By Meara Doran and Jane Negus

Bloomington, Indiana (Oct. 7, 2024)

The NIL was introduced with the intent of NCAA student-athletes earning deals from their name, image, and likeness. The initial purpose of the NIL was for all athletes to benefit from endorsement opportunities, yet these seem unfair. Many high-profile players in sports such as football and basketball are securing lucrative deals unreachable to those not well known. Athletes in sports that don’t attract as much publicity often struggle to inherit the same type of support and endorsements. This disparity has sparked questions about whether the NIL is a fair system. The goal of the NIL is for college athletes to profit, but many people question whether this is a fair market for all college sports. Are smaller sports being overshadowed by large-market athletes and sports?

There are varying opinions about NIL in the college space, and many people have differing thoughts and opinions about NIL collectives. As the NIL is newly established, there is still a lot of unknown. From recruitment dynamics to the financial benefits for athletes, the effects of NIL policies are becoming increasingly evident. Dr. Eric M Smedley, Co-Director of the IU Marching Hundred and Athletic Bands, had some insight into this issue. The introduction of NIL rights has brought new challenges to maintaining fairness in college sports, particularly in recruiting. Dr. Smedley explained, “Schools that had successful “brands” had a leg up right away. Schools in larger cities, where more businesses are to offer NIL deals to help sell their products, automatically have an advantage. Schools in smaller markets are disadvantaged. West Coast schools are at a disadvantage because their teams play late games on Saturday to stand out – but a lot of this happens after East Coast people are in bed.” This inconsistency has resulted in notable differences in the opportunities accessible to athletes based on their school’s geographic location and market position. Dr. Smedley also talked about the differences in NIL deals between those in popular sports and sports that don’t get much publicity. He explained that “The NIL collectives that have risen, parallel to large universities, help athletes secure NIL deals; however, the focus is on the big profile sports. These collectives work closely with athletic departments, who want more revenue. The more popular sports will win out in that equation.” For athletes not in the limelight, creating a personal brand robust enough to secure NIL deals can be a challenging endeavor, especially without backing from institutions.

There is also a conversation that suggests college athletes should be receiving compensation beyond NIL deals. Many questions come up surrounding this issue, including: How should that compensation be structured to ensure fairness across both high-revenue sports like football and basketball and lower-profile sports? Dr. Smedley answered this question with confidence, stating. “This is coming. The NCAA lawsuit settlement from over the summer dictates that universities can pay up to 20 million a year – but there is language in there that specifies that the money has to be shared equitably with the other non-revenue sports.” As college athletics evolves, the balance of fairness, opportunity, and financial equity will stay vital to conversations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By: Annabelle Purkey, Grace Hunteman, Aaris Moore, and Macy Bair

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov 5, 2024)

A few months ago, Purdue University swimmers Brody Friend and Sam White were finishing up practice when their coach called the team to the side. Their eyes panned back and forth around the room, looks of confusion on everyone’s faces. Although they were unsure of what would be said, they didn’t have any reason to be alarmed. This soon changed. The swimmers were told that because of newly instated laws regarding NIL, the team could only suffice for a roster of thirty next season. Friend and White knew their college athletic career was on the line. 

On the contrary, Indiana University Red Stepper Jaylyn Hogan has seen many positives of the NIL ruling. Although she herself cannot acquire NIL deals because of university rules, many of her peers have done so and found it to be valuable to their athletic career. 

College athletes across the nation are experiencing the game-changing impacts of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals in starkly different ways. While some star players rake in lucrative endorsements and expand their personal brands, others struggle to find similar opportunities, widening the financial gap and creating new pressures. This shift is transforming college sports, raising questions about fairness, financial management, and the potential for NIL to either empower athletes or deepen divides among teammates and programs.

NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness and refers to the rights college athletes now have to profit from their personal brand. In a landmark 2021 decision, the NCAA suspended previous restrictions on athletes earning money from their NIL. This ruling allowed college athletes to accept endorsement deals, sponsorships, and other revenue opportunities, such as social media partnerships, merchandise sales, and personal appearances. The decision marked a major shift in college athletics, granting athletes like Friend and White new financial freedoms while also introducing new complexities within the teams. 

