NIL Rights Give Students New Opportunities at Schools

Florida Gulf Coast University men’s basketball players were having their own March Madness on a late Friday afternoon. Their season had ended a couple of weeks earlier, and they were on the campus beach playing with Gel Blasters, part water pistols without the water and paintball guns without the paint.

The toy firearms were a surprise ending after the team heard a presentation from MarketPryce about how to take advantage of new NCAA rules allowing athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness. Each player walked away that Friday with weekend spending money for playing with the Gel Blasters.

Two years ago, it would have been an NCAA violation to do what the basketball team did, but on July 1, 2021, the acronym NIL was born. The NCAA, which oversees college sports, changed its rules to allow student-athletes to earn money with their name, image and likeness.

But the simple idea of allowing athletes to profit from jersey sales and personal appearances turned into something bigger. The results were as if somebody had detonated an atomic bomb instead of a firecracker.

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