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DOES NIL NEGATIVELY AFFECT COLLEGE ATHLETES MOTIVATION?

By Kol Popkin, Carter Moran and Erika Watt

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov. 5, 2024)

Kai Connor massages his temples as he looks over the list of multiple colleges that have reached out to him for the third time. The countless years of memories on track teams throughout his life playing in his head. Alabama, IU, Purdue, Columbia, and more had invited him for unofficial visits offering him differing athletic scholarships and promises. Ideas of money, publicity, and deals swarmed his mind, the dim lighting of his room starting a slight headache. Connor knew prospects of making money off of himself in college could be a genuine factor in picking his future.

His fingers tapping the desk as he took in every coach and teammate’s opinion that’s been said to him. Through all the confusion of the picking and choosing recruitment process, the only thing that provided clarity was remembering his love for running. The dedication and passion he’d put in to get where he is today further leading his motivation to continue past high school. With his competitive nature and love for track, he finally knew what college he wanted to pick and why. 

In 2021, the NCAA changed its rules to allow college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness. Taking away these restrictions after so many years of them being in place left many athletes and professionals in the field questioning whether this will change the motivation of athletes. Will effort levels decrease or increase if the ability to make money is available to them? Are athletes performing for the wrong reasons? We talked to multiple athletic experts on their understanding and thoughts on this.

athlete kai doing warmups
Kai Connor, junior track and cross country athlete at the University of Alabama, completes his warmups before practice. Connor expresses that making money based on name, image and likeness makes the sport more enjoyable. Photo by Jacob Lucas

Junior track and cross country runner at University of Alabama, Kai Connor, shared his own NIL experience and gave us his take on how making money affects college athletes. He has had involvement in deals with brands such as Reebok, CVS, and HeyDude. With the many opinions surrounding enjoyment, motivation, and pressure with NIL, we asked him how he thinks deals have affected the way athletes enjoy they’re sport. Connor said, “Not too many downsides when it comes to making money because that’s how it always should’ve been. You always should’ve been able to promote yourself on your own and reach out to companies. In sports you can only have a certain amount of scholarships, but now with NIL you can put more kids on full scholarships which is helpful. Taking away financial stress definitely increases being able to enjoy your sport.” While it could be believed that having the ability to make money at a younger age would add more pressure, Connor highlights how helpful NIL can be with financial burdens for college students. The recruitment process is also very controversial given schools that can offer more money would get the best players. However, players’ reasoning for picking colleges and motivation for their sport cab be a lot more complex than that. We see that in Connor’s situation. Knowing Alabama just finished 4th in the nation last year in track and is a top 10 program in cross country, Connor came to be pushed athletically. He said, “I wanted to be challenged, you know I didn’t want to be like the best guy coming in. It definitely makes you compete harder.” He further points out that his reasoning for picking such a competitive program was related to passion and work. 

Tyler Cherry tossing a football up in the air
Tyler Cherry, Freshman quarterback at Indiana University, tosses a football in the air to pose for a picture. Cherry is familiar with NIL and shares positive feedback on the matter. Photo taken by Erika Watt

As well as track, NIL deals are very popular in football. We interviewed IU Bloomington’s backup quarterback Tyler Cherry. He described how since he’s only a freshman, his personal experience is limited. However, he still has a lot to say around the controversy of college athletes making additional money. When asked if he thinks NIL deals will impact the future of college athletics he said, “I think NIL deals are the entire future of college athletics. I think that’ll affect a lot of recruiting situations if the schools are close, like whoever offers more money might end up getting the recruit to come to their school.” Cherry believes, like many others do, starting to make money at that age will affect the process surrounding applying and choosing schools for high school seniors. However, his beliefs for college athletes such as himself differ. While he believes NIL has completely changed the game of football, when he was asked if he feels NIL opportunities have affected his motivation to compete he said no. “I approach it the same, just want to do my best and if you’re playing good you can get some opportunities. I think some athletes may be more focused on NIL, but it doesn’t really affect the way you train. Like in high school, it’s just football that you love to do and want to do. But in addition to that, you can make good money and get opportunities off the field.” This simple statement describes how love for a sport can outweigh money-making aspects. 

Professor Clavio guest lecturing a room full of students
Galen Clavio, Professor at Indiana University and NIL expert, guest lectures students during a C250 StoryLab class. During his lecture, Clavio addresses the rights athletes have to make money based on name, image and likeness. Photo by Emma Pearce

