NILs Already A Mess

So, as it turns out, schools are taking advantage of the Name & Image Likeness legislation to "steer" recruits in their direction, which, while not directly an NCAA violation, certainly toes the line.  Who could possibly have seen this coming?  Oh, that's right!  Everybody!   

This all came to a head over the past couple days and the tit-for-tat between Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher.  Saban singled out Texas A&M specifically in his criticism of the NIL system, which he feels could ruin college sports as we know them, especially if NIL deals are being used as a ruse to effectively pay high school players (which, again, is probably the biggest NCAA violation possible).

We've come a long way from the incredibly corrupt mid-80s, when the SMU football program was famously shut down for two entire seasons because of its egregious (and out in the open) NCAA violations that included regular payments to players, as well as other gifts to entice them to sign with SMU.  SMU's "death penalty" is one of the darkest moments in NCAA history.  But it was also necessary.  Now, 35 years later, we're looking at situations similar to SMU all over again.  All because of the NIL legislation.

To be clear, this isn't entirely the NCAA's fault.  They weren't proactive, which is true.  And they only agreed to come up with NIL guidelines after their hands were forced by various states that implemented their own laws allowing them.  So, they had to quickly cobble something together in response that applied to all NCAA athletes.

Even after being adjusted to allow for NIL deals, NCAA rules are still pretty simple and pretty clear.  Student-athletes cannot be paid directly for their participation in athletics.  Unfortunately, the NCAA has taken a hands-off approach and left enforcement up to the individual schools.  Which meant that there would inevitably be some that found ways to buck the system.

It came in the way of "collectives," which began popping up over the summer almost immediately after the NIL legislation passed.  These collectives all operate a little differently, but they pretty much serve the same purpose.  They take money from boosters and/or fans and redistribute it to student-athletes through NIL deals...some of which are contingent on attending a particular school.

Jackson State, another school Saban mentioned specifically by name, is another one of the big culprits here.  Deion Sanders is the head coach at Jackson State and he landed one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, including one player who flipped his commitment from Florida State after allegedly receiving a seven-figure NIL offer to attend Jackson State instead.  He's evidently not the only one, either.  None of which technically violates any rules, however.

That's another quirky thing about NIL deals.  Boosters are considered representatives of a school or that school's interests, and accepting anything from a booster is still a no-no.  However, these collectives are technically third-party entities, and they ARE allowed to accept money and endorsement deals from third parties.  And that line is incredibly blurry.

Ten days ago, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors published new guidelines reiterating its rules about boosters.  Boosters should not have any contact with potential student-athletes, their families or their representatives.  That includes collectives.  Any booster or collective who reaches out to a prospective student-athlete or signs them to an NIL deal that only applies if they attend a certain school is an NCAA violation.

Being paid directly to play a sport makes you a professional athlete.  Even though the definition of "amateur" is becoming more and more vague, that's the biggest difference between NCAA sports and pro sports.  The pros are paid to play.  NCAA athletes are not.  NIL laws haven't changed that, either.  They, as well as NCAA rules, still specifically state that athletes cannot be paid for their participation.  That would make them a professional.  Which they are not.

Since this was the first full recruiting cycle in the NIL era, coaches wanted clarity before hitting the recruiting trail.  Because if one school can offer you something extra that somebody else can't, but only if you play for them, that's obviously a huge recruiting advantage.  And that's not the purpose of the NIL either.  The NIL is supposed to benefit the student-athlete, not the school.  (Although, the argument could be made that deals to attend a specific school benefit both parties equally.)

I think that was Saban's point.  His argument was that the model is both out of control and not sustainable, especially when representatives of high school players are calling these collectives for the sole purpose of shopping around for the school that will offer the best NIL (and making sure that they get their cut).  While he shouldn't have singled out Texas A&M and Jackson State, his point is a valid one.  Especially since you know more and more money is gonna be poured into these NIL deals as the years go on.

Now, whether his criticism of Texas A&M is justified I don't know, but Saban wasn't the first coach to call out the Aggies.  Mississippi Head Coach Lane Kiffen joked that they'd have to pay a luxury tax on their signings.  So, two coaches of conference opponents (who are almost certainly recruiting some of the same players) saying effectively the same thing leads me to believe that there's at least some truth to it.

Will the NCAA's new clarification make a difference when it comes to NIL deals and football/basketball recruiting?  Only time will tell.  But Nick Saban was right about one thing.  Something needed to be done before it got completely out of control.  If it isn't already.