I have been critical of current status of NIL/transfer portal. I don’t think it is good for the game. I think it’s great that players can get paid but don’t like how the current set up creates no continuity/constant free agency. I also believe there is plenty of money in the system…it is wrong for individual fans to feel a need to contribute to NIL to be a good fan. Nobody asked me…but here are my thoughts on how to improve the situation.

PROBLEM:
In pros, fans contribute plenty by buying tickets, watching games on TV (providing eyeballs to networkers and advertisers), buying merchandise, concessions, etc. That is an appropriate way for fans to support players (not handouts). Player salaries are paid from that pool of money. Great players make more from “NIL” deals with big brands than they do from their salaries…because their name is worth it to national/global brands. Average players also find ways to make “NIL” money at a smaller scale with local opportunities. Their contract negotiations are about salary/incentives paid by the team (who is making a lot of money on them). Their “NIL” opportunities are icing on the cake that usually becomes significant over time as their name and image is developed to justify it. In some cases the icing becomes more than the cake. The current situation in college sports is very different. Universities are not allowed to pay athletes for the most obvious value they create (ticket sales, merch, TV deals, etc). They probably should but it is complicated with Title IX, etc and the idea that football/basketball need to fund lots of other sports that lose money for the university. The intent of NIL is to allow student athletes to be compensated for their NIL (the icing part for pros)…but it has led to a system where 3rd parties are being used to pay the “salaries” for athletes regardless of what their NIL is worth. The problem is made worse with transfer portal rules that allow any student to transfer schools at any time with no penalty creating the system where everyone is always a free agent.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:
-Create a new University sponsorship pool of funds with a caps by sport. Universities can raise sponsorship funds up to the cap to pay a base stipend to players. Acts like a salary cap…up to teams to raise and distribute money to athletes. Probably ok to have some Title IX clauses that ensure all athletes on all teams can access this money albeit at different caps/sport based on where revenue is generated.
-Only sponsorship funds can be promised to athletes before coming to a university
-NIL needs to actually be for name image and likeness not a contribution to a university slush fund to pay players (or anything like that). Cannot be promised in recruiting efforts.
-No athlete can accept an NIL deal until at least 1/3 of their first season has been completed and it must be a deal between a brand and a player/players directly. Your name needs to mean something before you can take it. Severe penalties for athletes and brands if violate this.
-If you have played for team in a prior season, you have already started building NIL with that team and can strike new deals directly with brands any time after 1/3 of first season is complete. This puts financial cost/risk on athletes switching schools.
-Have transfer portal windows for when transfers are allowed without losing eligibility (allowed with limits but NIL rules would discourage constant switching)