We used to have an employee at my place of work who occasionally appeared in local ads. She did one for R.C. Willey, for example. She was an employee at our place of employment - and was paid for that. And then she did some side work as a spokesperson - and was paid for that.

So if an athlete is paid by the school - and then does some side work as a paid spokesperson and is also paid for that - great. But they aren't the same thing.

NIL was never supposed to be "I want you to play at this school, so I'll pay you $XXXX to be a spokesperson if you do that."

It was supposed to be "You've become famous due to being such a great athlete, so we want you to come on a TV ad and talk up our business to your fans." Or maybe even "The school is selling tons of jerseys with your name and number on them, so you should get a cut of the profit."