday impact that it has on athletes and their families can be easily overlooked. The impact of NIL goes deeper than just the surface level that is often portrayed in the media.

NIL has created an unprecedented time to be a student athlete in college. Often times without guidance from their universities legal teams, young athletes are faced with making tough decisions. While this can be quite overwhelming, NIL has also created a way for athletes to give back to their families after years of them supporting them. With cases like Lauren Leal and Rhett Johnson, the impact NIL has not only on athletes but their families will be talked about for generations to come.

The implementation of NIL changed how collegiate athletes can make money. People on the street told us how they feel about the benefits it can provide for the athletes families.