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October 24, 2021,
Timing is everything.
Good timing is better than everything.
The timing for women’s wrestling growth is perfect. So many wonderful things are occurring in the world of sports that are placing female athletes in general and female wrestlers in particular in a better position to receive financial endorsements.
If you are a female sports fan, you should have heard of NIL by now. Have you?
NIL, stands for name, image, and likeness.
The team at athleticdirectoru.com educate, “As college athletics continue to grapple with the implementation of a fair and balanced set of rules for student-athletes to monetize their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), the question of just how much money they could generate has been the subject of much speculation.”
You would think that if the law states you must get permission to post someone’s photo online, that you do or don’t know, it would seem to make sense that to use a famous athlete’s image and profit from that image, without their permission, should be unacceptable.
Yet for decades it wasn’t.
For years athletes struggled with scholarship limitations, even at times having little food to eat at the end of the month, yet some video company is making millions off of their likeness in a sports related video game.
The flip side is, if a potential sponsor wanted to give the athlete money, the athlete and the university could be severely punished. Two of the most famous cases were the 1987 sanctions against the SMU football team and the 2005 Heisman Trophy being taken away from USC’s Reggie Bush.
Now with the new NIL ruling, some, including Reggie Bush, feel that he should get his Heisman back.
We agree.
Fortunately the sports world for amateur athletes is changing. Not without a massive struggle.
For some time there was strong resistance from the NCAA and they finally relented. Here is their new view of NIL.
At ncaa.org they announced on June 30, 2021, “NCAA college athletes will have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness beginning Thursday. Governance bodies in all three divisions today adopted a uniform interim policy suspending NCAA name, image and likeness rules for all incoming and current student-athletes in all sports.
“This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level. The current environment — both legal and legislative — prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve.”
The policy provides the following guidance to college athletes, recruits, their families and member schools:
- Individuals can engage in NIL activities that are consistent with the law of the state where the school is located. Colleges and universities may be a resource for state law questions.
- College athletes who attend a school in a state without an NIL law can engage in this type of activity without violating NCAA rules related to name, image and likeness.
- Individuals can use a professional services provider for NIL activities.
- Student-athletes should report NIL activities consistent with state law or school and conference requirements to their school.
“Today, NCAA members voted to allow college athletes to benefit from name, image and likeness opportunities, no matter where their school is located,” said Division I Board of Directors chair Denise Trauth, president at Texas State. “With this interim solution in place, we will continue to work with Congress to adopt federal legislation to support student-athletes.”
While opening name, image and likeness opportunities to student-athletes, the policy in all three divisions preserves the commitment to avoid pay-for-play and improper inducements tied to choosing to attend a particular school. Those rules remain in effect.
“The new policy preserves the fact college sports are not pay-for-play,” said Division II Presidents Council chair Sandra Jordan, chancellor at the University of South Carolina Aiken. “It also reinforces key principles of fairness and integrity across the NCAA and maintains rules prohibiting improper recruiting inducements. It’s important any new rules maintain these principles.”
Division III Presidents Council chair Fayneese Miller, president at Hamline, said the Association will continue to work with Congress to develop a national law that will help colleges and universities, student-athletes and their families better navigate the name, image and likeness landscape.
“The new interim policy provides college athletes and their families some sense of clarity around name, image and likeness, but we are committed to doing more,” Miller said. “We need to continue working with Congress for a more permanent solution.”
The temporary policy will remain in place until federal legislation or new NCAA rules are adopted. With the NIL interim policy, schools and conferences may choose to adopt their own additional policies.”
That’s a lot to digest.
For many, some of it is a little confusing but as in any new ruling, it takes time, even years before clarity begins to set in.
At Forbes Magazine, the writer Terence Moore shared this view, “With apologies to anybody who still believes in Santa Claus and Rudy, winning will become secondary to what already is evolving into the most dominant thought for athletes, especially for those associated with major college football and basketball: Where can I go to maximize my financial portfolio? Am I talking about this school, city and fan base with the potential to give me more followers ($$$$) or that one?”
Okay, so college athletes will move around for the best financial deal. What’s so wrong with that?
Don’t Corporate Executives, College Football Coaches, Runway Models, Reality TV Stars (Kardashians – Hulu) and other marketable employees do the same thing? Why is the college world going to fall apart if student athletes do it?
We don’t think it will. Did Major League Baseball collapse after Curt Flood and free agency?
Recently, there has been much negative feelings about the Oklahoma Sooners previous starting quarterback Spencer Rattler’s performance on the field. The new starting quarterback sensation Caleb Williams, at least for now, proved those complaints were valid.
Having said that, Spencer Rattler actually appears to be giving his best performance off the field.
As reported by 247sports.com, “Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler appears to have landed another NIL endorsement. It was revealed Friday that the Sooners signal-caller has teamed up with Norman-based Fowler Automotive Group, and looks to have landed a pair of new rides — a 2021 Dodge Ram TRX and a 2021 Dodge Charger Scat Pack — as part of the deal.”
Previously Spencer signed a deal with Raising Cane’s fast food chicken.
If he transfers from Oklahoma, which appears to be in his best interest, and reaffirms his position as an elite college quarterback, no doubt more deals will come.
Timing is everything.
Thanks to NIL, Spencer Rattler appears to have scored his best touchdowns off the field.
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OPENING PHOTO Femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com Editorial-credit-LiveMedia-Shutterstock.com
https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/how-much-is-nil-really-worth-to-student-athletes/
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
