"Name Image and Licensing", Damnedest thing, I have not seen one of these super salesmen sell a can of paint . I
"Name Image and Licensing", Damnedest thing, I have not seen one of these super salesmen sell a can of paint. If you were paying an athlete a million dollars to represent your company, wouldn't they have to sell something? I doubt a college football or basketball player would move the needle on a sales promotion.
Let me be more direct. If players are getting a million dollars to rep a company that normally doesn't advertise, haven't they really just a found a loophole to pay players? Instead of the old-fashioned way, leaving an envelope on the seat of the players sportscar from a cracked window they now run it thru payroll.
The Name Image and Licensing argument goes like this "the university is making money on the players celebrity, why not allow the players to take part in the windfall? It feels like the universities are still benefiting from the players' image, but now the supporters of the university are paying the freight, Willingly, I think. What is not clear, is why they are doing it?
For background, a large part of my job is to try products and services that advertisers are selling and report back to you. My worth to the advertiser is judged by your purchasing the products and services I have endorsed. You can take this to the bank, local advertisers in Youngstown, Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus Cincinatti name the local city, don't have an extra million dollars in their advertising budget. If you are talking Nike, Apple, Burger King etc that is another world. Endorsements in that rare air could be 7 figures, but it's not happening in medium to large markets.
I am getting to a point, doesn't NIL now sound kind of slimy? If my hypothesis is correct, that the college athlete is likely not selling products or services for the contributing company, isn't it just a recruiting tool to land 5-star recruit? Rumor has it, Dione Sanders is on his way to Colorado, and he has 5 million in NIL money waiting to entice 5-star recruits.
Neon Dione commented last spring if you have a coach trying to council a player, and the player is making more than coach, that could be a problem. What about a running back that is lighting up opponents with the help of the best offensive line in football, but the running back is getting the NIL money? That would cause jealousy.
Look at the can of worms that has been opened? Instead of the NCAA sticking to its archaic rules, that make a coach document a chicken wing he bought a player, why not give the players enough money to live during the season? When they are denied work study, they have little spending money. Allow supportive alumni to underwrite the money, rather than burdening the school which is already providing an education.
By the way as I write this missive, nearly a hundred thousand fans in Indianapolis could care less, because their Wolverines just won the Big 10 Title. I wonder how much money the bowling team gets.
Dan Rivers
Mid Days
570 WKBN