Many professionals working in the athletic area believe regardless of the motivation behind someone’s work, they have the right to be able to make money off of themselves. This is the case with Galen Clavio, professor at Indiana University and NIL expert. He said, “Everybody in this room as an adult has rights of publicity. You have the right to profit off of your name, what you look like, and how your likeness is utilized within any form of media or advertising or business.” It could be said that the age of college athletes is too immature to be able to make a certain amount of money. That they’re too impressionable and may prioritize the potential deals that could be made instead of their passion for the sport. However, does that make it okay for other people to decide if they can or can’t brand themselves? Clavio believes this is a right that already exists and is not granted, “This is not a case of new rights being granted to college athletes. It is instead the removal of restrictions that were being imposed by college athletic departments upon college athletes. Essentially telling those people you do not get the same rights as the other people that are college students.” Athletes like Tyler Cherry and Kai Connor uphold this notion that the passion for a sport exceeds the prospect of making money in college. This freshman football player and junior track competitor provide the same insights that getting deals is just an additional prospect to the hard work, dedication, and commitment put into college athletics. In addition to the fact that according to Clavio, this restricted right should be given regardless of the motivation. These professionals point to incentive and effort not being an issue within NIL.

Interviewees express their opinions on NIL. They explain why or why not they like NIL, along with how they think it affects a college athlete’s motivation for their sport.

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Public Relations Story

New Apple Watch is Set to Change the Game in Health and Fitness Tracking

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts
Ava Fletcher
Kol Popkin
Molly Wrightsman

CUPERTINO, California (Sept. 9, 2014) — Apple CEO, Tim Cook, announced the unveiling of the first ever Apple Watch at their annual developer’s conference on Tuesday, September 9th, in Cupertino, California. 

The new watch, that will feature health and fitness, is expected to receive positive feedback. Cook confidently announced this new product with an innovative and detailed video highlighting its features. He highlighted abilities to track heart rates and activity levels, as well as demonstrating their customizable watch faces you can make uniquely your own. After the video was shown, Cook was beaming with delight while pumping his fist into the air with the new watch on his wrist. He left the audience buzzing with excitement after the announcement of this new product.

Paris Marshall uses the GPS setting on her Apple Watch as she walks to the Sample Gates at Indiana University. Marshall also uses one of the watch’s fitness features to track her steps daily.

After the introduction, Cook showed a video where Jony Ive, Vice President of Design, went further into explanation of the amazing features the Apple Watch offers. Ive goes on to explain the significance of every part of the Apple Watch. He explains the dial on the side of the watch, known as the Digital Crown, which is the main function for scrolling and zooming in and out on the watch. The Digital Crown was created on the watch, so the user does not have to cover up the screen when trying to use the device. Ive also mentions how accurate the watch is and how easy it is to use. Whether it be trying to send a text message or scroll through photos, the Apple Watch is simple to operate. The personalization of this watch is endless, whether it be with a colorful cool background or a sleek, modern watch band. “You can personalize both their appearance and their capabilities,” Ive said. The bands for the watch are easy to slide on and off and there are hundreds of different styles to choose from.  

One of the most exciting things about this watch is the different capabilities it has. For example, the application options are endless on this Watch. Users are able to send messages and take calls just as you would on your iPhone. Not only this, but you are able to scroll through photos, look at notifications from third party apps, check the weather, play games, and more. However, one of the apps that is expected to stand out the most is the Fitness and Workout app. The Fitness application monitors your activity and movement throughout the day. The Workout app allows you to set goals with the workouts you do. Finally, this watch will have three different collections to choose from; such as the Watch, Watch Sport, and Watch Edition. “Creating beautiful objects as simple and pure as they are functional, well that’s always been our goal at Apple,” is the statement Ive leaves the audience with before Cook returns to the stage. Once again, after this video was shown, the audience was beaming with excitement and wonder about what all this watch truly has to offer.

Joey Bejin uses his new Apple Watch to track his heart rate during a workout. The watch’s numerous health and fitness features help Joey make workouts safe, effective, and fun.

A demo of this watch was then given by Kevin Lynch, Vice President, where he goes even further into detail about the capabilities and wondrous features the Apple Watch has to offer. Lynch shows users how to answer messages and how to use the digital crown (the dial on the side of the watch). He even shows how with a simple click of the button that is located on the side of the watch, you can send live messages to people in your contacts. Along with this, he mentions how Siri is already built into the watch and how they are also working with third party companies to make apps that will be compatible with the Apple Watch. After Lynch is done with his demonstration, Cook returns back on to the stage.  

As in closing, Cook brings up the “important details”. He mentions how this device is only compatible with the Apple iPhone. The Apple Watch will work with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 5. The watch will not work with other brands of smartphones. The price is also revealed for this product, at a starting price of $349. Cook does not give a definitive date on when the Apple Watch will be released, but he says how it will be available early next year, and it is worth the wait. Cook reveals that much time, and effort was spent on this product and how he and everyone else that worked on it are so excited for the future of it. “It is something functional, yet incredibly beautiful,” Tim Cook said. “It empowers people and enriches their lives.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals the Apple Watch’s new health and fitness capabilities. Cook explains that these features are customizable to each user’s unique lifestyle. 

Project Leader Kevin Lynch showcases the home screen of the Apple Watch. The new smartwatch functions much like the iPhone, with additional features in health and fitness. 

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