The Impact of NIL on College Football Dynamics

The landscape of college football has undergone a significant transformation with the implementation of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) laws, allowing student-athletes to profit from their brand and likeness. This monumental shift has not only redefined the relationship between collegiate athletes and the universities they represent but has also sparked discussions about the evolving hierarchy within college football teams. As players constantly search for new opportunities to monetize their talents off the field, questions arise about how this paradigm shift has influenced team dynamics, recruiting strategies, and amateurism in college athletics. Traditionally, high school athletes would commit to universities due to their love for the school and the connection they may have to it. However, athletes today will now choose a school that offers them the most money. College football has gone from a model where athletes must invest years of hard work and dedication to reach their dreams of NFL success to one where high school recruits can potentially secure multi-million dollar deals before stepping foot on campus. NIL has created a hierarchy within college sports teams and is tearing apart what college sports used to be all about.

Former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, who is regarded as the best college football coach of all time, shocked the world this January by retiring. Saban was known for his winning formula based on toughness and developing his players to reach the NFL. After being a head coach for 28 years that formula proved to be the golden ticket for all top recruits, however, that changed with the implementation of NIL. In a recent interview, Saban was questioned why he chose to retire after his team had such a strong 2023 season and his answer was eye-opening, “I thought we could have a hell of a team next year, and then maybe 80 percent of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: What assurances do I have that I’m going to play because they’re thinking about transferring, and how much are you going to pay me? So I’m saying to myself, ‘Maybe this doesn’t work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different, and that it’s all about how much money I can make as a college player?” (Conahan, J. (2024, March 7) A high school recruit or college player used to dream of playing for Saban, given his track record of sending the most players into the NFL. However, today’s recruits and players now overlook his success, with their focus shifting towards quick cash. This has created a toxic hierarchy from within where one player thinks they are bigger than the program or in this case the greatest coach of all time.

I’ve had the privilege of playing football here at USC for the last four years with my first two years without NIL and my last two with NIL. I will share my first-hand experience of how I noticed the locker change once money got into the hands of the players. Firstly, I must state I am a huge advocate for all college players receiving compensation for their hard work. But, the system that is in place today is unfair and does not promote hard work within a team, in my opinion, it does the opposite. Like most jobs in the world, you have to work hard and produce results for the company to get paid and so you don’t get fired. With college football today, high school recruits and current players are receiving or are assured hundreds of thousands of dollars before producing any results for the program. Some may ask why this is a bad thing. To me it’s simple, college football was never about playing for money. It’s more of a stepping stone where you have to grind your way to the NFL to earn life-changing wealth. I’m not suggesting that every player who receives money stops trying hard or loses their love for the game of football. However, it’s reasonable to make this assumption based on the history of money changing people, my own first-hand witnessing of it, and even Nick Saban realizing the issue.

When I first joined the USC football team back in 2020 I was instantly awoken to the rich culture and history that lies within USC football. I was met with 120 other players who were “mostly” all there to win championships, develop, and try to get into the NFL. It felt as if we were all one team who were here for the love of the game and the university. Now of course several star players rightfully got special treatment or bonus perks for their skills but it never felt as if that affected the culture of the team. It’s fair to say even before NIL, there was already a hierarchy within the team from your walk-ons, scholarship players, the star players, and coaches. But whether you were a walk-on or a star scholarship player there was little extrinsic financial motivation that got in the way of the team culture. I very rarely heard conversations about what car to buy, where they should live, what fancy dinner or clothes they should get next, or talking about transferring to another school for money. Excluding walk-ons, every scholarship player was receiving the same amount of money directly from the university each month. But in August of 2021 this all changed when NIL was introduced with very few guidelines.

Fast forward two years and the conversations you hear in the locker room and the vibe amongst the team are nowhere near the same. Players living in downtown high-rise apartments and driving their fancy cars to school every day are now viewed as superior to everyone else. Even if said player is in a slump and not working hard or producing results, they are still portrayed as having higher status on the team. But yet the player who is living in campus housing and can’t afford a car is expected to work just as hard or even harder than that individual and holds little power. It’s getting to a point where the player almost holds more power than the head coach of the team.

Now how is this possible? Under new NCAA rules, a player may transfer to another university and be eligible immediately. When you mix this with NIL you get a recipe for disaster which we are seeing today. A star player can now go to the head coach of a team and demand a certain amount of money or they will transfer schools. Coaches must now adapt their strategies for managing player relationships and team dynamics with NIL. Balancing individual player interests with the collective goals of the team will become more challenging. Coaches of course want to try and keep their star players so they will have to meet the needs of the player or he will just leave. I have witnessed this first hand on my own team where players openly are discussing with other teammates about transferring to go get more money. The power dynamic within programs is now shifting drastically with the players gaining more autonomy and leverage.

​​Schools with greater resources may have an advantage in recruiting and retaining top talent if they can offer better opportunities for players to profit from NIL. This could contribute to a widening gap between powerhouse programs and smaller schools. NIL today also has very few laws surrounding it allowing universities to ride fine lines and bend the rules to benefit their programs. A school like USC which is located in a large city like Los Angeles and has some of the wealthiest alumni donors, benefits from NIL greatly. We can bring in top high school recruits and get top players out of the transfer portal. But in my opinion, paying a bunch of money for a player out of the portal affects team dynamics. Players who can secure lucrative NIL deals may be perceived differently within the team, leading to jealousy or resentment.

To get the view of other teammates, I surveyed 12 players with a yes or no question: Do you think NIL has created a greater hierarchy within college football teams that is negatively affecting team dynamics? The results didn’t surprise me with 12/12 teammates voting yes. A player who was on the team before NIL compared it to his time now stating, “The dynamics are completely different now, they bring in a bunch of transfer players who all get paid a bunch of money… it’s like we are just renting the players for a year or two and they don’t get invested into the culture of our team.” Through this survey, we can see that players believe NIL is creating a negative hierarchy within teams.

In conclusion, the implementation of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has undeniably reshaped college football. Through the firsthand experiences of players and insights from legendary coach Nick Saban, it’s evident that NIL has introduced a new dynamic within teams, altering recruiting strategies, team culture, and player motivations. While the ability for student-athletes to profit from their likeness is a positive change, the current system has created a hierarchy within teams that will undermine the traditional values of college athletics. As evidenced by survey results, players perceive NIL as contributing to a negative shift in team dynamics. Moving forward, NCAA administrators and lawmakers must address these concerns and find a balance that allows student-athletes to benefit from NIL while preserving the integrity and camaraderie of college football teams. Rules must also be put into place to control the use of NIL and the transfer portal. We must act now to protect college football as a place for personal development, teamwork, and competition.

Work Cited

Conahan, J. (2024, March 7). Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban speaks on nil-. https://www.si.com/fannation/name-image-likeness/news/former-alabama-football-coach-nick-saban-speaks-on-nil-jon9