For college athletes like friends of Red Stepper Jaylyn Hogan, NIL has been transformative, opening doors to revenue and opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible before. When interviewed about her opinions on NIL and its effect on college athletics, Hogan replied with nothing but positivity. NIL has created a sort of pressure around sports, but nonetheless it is a way for student athletes to gain recognition and compensation for their hard work. 

“I don’t believe there are any negatives to this ruling,” said Hogan. “It highlights their efforts and how much work they put in, in and out of the sport.”

Interviews on the street, asking strangers and students their opinion on the Name Image and Likeness ruling.

 

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By Charlie Smith, Lucy Little, and Shayna Oppen.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (November 5, 2024)- Landon Gilmore was just 6 years old when he was first branded with the nickname “Happy”. The name has since stuck, making his NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) grow exponentially. 

Ever since Gilmore won the long drive competition, In which he was originally called “Happy”, he has been popular in the golf scene not just for his name but for his ability to play. On June 23, 2023 things truly changed, as Gilmore announced his commitment to Ball State University to play Golf In a Twitter post. The Twitter post went viral after Adam Sandler (The actor who created the character of Happy Gilmore for the Film.) commented on the commitment.

“Go get ’em Happy. Pulling for you.” Sandler said in the post. 

After the post went viral Ball State gained a lot more attention. 

“Between him and I, I want to say that we gained 23 million eyes on Ball State that haven’t been there before.” Gilmore said about himself and Sandler.

Since this, it has raised the question of how much do schools benefit from students like Gilmore? Dr. Galen Clavio, Director of the National Sports Journalism Center at IU, addressed students’ questions at a press conference about NIL. One student asked about schools choosing players based on popularity instead of skill.

 “This has been a question since the beginning of this, I’ve yet to see it happen… the coaches that control those teams want to win, and they have a limited amount of resources and whatever small positive effect you might have from a popular high school player  is just a drop in the bucket, compared to the effects of having a winning team.” Clavio said.

A lot of people have feared the possibility of favoritism when it comes to sports recruiting for college teams, creating some controversy with NIL. With that, people have also questioned whether or not it would start to affect high school students who are trying to get more attention. Some are wondering if it is going to create greater pressures and struggles for these students trying to get recruited. 

“There are two different aspects of NIL that we have to keep in mind. There’s the NIL that just comes from being a good athlete and ultimately the idea that you have intrinsic market value at the college level as an athlete in whatever sport and that value is not equal just because you happen to be an athlete… Now the other part of NIL is the athletes who are really good at media. Who understands how to utilize media, bring in a social media audience, if they are also good at their sport that’s awesome but for a lot of businesses that would like to contract with an athlete from an NIL perspective the question would be: what market do you bring to the table… So yes, if you are a high school athlete who is trying to gain a media presence that will carry over into college, then yes that can be an added pressure.” Clavio said in correspondence to being asked about the added pressure of NIL on high school athletes.

Ball State had already accepted Happy before he went viral, he was recruited for his skill. The Fame he brought to the school was just an added bonus for Ball State. 

With his NIL, Gilmore rarely has to buy his own equipment anymore because of equipment deals he has accepted, but NIL isn’t as simple as a lot of people seem to think. 

“It adds a lot of business into my life. A lot of people think that it’s really simple, but it’s quite complex because there are a lot of laws, and there are a lot of things that you have to do. But as far as it affects me financially, NIL definitely helps. I don’t have to worry about paying for equipment because I am lucky enough to have a few equipment deals.” Gilmore said when questioned about how NIL affects him personally. 

Popularity is a huge factor when it comes to NIL as well, especially if you participate in a sport other than Basketball and Football. This is relevant because the only two sports that generate significant revenue for the NCAA are Men’s Basketball and Football. Which causes a lot of the student athletes to have a hard time getting NIL money unless they are very popular.

 “Obviously in a sense I want it to be fair, But I don’t think that being fair would be fair… At the end of the day it is like a business right, and so if and so I feel like if everyone on the basketball team is getting paid the same amount, it’s not fair for the guy who is doing all the media stuff because he is the most popular. Or the guy who is head and shoulders better than everybody. Obviously those people should get more, and with our golf team, you’re never gonna see a billboard in Muncie of our golf team. It’s gonna be the Basketball team.” Gilmore said when asked if all athletes should be paid the same amount, or based on popularity and skill.

