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August 1, 2023 By: Mark Knudson

High Schoolers getting NIL…and it’s R.I.P. “College” Athletics

We’re nearing the end. The plug is about to be pulled.

Cause of death? A weak, spineless “governing” body and do-gooder politicians who continue to act first and think later.

“College” athletics will soon be dead.

It appears that fairly soon the spineless NCAA (the folks who are about to suspend a prominent college football coach over not being totally honest about buying a sandwich for a recruit) and congress finally pass legislation that will open up Name, Image and Likeness opportunities to high school students.

According to Miami Sports Law Instructor Darren Heitner, “Not only is this important for college athletes, but it appears to cover HS athletes given the definition of “prospective college athlete” includes those who “may be recruited by an institution of higher education.” A revised version of the legislation could make it a bit more clear that this ensures all HS athletes have the same rights as college athletes across the U.S.”

That’s where all this is headed. It will be legal for agents, boosters, etc to purchase high school recruits – while continuing to be able to poach players from other programs by offering them more NIL cash. It’ll be a free agent frenzy!

So go right ahead and just start throwing dirt on the casket. Forget about putting up guard rails. They’re just throwing open the opening Pandora’s Box with no regard to the long term ramifications. There will no longer be any limits on what athletes of any age can “earn” (whether they’ve actually earned anything or not.) They’ll all become professionals – whether they like it or not.

The vast majority had better hire an accountant before hiring an agent.

Denver radio host and former college and NFL player Matt McChesney was surmising what the future of college football might look like, and he probably nailed it: Soon we’ll have football teams (and perhaps basketball down the road) who aren’t part of the school, but who are sponsored by these universities. The schools will become de facto owners of professional teams. The players will become paid employees, offered the chance to go to school but not required to do. If you want some of your salary to go towards a college education, you’ll have that option. If you want to take the money and become a full time professional at age 18, it’s your choice.

That probably sounds great to a lot of 17-year-old blue chippers who don’t much care for attending classes. But be careful what you ask for.

The end result of these “college” athletes turning into professional employees will include likely unionization, meaning collective bargaining comes into play…and so does the IRS. All compensation will come with a price, courtesy of the taxman. And the taxman won’t differentiate between the Heisman winning quarterback who’s making six figures in NIL money and the backup libero on the volleyball team who has her coveted scholarship…but nothing extra in terms of NIL. They’ll just be in different tax brackets.

Once again, the politics involved here is all about showing voters how much they “care” about poor, exploited standout student-athletes (aka, young voters) and how little consideration there is for the long term consequences of their policies on everyone else. The five-star high school quarterback can be given a brand new Ford F-150 so he’ll sign on with a certain organization – call it a signing bonus now – and he should get enough cash to go along with it so that he can satisfy Uncle Sam. But what about the ordinary baseball player, who’s not noteworthy enough to get much if any NIL money…but who’s scholarship will now become taxable income?

There’s just so much NIL money to go around. They aren’t passing it out to the third string outside linebacker. He’s in school because he earned a scholarship, not because he’s expecting to make a living playing football. Now you’re subjecting his scholarship and meal money to being taxed.

Where’s the benefit for that guy – and the thousands of others like him who want to be student-athletes and earn a college degree, but who don’t have the skills to go pro? These college athletes don’t have the notoriety to attract the perks of the free market and NIL, so they’re losing in this deal. For the majority of student athletes, the ones who are going to “turn pro in something other than sports” becoming an “employee” could end up costing them money…money most don’t have.

Once again the NCAA and the politicians they’ve solicited help from are being re-active. They let the toothpaste get out of the tube, and now the situation is out of hand…so they’re just tossing that tube in the trash. Worse, they’re punting at a place on the field where they should be trying to create a revised system that benefits ALL college student athletes – including the ones preparing for life after sports.