By: Dylan Pauley

 

In an age where collegiate athletes are allowed to make money off of their Name, Image, or Likeness (NIL) deals/endorsements, athletes are playing a whole new game.

The NIL rule being implemented into place by the NCAA has opened up a whole new world to collegiate athletes around the country. In previous years, athletes were not allowed to make money based off of their name, image, or likeness. This rule allowed athletes to concentrate their focus on academics and athletics. Now athletes have a whole new area to focus on. 

There are definitely positive and negatives that surround the decision to allow athletes to obtain deals/endorsements to promote their name, image, or likeness. Either way you might lean toward the decision one thing is certain: these deals/endorsements can really help a lot of student athletes make ends meet to afford to attend a college or university while participating in athletics. 

Athletes being able to make money for themselves is very crucial to collegiate athletes. Many collegiate athletes are not able to work a job with their demanding class schedule and athletic schedules. Many athletes are not available during “normal” hours of operation for many businesses. Even if there is availability, athletes are challenged with burnout and other mental health issues when not being able to allow for any kind of “free time”. 

RJ Miller, who is track and field athlete who competes in high jump here at West Virginia Wesleyan College was able to describe to me his personal experience in possessing an NIL deal. Miller has a deal with Stadium Merch. 

“(Stadium Merch) is a company that creates logos for athletes and puts that logo on shirts, hoodies, bags, hats, and other stuff like that. Every sale I make on that clothing I get $10 for”, Miller explained. 

Miller has another deal with a different company that is a clothing brand and post content on his social media promoting that brand. 

Miller, a sophomore business and computer science information science major here at WVWC, was able to explain some of obligations and requirements that the deal requires him to meet. 

“So, it is actually illegal for companies to base the deals off performance. The deals are just about me being an athlete”, Miller stated.

“Just making sure I keep my name clean and stay out of trouble. If I get into any type of trouble that makes me look bad and that makes the company look bad for having me represent them”, Miller added about his extra responsibilities that his deals add to his plate.

A couple of good things that I think most can agree on with this NIL are: these deals are not based on performance which allows security for young athletes, and these deals/endorsements give extra incentive for young athletes to “keep their noses clean”. 

Another positive thing that the NIL does not only for individual athletes but also teams and universities/colleges. The NIL allows for athletes who may not get recognized or receive a lot of attention to be able to receive that attention and recognition. 

Miller explained the importance of being able to represent a sport that he is involved in that may not get the same level of attention as other sports. 

“As a track and field athlete there isn’t much revenue or popularity in the sport in the first place so I would say it’s harder to find companies to give me a deal when they don’t understand the sport like football, basketball, and other popular sports like that”, Miller said.

Something that really excites Miller is being from a small school, he does not feel the need to hire an agent, so companies are more likely to approach him personally in order to create opportunities.