According to Sports Business journal, Social media equates to about 72% of all NIL activities. The three main categories being: Social media Influencers, Personal Brand, and selling content directly to fans. This is because if student athletes didn’t utilize social media platforms to boost their popularity all the money would go straight to the main Money makers: Men’s Basketball and Football. So to be “used” more they must have an outside presence besides just relying on their sport.

“I don’t feel like anyone can complain about making less when at the end of the day we are being used less.” Gilmore said adding on about the NIL pay system in college athletics.

Bloomington residents comment on why the believe college athletes should be paid. They go into detail about all of the pros and cons of how NIL pay currently works.

 Jason Ghandi, Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives at IU, gives his insight into how NIL can be based on popularity.

“athletes are picked based on social media following for certain deals, unless the company is asking for a specific player.” Gandhi said.

Most of the athletes that are getting the mainstream deals, such as Powerade for example, are getting those deals based on how much reach they have on social media and sometimes that player isn’t always the most skilled on the team. A lot of times a company already has a player in mind. 

“it’s sort of like natural selection on how athletes are picked.” Gandhi said. 

Players aren’t necessarily competing against one another but they do have to sort of fight to get their name out there more than their teammates. It’s obvious the amount of money athletes get is going to be based on the popularity of their sport and IU for example “men’s and women’s basketball and football will always get the higher dollar value than a smaller sport like golf”, Gandhi said. But that then poses the question of do smaller sports like golf get any money? Gandhi was asked if all sports on campuses are reached by NIL deals. 

 “It’s common for at least one athlete from each sport to have a NIL deal of some form at most schools.” Gandhi said. 

So, although most sports are going to be reached with deals it’s obvious that the more popular sports are going to be getting the most attention from brand deals making it seem like a game of popularity. 

 

By Addie Parker, Lauren Miranda and Goldi Baranovsky

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov. 5, 2024)     The crowd fills the football stadium weekly, Mia Fox and the Indiana University RedStepper dancers take the field for a performance. An exhilarating moment supporting Hoosiers’ best football program in history. 

Withstanding the pressure from fans to maintain a standard of talent and polished presentation as a dance team, athletes that find social media and apps hold increasing opportunities. In interview, Fox an IU Junior on the team, revealed the developments of the 2021 NCAA v. Alston Supreme Court ruling allowing name, image, and likeness (NIL) benefits for college athletes, has had minimal effects for her and teammates. “They don’t allow our team, even though it is funded by the athletics department, to receive NIL directly,” Fox said, “any NIL type deals that we might get have been from like a private NIL company that has nothing to do with Indiana University.” 

College dancers train regularly to perform technical, entertaining choreography to thousands of people who may not understand the dedication it takes. “Dance teams right now, in just the cultural context, nationwide not really included in athletics departments because of simply closed-mindedness,” Fox explained. While many dance teams are not being recognized and have yet to directly benefit from NIL, college football players face saturated social media competition. Denzel Dorn, Florida International University football player, is also working towards direct gains since the ruling, but highlighted how strategic social media NIL deals are to get. “I’d say, though, that with that saturation, you have to be unique and kind of stand out. So, you need your own way, your own skills to navigate yourself through social media.” Dorn said, adding that he is learning unique posting skills from teammates who post consistently on social media platforms on Instagram and TikTok. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NCAA, deciding its restrictions on education benefits for student-athletes were unfair under antitrust laws. Although Indiana University dancers cannot gain the same benefits with these social media platforms, third party NIL collectives do hold optimism.

Dr. Galen Clavio, director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, held an insightful “news conference” about the developments of NIL opportunities, since the 2021 Supreme Court ruling. He discussed that every University could set up direct and indirect NIL collectives while adhering to NCAA regulations and university polices. Fox, highlighted third-party NIL promotional opportunities that she has taken advantage of to collect donations from friends and family. She feels that these private deals, independent of Indiana University, offer minimal benefits for the RedSteppers. Being under the Jacobs School of Music and partially funded by athletics, the dancers do not get recognized as athletes. “The NCAA, dealing with financial control over college athletics, has been desperately trying to fight against external parties, like that, being able to make direct payments to players…” Clavio said. The NCAA can no longer restrict these gains for athletes, however the challenge of stabilizing income through third-party NIL collectives and social media remains unknown for dancers. 

