The NIL Market Faces Questions Due To Injuries & Poor Performance

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Hey Friends,

With new rules regarding the ability for college student-athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL) going into effect last month, we have seen an avalanche of deals flood the market.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is nearing $1 million in total NIL compensation, according to head coach Nick Saban, and Quinn Ewers, an 18-year-old freshman backup quarterback at Ohio State, has signed three deals worth about $1.5 million in total.

But what happens when these players don’t perform on the field?

Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler and Miami quarterback D'Eriq King were also big winners early in the NIL era.

Rattler signed deals with Raising Canes and Fowler Auto, a car dealership that gave him two cars, while King seemed to be the most active, co-founding a NIL-related business called Dreamfield and signing deals with College Hunks Moving, Murphy Automotive, and the Florida Panthers of the NHL.

Each player reportedly brought in around $200,000 before the season even started.

But here’s the problem — despite being a pre-season Heisman favorite, Spencer Rattler has been benched for freshman Caleb Williams, and D’Eriq King underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Monday.

So, where do we go from here? Well, for starters, all NIL deals have to be guaranteed, meaning Spencer Rattler & D’Eriq King will be paid their $200,000 regardless of whether they play another snap of college football or not.

That’s great for them, of course, but the reaction from the companies signing these athletes has been mixed.

Florida Panthers chief strategy officer Sam Doerr told Action Network that D'Eriq King’s injury is “not ideal” and that it “hurts some of their plans for the season,” but also that “the deal had the Panthers trending on Twitter” and indicated anything on top of the original announcement was gravy.

To be fair, this isn’t that much different from the endorsement deals that professional athletes receive. More often than not, those deals are guaranteed, and brands assume the risk that an athlete may not perform up to their expectations.

This is also a perfect example of the problems that NIL set out to solve.

Sure, Rattler was a projected top pick in the NFL draft and might still recover depending on how things shake out. But D’Eriq King’s collegiate career might be over, and this could end up being his best opportunity to capture financial upside if he doesn’t go pro.

Also, don’t forget, these $200,000 athletes are the exception, not the rule.

The athlete marketing platform Opendorse released data indicating that the average Division I student-athlete earns $471 from NIL, while DII and DIII athletes make under $100 on average.

• Division I: $471 average

• Division II: $81 average

• Division III: $47 average

The new name, image, and likeness rules are less than six months old. So it will take some time to develop. Still, that doesn’t mean we aren’t taking steps in the right direction.

I hope each of you has a great day, and I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.

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Huddle Up is a daily letter that breaks down the business and money behind sports.

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