Name, Image, and Likeness: The Runaway Train

Head football coach Mack Brown spoke about his current thoughts surrounding Name, Image, and Likeness on Monday at his press conference

Are you confused about the upcoming Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) legislation from the NCAA?

Never fear. You’re in good company because North Carolina head football coach Mack Brown is looking for answers too.

Before we go any further though, maybe you don’t even have the first clue what this NIL legislation is all about. Here’s a quick primer:

For years there has been a debate between the NCAA’s amateurism model and the fact that institutions, conferences, and the NCAA profit off of those very student-athletes who can’t themselves make any profit. There has been a recent groundswell calling for athletes to be paid in some form since everyone else is able to make money off of them. Starting with California, on September 30, 2019, several states signed bills to begin the process of allowing student-athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (including making money off things like commercials or billboards or autographs). The states’ bills eventually forced the NCAA’s hand. There is now legislation from the NCAA which will allow student-athletes to financially benefit from their name, image, and likeness beginning in the 2021-22 academic year.

Are we all caught up? Good.

Now we all know what NIL is, but just enough that we can join Coach Brown in his confusion. The reason for this confusion is that, while the NCAA has begun to put together plans for what NIL allowances will look like, there is currently little clear definition surrounding the guidelines.

At his Zoom press conference on Monday, Coach Brown spoke about the mystery surrounding NIL. He said, “We [coaches] like to be able to explain things to our players. We don’t like unknowns and right now, this is a real unknown.”

Coach Brown had no animus or frustration in his voice as he spoke on issues surrounding NIL. He was simply pleading with the NCAA for more definition so that he can enlighten himself and everyone up and down the chain of command: “It’s unfair to coaches and athletic directors and presidents and chancellors and really kids and recruits. Even high school coaches are calling, ‘What does this mean for my kid?’ I don’t know, I really don’t know.”

The Tar Heels’ head man even compared the current state of NIL to a runaway train. He stated, “There’s a name but there are no guidelines. And that’s what I hate about it. I hate that it’s a runaway train right now with no guidelines. If we’re going to throw something out there, let’s figure out what it is before we throw it out there.”

Thankfully the football program won’t be on an island to figure out NIL on their own. While the football program will certainly make internal plans, Coach Brown expressed that North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham has “got the vision for the entire department”.

Beyond the clarity needed with the guidelines for NIL, Coach Brown raised questions pertaining to the unexpected ramifications once guardrails are eventually put in place. For example, he asked, “Is it fair to Title IX? Is it fair to the women’s sports? Will they be as marketable in some areas with your guys who would pay for name, image, and likeness as a quarterback or a point guard? What about the back-up right guard? We’re responsible for him, too.”

Suffice it to say it’s good news for the NCAA and its member institutions that we are over a year out from NIL taking effect because there are significant wrinkles to still be ironed out.

And let’s be honest with ourselves, when the final rules are announced, how will the NCAA go about policing the policies and providing oversight? If the governing body of collegiate athletics is having difficulty explaining and defining the NIL rulebook, how can they ever expect to enforce it?

For now, we’ll just all have to grab on to this runaway train and hope it takes us somewhere good.

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