For years, college athletes were strictly prohibited from profiting from their name, imagine and likeness, but in 2021, the NCAA began allowing athletes to cash in on their NIL, a ruling that in its current state is killing college sports.
The pre-NIL era was rough for the NCAA’s biggest stars. They saw their schools make billions of dollars, all on the backs of their hard work, from ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorship deals all while being told they couldn’t make a single cent without facing repercussions.
Athletes and fans all over America finally had enough of the predatory actions taking place. So, what did the NCAA decide to do? They opened Pandora’s box, ushering college sports into the NIL era without a second thought. Now, four years later, the careless decision to adopt the policy change with no regulations is playing out horribly.
Former University of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava had a NIL deal worth $8 million over four years. But even after a subpar season, that wasn’t enough for him.
He entered negotiations with the team asking for $4 million a year and refused to play until his contract was reworked. Tennessee made the best decision possible, telling him it would be moving on from him.
This set a very important precedent of no one being bigger than the program. Iamaleava later committed to University of California, Los Angeles for a rumored $1.5 million.
These disputes are the new normal in the NIL era. As time passes, we will see more and more players sitting out, but the blame doesn’t fall solely on NIL.
Around the same time the NIL floodgates opened, the transfer portal was revamped. Now, players can switch schools without having to sit out a year, a move that was meant to empower athletes. On paper, it sounds fair. Why should coaches be allowed to jump ship whenever they want, but players can’t?
The problem isn’t the idea but its execution. What was supposed to give athletes more freedom has spiraled into chaos. When paired with unregulated NIL deals, the portal has become a glorified free agency system. Loyalty is optional. Team culture is crumbling. And schools armed with more aggressive boosters are buying talent.
We are seeing top players transfer not for better coaching or more playing time but for a higher paycheck. And while some athletes are surely making smart business decisions, the broader impact is hurting the college sports landscape. Teams no longer have time to build chemistry. Coaches have no way of planning long term, and fans are watching their favorite players leave for more money.
Just look at Baylor University’s men’s basketball team. Following this recent season, the entire roster entered the transfer portal, graduated or declared for the NBA draft. In a matter of days, a nationally ranked program was gutted. That kind of mass exodus doesn’t happen without major NIL incentives waiting elsewhere.
This isn’t just Baylor’s problem — it’s a warming sign for other teams. This isn’t about being anti-player. Athletes absolutely deserve the right to profit from their talent. But the NCAA’s hands-off approach has led to an unregulated mess. Without guardrails, college sports are losing the very things that made them special — passion, pride and the pursuit of something greater than money.
In professional leagues players have unions to protect them and ensure their concerns are voiced.
If the NCAA is determined to keep NIL and the transfer portal the way it is, they need to make sure their athletes are being protected and need to consider putting such systems in place. If this trend continues, college athletics will be indistinguishable from the professional ranks, only with less structure, consistency and accountability.
The NCAA needs to act now, not to revert back to the exploitative past but to establish a future that balances player rights with the integrity of the game.
