NIL NFL Impact: The Good and the Bad

Name, Image and Likeness is helping the NFL in some very key ways.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; The 2024 CFP logo on the field before the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Before, college athletes would have to make it to the professional level to make serious money. Before, college athletes would not get paid for Name, Image or Likeness. That all changed in 2021 when the NCAA allowed college athletes to make money for their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).

Now, in 2024, NIL has changed the college landscape like never before. Not only are college athletes receiving millions and millions of dollars, but many coaches feel it is a bidding war to get them to play for their university. If one school makes a better NIL offer, it could convince an athlete to go play for that school.

NIL is a huge step up for these young athletes. With NIL comes the responsibility of managing the money coming in, and for these athletes, it could be difficult.

In a recent “Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast” our Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. was joined by journalist/attorney Jonathan Schopp to talk about NIL.

“I think it gives them [the NFL] a better idea of what kind of professional and what kind of player they are getting," Schopp said. "Yeah, absolutely. ... A guy highly recruited went to a handful of places, played football at two different places, two high-level programs, one spread program, one pro-style program, he's got money in the bank, he's already bought a used car, etc., that is a guy that is further along in his professional development. And yeah, it is easier and better for the NFL to make a more predictable evaluation of what kind of player that guy we draft is going to be versus the guy that was only in one school at one point at one time."

Schopp then discussed the legal side of NIL and how it can hurt players.

"If you count their tuition, room, and board as compensation, that's a huge tax bill," Schopp said. "The thing about right now is the problems that are out there right now, they are live. These are first impression. So, yes, we are going to learn about somebody -- this year, next year, maybe the year after that -- that's got a massive tax issue with the IRS that came out of their NIL money -- not reported, 1099, all kinds of that kind of trouble. They didn't withhold, they didn't pay in, they didn't pay quarterly. All that kind of stuff is absolutely true and real. The problem with this first five years or so is it's happening right now. It's first impression. These will not be, and should not be, concerns in 2028."

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