 

As Fox and Dorn navigate managing their time as a student-athlete, they supported avoiding NIL as a distraction. “I get really stressed out, any free time that I have outside of dance, I’m mainly dedicating it to my schoolwork,” Fox said, describing her challenges balancing love for dance and her hobbies. “…so it’s definitely hard, because I’m not given any of the academic opportunities athletes are, like the tutoring sessions that they have and career coaching appointments through the football academic center.” This lack of opportunities makes it difficult for IU RedSteppers to work towards NIL deals because of stress. “It’s the added pressure, obviously, but you just have to manage your time more carefully. And since I haven’t gotten that many NIL opportunities yet, I haven’t let it distract me too much, I’d say, but some teammates do struggle.” Dorn said, not allowing himself to focus more on NIL than working towards being the best teammate. He hopes to keep a consistent, positive attitude as he manages these distractions while also working towards scholarship opportunities. 

These benefits do not come consistently for collegiate dancers and football players, but there appears to be hope for more NIL opportunities. The constant rise of social media and web use is already causing a constant increase in the amount of NIL options available for athletes. “I would strongly recommend that we start teaching about social media branding and the utilization of social media and digital media at the high school level for everybody,” Clavio stated. He emphasizes all the ethical possibilities that NIL collectives can provide athletes, and how it is each athlete’s choice how much effort they want to put into growing their brand. Social media in specific, can completely alter how an athlete is perceived and make or break how quickly their brand grows.  

Though athletes like Fox and Dorn are not currently benefiting much from NIL deals, this could always change in the future with a continued effort to support all athletes’ rights to benefit from their brand. It is important to inform others about the current collectives and social media opportunities regarding NIL, so that athletes can better access resources and greater recognition.  

https://youtu.be/LioWgMscibA

During class, we got the opportunity to interview three students about NIL. All of the interviewees were non-student athletes. The students opinions were around the same consensus. They believe that athletes should be able to profit off of their name, image, and likeness. 

By Kiera O’Reilly, Isabella Trine and Sophia Sessa.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Oct 31, 2024)—Imagine you are just a junior in high school, sitting down at your kitchen table on the phone with a D1 sports coach officially offering you a spot on their team. Continuing your sport means it will become your whole life, but you don’t get anything in return in terms of financial support from your own performance. Not knowing what your future holds, and worrying about how to make money, however yet you put all your time and effort into that sport. Then, flash forward to the 2021 Supreme Court ruling, you will probably have no hesitation in what your next step will be. 

 

In July of 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that NCAA athletes could capitalize and profit off of their name, image, and likeness- also known as NIL. Prior to that ruling, college athletes were not given the opportunity to receive any financial compensation for their own NIL, as it would go against the NCAA’s “amateurism” condition. Now with this opportunity being open for athletes, it’s up to the high school aged athletes to decide where they will attend, as well as the extent they want to push themselves to build their own NIL.  Opening this up for college athletes, it creates room for brands to become sponsorships and give more attention to the athletes leading the athletes to continue getting compensated. 

 

“Everybody in this room has the rights of publicity, you have the right to profit off your name, what you look like, and how your likeness is utilized within any form of media or advertising or business. 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.” says Dr. Galen Clavio, a professor at Indiana University Bloomington and director of the National Sports Journalism Center at IU.  Having this opportunity to open up for these collegiate athletes, it’s a much more of a motivation to continue to work on their own NIL and build what they have, while getting the deals and sponsors they are allowed to officially work with. 

“I think the NIL is a great opportunity for collegiate athletes because they earned it but at the same time I hope this opportunity doesn’t ruin the experience of being an athlete.” says Izaiah Steury, cross country and track runner at University of Notre Dame. He suggests how the financial side of athletics shouldn’t be the main reason to work hard, rather than just doing what you’ve always loved. The NIL has had a very positive impact on college athletes, and is benefiting athletes to profit from all the hard work they have put in. Steury continues to go on and say, “I have not received any NIL money due to not putting enough effort into it.” This shows the dedication athletes need to put in from the recruiting process through their college athletic carrier to build their NIL. 

