Former 'Fab Five' Member 'Excited' for Players with NIL Implementation

The former member of the Michigan Wolverine's "Fab Five" is excited about players earning to play college sports.
Nov 10, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA;  Former NBA player and Detroit native, Jalen Rose, cheers on the Detroit Pistons from his court side seat during their game against the Houston Rockets in the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Former NBA player and Detroit native, Jalen Rose, cheers on the Detroit Pistons from his court side seat during their game against the Houston Rockets in the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
In this story:

In case anyone was not feeling old enough, it has been more than 30 years since the Michigan Wolverines recruited a class that came to be known as the "Fab Five."

It consisted of Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, and Jalen Rose, and while it is one of the best recruiting classes in the history of college basketball, the quintet failed to win a Big Ten or National Championship.

They did make it through the NCAA Tournament to the title game twice in their freshman and sophomore years, though they dropped those games to the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels respectively.

Now, in 2025, the landscape of college basketball, and collegiate athletics as a whole, has changed with the implementation of Name, Image, and Likeness, which has allowed college athletes to receive compensation while playing sports and attending classes.

Many have spoken out against NIL, stating that it has ruined college sports and that the athletes can no longer be considered amateurs since they are being paid to play.

It is a polarizing subject to say the least, but one former Fab Five member is all for NIL and said as much in a recent interview with MLive.

“I’m actually excited to see players now feel like they can get their value and their worth playing the game that they love,” Rose said. “When you’re a student, that means you’re educated, and you see everybody making money but you. That was a heavy burden for us to carry as players. That was a heavy burden for a lot of people to carry for a long time.”

Rose was in the midst, but never implicated, of a booster scandal as part of the Fab Five, but is glad to see things like that become relics of an era gone.

“That’s the definition of standing on the shoulders of those that came before you," Rose said of Bryce Underwood's record-breaking NIL deal with the Wolverines while discussing the Fab Five being vilified for the booster scandal. "So I believe that love and that acknowledgment, it will happen soon.”

While NIL has certainly been a polarizing topic surrounding collegiate athletics over the last few years, many former athletes, Rose included, are happy that those who have followed in their footsteps are now being compensated.


Published