NIL

The transcript discusses the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rule in college sports, which allows players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness. It mentions Johnny Manziel's frustration with the NCAA's restrictions on player compensation. The NCAA eventually approved the NIL rule, allowing players to receive thousands of dollars for playing sports. The transcript also mentions concerns about the impact of the NIL on recruiting and locker room dynamics. However, a study showed that only a small percentage of players believe the NIL has caused problems. Coaches express the desire for more funds to improve their programs and compete in recruiting. The transcript concludes with examples of how the NIL has positively impacted players, such as the Utah Utes gifting their players new vehicles. While the NIL is seen as a positive development, there are still adjustments that need to be made. Good morning, everyone. For those of you who don't know, my name is Tyler Gibson. I'm the host of College Sports Around the World, where I have to take on some of the biggest news in college sports and the NCAA. Today, we'll be talking about the NIL and some of the major impacts it has had around the league. As many of you already know, a couple of years ago, the NCAA agreed to allow a rule called the NIL, which allows college players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness. As I grew up, I followed college sports very closely, especially the Utah State Aggies, seeing as I'm from Logan, Utah. However, I frequently heard about players accepting money from coaches or different organizations and getting punished for doing so. Johnny Manziel was the first-string star quarterback for the Texas A&M Aggies, who was having what turned out to be a Heisman Trophy season. He was often upset with the NCAA and the fact that players couldn't accept any kind of money relative to their name, image, or even likeness. I mean, he did make the school only $37 million just off of media exposure. Shouldn't he be able to receive some sort of compensation? Well, if you know anything about Johnny Manziel, you'd know that he really doesn't have a care in the world for what others may find important or valuable. Hence, why he isn't in the league today? Because he valued smaller things more than the bigger ones, especially his NFL career. As time went on, he started charging money for every autograph he signed, including two offers resulting in $33,000 of earnings. Sooner or later, the NCAA started an investigation on this scandal. But Manziel? No, he wasn't half-dumb. He tied all the money he earned to his family's oil business, acting as if he knew nothing about the autographs signed, and was only suspended half a game, seeing as there was not enough information to prove what he had done. A few years later, the NCAA approved the NIL rule, and players have now been able to receive thousands, some even hundreds of thousands of dollars, for playing their favorite sports. In an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Nick Saban, head coach of the Alabama Rule Tide, states, if we want to change the model of college football and follow the NFL model, what I would like to see, if that's the case, is that we pay the players. Everybody's got a part of their scholarship that gives them so much money, Saban said. He continues by stating, but now you're talking about making college student-athletes employees, and that in and of itself may have some issues that would have to be resolved. So you're talking about a similar model to the NFL, where you've got to get some sort of legal right to be able to do this. This isn't the only concern that we've seen. In my opinion, I think the NIL has not only affected the recruiting process, but it has also affected the atmosphere around players. Some may make more than others, so how does this affect the locker room? Will it be a negative or positive impact? It may be easy to see how the NIL has negatively impacted locker rooms. However, in a study conducted by Bill Carter of Student Athlete Insights, 415 Division I players gave their input on how the NIL has affected locker rooms, and shockingly, only 8% of respondents have witnessed NIL causing rifts, tensions, or say that it's a locker room problem. 76% said they share NIL earnings information with teammates, helping them to receive a better financial education on what they should do with their money. When this rule was passed, I thought to myself, won't this make recruiting one-sided? Won't players want to go back where their money takes them? Sam Pittman, head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, states, I think everybody wants more money. They want a pool of money that collectives can bring that can help your program, that can make you competitive around the country. We're not talking specifically about that much, that's really with the NIL department, but the money and the funds that are there, we need to grow that budget. Once we do that, we can obviously become more competitive in recruiting. Every team will benefit from the NIL, allowing them to grow from their budget and be able to offer different things to different players. I think the NIL has made more of an impact on players more than anything. The Utah Utes had more than $1 million in NIL money and generously gifted each player on scholarship a brand new RAM 1500, obviously complying with certain rules. They lined up the trucks in the end zone and had each player walk out to see his new vehicle. This not only made headlines, but also put the Utes as a considerable option for many high school athletes who will go on to play at the college level. In my opinion, the NIL is a positive thing that players have been wanting or even needing for many years. After all, it is hard to work a part-time job being a student athlete. However, there are many things that need to be fixed or adjusted with this rule that could potentially fix these negatives. This is Tyler Gibson with College Sports Around the World. Be sure to tune in next week as we tackle one of the biggest topics this season.