The sponsorship opportunities are just one of the many factors that play into how athletes are choosing where they will attend college, and how the recruiting process has had to adapt to the new landscape of college athletics. “I think it one hundred percent impacts the transfer portal. When you are at a bigger school, you have more offers from more brands.”, says Olivia Gall, current Indiana University student and lacrosse player for Indiana University. With that being said, due to the NIL, it can be harder for smaller and less known universities in comparison for example a Big 10 school even if they are equal at athletics. Brands want to get their products and names out to the public, collabing with well known athletes benefits both parties which is what they want. 

 

When looking at Indiana University and these other well known, big D1 schools have a much higher chance to recruit these top athletes not because of their athletic departments, but as well as the NIL benefits the athletes will gain. 

 

 

Individuals going throughout their day while walking on Kirkwood were interviewed on their point of view on the NIL.

 

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By Cassidy Roche, Alex Gastineau, and Peyton Cripe

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Nov. 5, 2024) – Before the NCAA rulings on name, image, and likeness, student-athletes devised creative ways to make money and avoid violations. 

As of 2021, college athletes can profit from their NIL and are given opportunities to earn what they would have made in the past. Historically, these athletes would have been fined if they were found profiting from their NIL. Therefore, they came up with ways to pocket some extra cash in a way that wouldn’t get them in trouble with the NCAA.

Trey Humphrey, the owner of Hoosier A1 Vintage, has been working under the radar with student-athletes by helping them avoid these violations from 2020 to 2021. However, it wasn’t easy and came with many challenges. “Obviously dealing with athletes before that time as a business was… completely different because you couldn’t have them promote your business,” Humphrey said. Colleges would flag an athlete for attempting to use their likeness if they made any sort of wage. This led to Hoosier A1 Vintage receiving cease and desist orders from IU for having athletes show up to advertise the business and appear in promotional material.

Humphrey also aims to help athletes start their small businesses. By partnering with these clothing businesses owned by IU athletes, he could create pop-ups as a way to sell their clothing in collaboration with his store. This way the athletes could make their own money at the Hoosier A1 Vintage pop-ups which doesn’t require using their likeness. From the NCAA’s point of view, it isn’t clear if the athlete is getting paid out or making money in some other way.  “[It’s about] focusing on personal relationships, not putting money in their pockets,” Humphrey said when asked about how workflow has changed since the NIL ruling. He now, more than ever, values his relationships with the athletes instead of the monetary aspect.

Although NIL has come a long way, collegiate athletes have gotten into a lot more trouble for showing up in promotional material in the past. Turner More is an IU student and social media marketer for Red Cup News. He recalls when the head basketball coach at Syracuse, Jim Boeheim, had wins stripped away because a couple of his players were paid to coach an amateur basketball league. “I remember growing up a Syracuse fan. This was impactful to me because it seemed like these athletes weren’t doing much wrong and were doing something good for the community,” More said. Volunteering for the game was outside of the player’s media rights, which is why they got in trouble for it. These media rights are a long list of things athletes can and can’t do to promote themselves or earn money based on their NIL. Other athletes saw scandals like this and took precautions in how they made their money. There were a lot of under-the-table deals with families and promises for athletes for when they graduated, More said. Some universities would make promises like these to keep athletes from leaving and players would hold on to these deals in hopes of being able to earn extra money.

Expanding on these under-the-table payments from boosters and the universities themselves, comments from an expert on IU’s campus include more than a negative outlook on athletes not being able to make money pre-NIL. Jeremy Gray is the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications and Director of the Cuban Center. After interviewing him about some ways athletes in college made money before the NIL ruling, he explained that there was a lot of cheating going on. One way universities got around paying their players without repercussions was by having them work camps. Overall, he called the situation before the ruling “fundamentally unfair” for student-athletes. 

When asked his opinion on athletes having to get around the NCAA to make money pre-NIL, he stayed firm in his stance. “It was unfair. Any of you can make money by being an Instagram influencer, but they can’t?” Gray said. Pointing out the fact that any college student can profit off of their own NIL if they aren’t a student-athlete wavers an argument that has been echoed across the nation. Former collegiate athletes have spoken out about how because they didn’t have the opportunity to capitalize on their NIL previously, they are frustrated and want to carry out lawsuits. 

