NCAA's New Name, Image, and Likeness Policy is Another Win for Student-Athletes

In the face of increasing pressure from state governments who threatened to pass their own law (and many who did pass laws that take effect this week), the NCAA has adopted a new Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy that I believe is a win and a step-forward to justly compensating student-athletes and giving them ownership of their own hard work. The concept that athletes could not profit off of their own name, image, and likeness negates the hard work, dedication, and effort they have put into creating a personal brand that can be monetized.

More and more Gen-Z and Millennials are turning toward personal branding to establish additional, or even primary, sources of income. Often disregarded, social media influencing involves more than just good looks and followers, turning to social media has become a way for this generation to speak up for something that they believe in, add their voice to the national conversation, and influence companies and corporations to do better in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

For athletes specifically, their name, image, or likeness is only profitable because of their hard work and performance on and off the field. Without their true labor, their name, image, or likeness would not be worth anything. They have more than earned the right to monetize off of the following that they have created because of their talents and dedication. To deny them the right to profit from it denies another opportunity for upward mobility for some student-athletes who have used athletics as a way to change not only their own life but the lives of their family members.

The additional compensation can be money that is sent home to families of first-generation and/or low-income students or money that is put away and saved to create a legacy. Some states, like New Mexico, have policies that allow student-athletes to have their own shoe deals or have third parties pay for things like meals, lodging, or medical expenses. The NIL policy, even in its interim, will not blur the distinction between amateur or professional athletes. It will serve as an inspiration for other students that when they work hard they can change their circumstances and that they will be rewarded for their efforts. Their name, image, or likeness may even end up inspiring someone else.