RHM 436 Social Project

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Dec 6, 2023

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Government Involvement with NIL Government Involvement with NIL The University of Alabama RHM 436-910: Trends and Social Issues in Sport and Entertainment Professor Trevor Bopp August 2, 2023

Government Involvement with NIL Government Involvement with NIL College sports are a big part of American culture – the Saturday football games, the tailgates, the fans, the rival games. It’s a phenomenon that keeps viewers coming back for more. Since college sports are a big part of our country, it tends to bring in a lot of revenue and student athletes are a big part of that. There are many collegiate athletes out there who have played their favorite sport and manage to gain many followers on their social media and in the fanbase. By these high following counts, these student athletes are able to use their fame and recognition for a lot. As of September 2019, name, image, and likeness (NIL) came into the NCAA world allowing these athletes to use their name to their advantage. At first, the concept of NIL received a lot of backlash from some people because it was looked at as a negative thing for these kids. Paying college athletes would make teams unfair, change how much effort players put into their sport, affect the amateurism of college sports, as well as influence the athlete’s willingness to participate in college sports. After a couple years of name, image, and likeness being in full effect, more people across the country have agreed with NIL being a positive thing for athletes. For instance, Bryce Young came into the University of Alabama barely having a name for himself and now he is one of the most known quarterbacks with NIL deals left and right. Though, just because it went smoothly for Bryce Young doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns about NIL. Recently, the federal government has been trying to step in with NIL and college athletes, trying to regulate the process. There have been quite a few bills introduced and drafted to the NCAA but nothing set in stone. The government stepping in is a very controversial move seeing half of the nation thinks we need them to step in and regulate, while the other half thinks we have been on the right track without them so far.

Government Involvement with NIL With the recent events of the federal government trying to step in, I would not see this so much as an issue because it seems to be a great idea for the most part. One thing that stuck out to me the most while the NCAA pushes for federal NIL legislation was that there needs to be a designation that student-athletes are not employees of their schools, conferences, or the NCAA. This is very important because student-athletes often forget they are students first. These kids tend to push off school and put their focus into their sport instead which is not a positive track. Another thing that stuck out to me while doing my journal was the transfer portal rule – student athletes would have to complete their first three years of academic eligibility before being allowed a penalty-free transfer. The only exceptions include the death of a family member, the departure of the athlete’s head coach, or the departure of the athlete’s primary position coach. So, for the most part with the federal legislation, it will be a positive thing for the student aspect, but it may slow down the athlete aspect. If we were to look at this from the legislations, or even the publics, point of view, it would be as easy to say, “it would make college athletics fairer, safer, and empower more young people to succeed in sports and beyond that.” Just so that it does not end up being a pay-for-play within the college athlete world or a bribery from whatever school can give the most money. In one of the drafted bills on NIL, the government has put together a few points which include: Athletes would keep their scholarships until they finish their undergraduate degrees as long as they remain in good academic standing and do not transfer, schools would be required to provide athletes with at least 15 hours a year of financial literacy and life skills training that would count as college credits, schools would be forbidden from discouraging athletes from choosing rigorous academic majors, college athletes could enter drafts by professional leagues without losing their NCAA eligibility if they decide to return to school within seven days of the end of

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