Although this is an ever-changing hot topic in the sports industry, uncovering ways that student-athletes provided for themselves opened up an opportunity to shed light on why NIL ruling is important to the athletes of today. 

 

On Sunday, October 20th strangers on Kirkwood gave their opinions on athletes having to get around NCAA violations before the 2021 NIL ruling. The interviewees explained their stances on how athletes should have gone about making money and  if it was justified. 

 

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By Sarah O’Brien and Xavier DeVany

BLOOMINGTON, IN (Nov. 7, 2025)

NIL is changing college sports, allowing athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness. The 2021 Supreme Court ruling gave college athletes control over their NIL rights while abiding by school rules and state laws. Previously, college athletes were not permitted to profit from their NIL. This change allows athletes to profit from partnerships, endorsements and/or brand collaborations, especially for those with a strong social media presence and marketability. With NIL, brands use athletes as a marketing tactic to reach certain audiences, and athletes use brands to reach other audiences and enhance their success and monetary value in diverse ways. 

High-performing or easily marketable athletes benefit the most from NIL deals. Athletes become marketable in a variety of ways such as creating content, public sightings, social media presence, etc. These athletes also often partner with brands to promote products or services, utilizing their visibility to boost their market value.

As Dr. Galen Clavio said, “Social media influencer athletes gain themselves market value,” showcasing how an active social presence is essential in attracting partnerships. Social media sites, including Instagram, TikTok and X, allow college athletes to engage with their audiences as they create content which could consist of showing their sports routine, their life outside of sports or anything public showing their life. Actions like these make them more appealing to a broader range of potential sponsors. 

One way athletes look to enhance their marketability is by posting frequently and creating a relatable persona. Shaan Burke, an IU men’s basketball athlete, said, “Relatability is a big thing. If you are a more relatable person, being active on social media helps a lot.”

Burke mentioned that one of his teammates, Anthony Leal, connects with his followers by sharing his love for country music on TikTok. Now that Shann’s teammates can partner with notable brands, the merchandise and amenities his teammates receive from their partnerships also get passed around to Shann. With the NIL, normally all the players do not receive the same commission as the rest of their team, as they most likely all have different brands or brand deals. By taking the time to build a personal brand that showcases genuine and relabel interest, athletes can attract targeted partnerships that align with their passions and values. 

For athletes not in the spotlight, NIL still offers opportunities. Burke suggests using university resources, such as networking with assistant coaches and leveraging connections with alumni or team donors.

“You have access to a lot of resources that the school offers, “Burke said. Likewise, Jeremy Gray, Director of the Cuban Center, suggests athletes to “put the social in social media…tag your teammates, respond to fans…all these things help” Gray said. Active engagement on social media platforms helps athletes build a following and increase their visibility, which is crucial for marketability and potential sponsorships. 

While NIL provides new opportunities, it also adds new responsibilities. “Having a financial advisor is a big deal,” Burke acknowledges, as many college athletes, fresh out of high school, lack experience with handling such a large amount of money. Attempting to manage new income streams while balancing academics and training can be overwhelming, which is why he recommends this guidance. With proper assistance college athletes looking to sustain their financial success beyond college can ensure that their NIL earnings become long-term assets. 

NIL affects athletes in many beneficial ways but also in a negative way. Before NIL was in effect, athletes had a constant stressor with their financials, training and academics. Now athletes have taken on a whole new level of responsibilities, public appearances, maintaining their brand image, maintaining relationships with partners and many other constant responsibilities for young adults. While these endorsements do not directly play into how a player performs, they still have an impact on the player’s mental and physical health. NIL has empowered college athletes to profit from their band while adapting to the pressures of self-marketing. To make themselves more marketable athletes must engage on social media, build a relatable brand and utilize available resources. Through these efforts, even athletes with less of a spotlight on themselves can find avenues to benefit from NIL and create partnerships that extend beyond their sports careers. 

Gabe Hissiong, Pete Macarthy, and Marissa Finney, visitors on Kirkwood, share their thoughts on how athletes can boost their marketability for NIL deals. Their responses highlighted the importance of leveraging social media to build a personal brand.

