Article #2 Final

Local college athletes weigh in on the the direction NIL monetization is sending college sports (football) and the relevancy of NIL being at a small school.

The debate that once caused numerous amounts of scandals throughout college sports has lied within one question. Should college athletes be able to be paid and profit from their name, image, and likeness? Since the beginning of college sports, athletes have demanded and fought for rights to be able to profit off themselves. The NCAA rules once prohibited players from having rights to profitability and because of that many players and coaches have been punished for gifting players things and offering them incentives under the table.

Well now, as of July 1, 2021, all NCAA and college athletes are allowed to profit from NIL and gained to access to monetize their NIL. What does this mean for the future of college sports though, and does this have an effect on small school athletes like that of Morningside University?

I talked to several either current players or alumnus of the Morningside football team and asked them to weigh in on this topic. Seth Sheppard and AP Ponder, both alumni and multi-national champions with the Mustangs sat down with me for an interview on the topic. I also got to sit down with currently active and also multi-national champion for the Mustangs, Jamal Jones.

Each of the players believe that there are positives and negatives that come with the monetization of athletes and profitability of NIL. A big positive that a couple of the players mentioned is the fact that a lot of college athletes come from poverty or low income families.

“It allows us athletes the chance take care of our families…some of us have teammates who may have kids and NIL can help those teammates to try and provide while doing what they love, playing the game of football,” responded Ponder when asked how he felt about players being able to profit from NIL. Sheppard also believes that granting players NIL monetization rewards hard work and is fair considering that the NCAA profits millions of dollars from its athletes.

From an educational standpoint, some positives were pulled from the thought of NIL deals. “I think a lot more players will stay all 4 years…this is a good thing though because it gives them a chance to actually get their degree,” Shep said. Jones also said something similar when talking about NIL in that many athletes don’t last long in the professionals. So, NIL deals may encourage players to stay in school longer while getting paid to do and also being able to graduate and use their degree if need be.

Not all thoughts about the situation are all positive though. Could NIL deals eventually cause problems with team cohesion and the egos of these high-paid and more well-known college athletes? Could NIL even possibly have an effect on youth athletes who are aware of this opportunity and want to take advantage of it?

The college sports and professional world has seen its fair share of egotistical athletes who struggle with getting along with teammates and coaches. NIL is something that the Morningside players believe could propel athletes into these types of behaviors, especially given the fact that they are still trying to make it. Individual success is the main reason the guys believe this could potentially be a concern going forward. With money being the reward for individual success, a lot of players have the potential to begin gravitating their focus towards themselves first rather than the goals and likes of the team.

“I think NIL has the potential to create tension between teammates as well as resentment and inequality due to one players success. Not just in football but in college sports all around,” Shep says, while explaining that some athletes could become overly focused on personal marketing and NIL success.

While AP believes that the impact of NIL on youth sports will be positive due to the fact that it could push athletes to become noticeable and make a name for themselves, the other guys think different. “Building up egos and demanding so much in sports from a child early on could be recipe for disaster,” Jamal said shaking his head. Jones believes that high demand from a sport early on can lead to that beginning to feel like a job and ultimately stray a child away from the sport. At the youth age playing a sport should be hobby, not necessarily a way out said Shep and Jones similarly.

As far as being at a small school like Morningside, each of the athletes agree the NIL doesn’t have much of an effect, if any on the players. “Let’s be realistic here, we were a good ass program and still are, but for an NAIA program, NIL deals are pretty much an afterthought,” Shep said. Considering that NIL has a lot to do with your following and popularity, it isn’t too common for small school athletes to have publicity like players from D1 and D2 schools have. So, without that following, how would these athletes be able to benefit a company or brand looking to sponsor a player?

Ap believes that resources and exposure are both limited at small schools which give these athletes less of an opportunity to profit from themselves. Neither does he think it would be fair for someone playing at the highest-level to be remotely making the same amount of money as a small school athlete.

Current small school athlete Jamal Jones even said, “I don’t even really follow or pay attention to much about NIL being at Morningside.”

Concerns of the effect of NIL deals at a high level may live on for a long time, but for your local small school athletes like those of the Morningside Mustangs, though shall not worry.