Getty Images Blake Corum, former Michigan running back, at the 2024 NFL Combine.
NIL remains controverisal. It should not be so. Not any longer. There’s simply too much money, too many platforms, millions of viewers, and a general sense, at least with athletics, that it’s always better to get the money sooner than later.
Case in point. The current national champion Michigan Wolverines will have their spring practice game televised on FOX. That’s right. Spring practice, Saturday, April 20, televised. On FOX. Nationwide. If everyone else is making money off college football, why shouldn’t the players?
Players are Already Getting Paid
NIL stands for name, image and likeness. Essentially, college athletes can now earn money by endorsing products, people, and brands — all while keeping their scholarship. The NCAA, under intense public and legal pressure, created NIL in 2021 as a stop-gap measure. That is, a way for players to monetize their personal influence while preventing schools from paying players directly. But, as The Athletic noted, NIL has become “a de facto pay-for-play device.” Not all are happy with this situation.
When now ex-Michigan Wolverines football coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about NIL, he was unusually circumspect. “I’ve always been for the student-athletes being able to profit off their name, image and likeness. It just makes sense, right?” But, it was also clear that Harbaugh understood the ramifications of NIL as it was going to play out. A player profiting off their name and image — be it at a public appearance or a television commercial — is being paid. As a player. They are professional. They are just not being paid directly. Imagine if Budweiser, Hyundai, or Pepsi paid NFL players rather than the NFL. Today’s NIL is like that.
But whether paid directly or indirectly, players are still getting paid. And, like it or not, that makes them more like professional athletes than “student athletes.” Harbaugh was leery of this. As he stated in 2022, “right or wrong, our philosophy coming to the University of Michigan — it’s still going to be a transformational experience rather than a transactional experience.” Harbaugh hoped to preserve the student-athlete culture that had served him and countless others so well. Those days are gone. If you’re upset about this, fair enough. But billions of dollars are generated by NCAA college football. No one puts more on the line than the players.
Players are Going to Get Paid
Speaking before Congress, now ex-Alabama football coach Nick Saban made clear his views on NIL. “You have a pay-for-play system and a free agency system that has no guidelines, so there’s no competitive balance.” Saban added, without irony, that NIL will “create a caste system where the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.”
But until the NCAA or some other governing college football body comes up with a better solution, football teams that want to compete for championships must embrace NIL. And for their part, the Michigan Wolverines appear, finally, to have embraced the reality of NIL.
When asked about recruiting, current Michigan Wolverines football coach, Sherrone Moore, was clear. Stating he intends to make “sure that we have the resources that we need here on campus from an NIL standpoint.” Likewise, the University recently hired a general manager for NIL. The University stated that with this new office its “student-athletes have a centralized point of contact and access to specialized expertise, enabling them to navigate and maximize NIL opportunities skillfully.”
Michigan also launched an NIL collective, seeking to attract fan donations to support its NIL efforts.
It’s time to give a Wolverine welcome to our new @umichbball Head Coach – Dusty May.
We are launching the “March with May” NIL campaign to show @CoachDustyMay and the Men’s Basketball program that we’ve got their back.
Let’s all March with May today!
Although Michigan was slow to embrace the reality of NIL, they now understand why they must. And now understand how leveraging the Michigan brand can propel their NIL efforts. Their efforts are working. As the recruiting site, The Wolverine, noted, multiple “key players” from Michigan’s championship team are returning thanks to NIL. These players include senior running back Donovan Edwards and junior cornerback Will Johnson, the defensive MVP of the national championship game. Players are going to get paid. Players are already getting paid.