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By Ben Westler, Megan Liebhaber and Eve Tinsley

BLOOMINGTON, IN (Nov. 5, 2024)

Between sunrise workouts, demanding class schedules, and late-night study sessions, IU cheerleader Emma Lenzini juggles a full course load and intense athletic commitments, all while navigating newfound opportunities under the name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules. Emma not only has to focus on her role as a student but also as a social media personality.

Student athletes like Emma deal with this balance daily, forming a focus not just on a rigorous athletic schedule and academic commitments, but balancing and representing themselves and their program online and on social media. With the presence of NIL deals in college athletics, a question of fairness is raised: Should young athletes with a growing social media presence influence the recruiting process in college sports?

The debate centers on whether the trend of college athletes being recruited for their social media presence is fair. This trend can place athletes with smaller followings or less marketable personas at a disadvantage, even if they have superior athletic abilities. High school and college athletes now must face added pressure to manage their image and grow a following on top of their time-consuming academic and athletic schedule. Critics have begun to argue that the emphasis on social media presence threatens the fairness and integrity of college athletic recruitment. Some argue that these recruiting tactics aren’t about money alone, but rather exploitative efforts to promote athletic programs and drive revenue and popularity among the media, fans and viewers.

College athletes such as Caitlin Clark and Livvy Dunn exemplify athletes who have built brands around their NIL. During Clark’s time playing basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes, she boosted their revenue by upwards of $14 million dollars annually and nearly tripled the regular season viewership, benefiting the Hawkeyes’ entire program and business as a whole.

Livvy Dunn has done similar promotional work for the Louisiana State University gymnastics program. With almost 13 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, she has generated close to $10 million dollars in NIL deals, significantly boosting the viewership of college gymnastics, similar to Caitlin Clark. Both athletes represent the potential these deals hold as well as the importance of NIL in college sports today. Due to the increased visibility Clark and Dunn have brought to their teams, they have provided substantial benefits to their programs that may hold more weight in an organization’s eyes.

While these athletes illustrate why a program might recruit an athlete based on their following, the question of its fairness remains controversial. Galen Clavio, an Indiana University Sports Media Professor, has researched NIL deals extensively and provides valuable insight on the topic. When asked about the fairness of these NIL deals, Clavio said, “Whatever small positive affect an athlete might have from a really popular high school athlete coming in is going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the effects of having a winning team,” noting that no singular athlete can truly elevate a program’s success compared to the team’s collective achievements. Clavio’s claim is backed by the success of major football programs, which drive hundreds of millions in revenue during a successful season. Yet, does this apply equally to recruiting practices across every sport?

Noah Szik, a former Emory swimmer, makes a similar point that NIL deals are one of the lesser concerns for athletes. “You will make a lot more money as a successful NFL athlete,” he says. “That money is temporary”. Noah emphasizes the importance of focusing on an athlete’s sport rather than prioritizing NIL income as a college athlete. Emma Lenzini, an Indiana University cheerleader agrees, “It’s important to take advantage of NIL but not in the way that it gets in the way of many athletes’ main goal, professional sports,” emphasizing the need for a focus on athletic performance while using NIL to promote one’s skills rather primarily to make money. “I’ve definitely seen athletes with a strong social media following getting approached by brands, even if they’re not the biggest names on their teams,” she says, “ but athletic achievements still matter a lot”.

Both Noah and Emma express the importance of maintaining a strong athletic presence in order to truly find success. Whether an athlete’s goal is to make a profit or not, hard work is the common thread among those achieving success in both areas.

Professor Clavio, Emma Lenzini and Noah Szik all provide valuable insights yet conclude to the same point. While building a brand for oneself can provide an income, true individual profit and success comes from the success of a program on the field, court or even in the pool. NIL deals have transformed the world of college athletics from purely sport-focused to a business venture as well. Does this affect recruitment processes? It is too early to tell, but for now, skill remains the top priority. 

Name, Image, and Likeness, or NIL, has been a hot news topic since the 2021 Supreme Court decision allowing student athletes to profit on their individual brands. This series of “on the street” interviews explores local Bloomington residents and visitors opinions on the matter.

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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.