Peyton, Eli Manning Offer Thoughts on NIL in College Athletics at Manning Passing Academy
With name, image and likeness taking the world of college athletics by storm, the future of how well this all works will lie in the details.
Most coaches, administrators and players seem to be on board with the new policies for athletes to capitalize financially on their name, or at the very least recognize it's here to stay. But the one recurring theme from most people in the business is what are the long term affects? As it currently stands, many athletic administrations are trying to wrap heads around potential restrictions and violations of NIL policy.
For the Manning's, football's most beloved family, the idea of college athletes compensating on their name is still something they're having a hard time wrapping their heads around.
Peyton hasn't researched too much into the whole idea and spoke very candidly about the conversations he's had with some of the college quarterbacks he's talked to the last several days. NIL never came up in those conversations.
"I'm not as knowledgeable about it but it's here and looks like it's here to stay," Manning said. "I've gotta learn a little more about it but we sat down and had gumbo and fried shrimp with all of the college quarterbacks and it never came up. We were talking football and what they're doing."
Eli, like so many in and around college football, is very curious to see the lasting effects it has on the sport and impact on the college players themselves. He does see the dangers in the idea but also sees the rewards and the potential benefits it can have for an athlete's family while they're in school.
"I know how immature I was at 20 years old and I wouldn't have spent it the right ways," Manning said. "It scares me from that perspective, it scares me from chemistry of the locker room with some guys getting endorsements and if they're not playing well, how his teammates will handle that. Hopefully they can figure it out and they can help some families that are in need of some money and give them some relief."
Of course, nephew and 2023 quarterback Arch Manning has a few years before having to worry about any potential endorsement deals, but it has been something Eli has talked with brother Cooper about as this new age of college football gets kicked off this fall. There's no doubt that wherever Arch does decide to go to college, those opportunities won't be far behind.
"I would encourage him to wait until he's a starter, wait until he's proven himself," Manning said. "Try to incorporate his offensive line, other players where they can kind of share the wealth and make it more team oriented instead of me oriented. I don't think you want to go in and have a bunch of endorsement deals before you've taken a snap of college football."
