“Success is not owned, it’s leased — and rent is due every day.” — J.J. Watt
Let’s get this out of the way early: if your son or daughter is spending hours each week brainstorming NIL deals before they’ve even finished their homework, we may have skipped a few steps in the recruiting process.
This article is your NIL college recruiting reality check — a look at what NIL really is, how it’s reshaping college athletics, and why 99% of families should stop worrying about endorsement deals and start focusing on development, maturity, and fit.
What NIL Actually Means
NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness — a term that sounds like it’s about marketing, social media, or personal branding. Originally, that’s what it was supposed to be: athletes earning from camps, autographs, or personal appearances.
But that’s not what it’s become.
Today, NIL has turned into a recruiting arms race — a system where boosters and school-funded collectives pay athletes to either come to their school or stay at their school. It’s not about entrepreneurship, creativity, or influence. It’s about leverage, loyalty, and control.
The truth is, NIL isn’t an open marketplace — it’s a financial strategy disguised as one. And like any arms race, the biggest programs with the deepest pockets are the ones winning.
The NCAA Is Still Figuring This Out
The NCAA has spent the past few years trying to catch up to its own rulebook.
Right now, lawmakers and NCAA leaders are floating ideas like:
- Making student-athletes employees of universities — complete with salaries, benefits, and HR paperwork.
- Tying NIL deals to staying at the same school for multiple years or graduating from that institution.
- Revenue-sharing models where a portion of conference or media money goes directly to athletes.
Sounds fair in theory, right? Until you read the fine print.
What Happens If Athletes Become Employees
If athletes become employees, they’re no longer just playing a sport — they’re working a job. They’re expected to show up, perform, and produce — and when they don’t, they can be fired. The university becomes their boss, not their partner.
Every benefit — tuition, meals, housing, and travel — can be taxed as income. And when the playing career ends and an athlete isn’t good enough to go pro, the paychecks stop — but the bills don’t. Suddenly, they’re applying for jobs that may pay a tenth of what they made in college to promote energy drinks.
So yes, there might be a paycheck — but there will also be a timecard, a boss, and an expiration date.
What Happens If NIL Becomes Tied to Loyalty
If NIL becomes tied to staying at a school, athletes could lose flexibility to transfer without losing money they’ve already earned. Many families end up riding it out at a school that no longer fits — just to keep the deal alive. Coaches gain even more leverage, since an athlete’s income depends on staying in line.
Loyalty becomes less about culture — and more about contract.
What Happens If Revenue-Sharing Becomes the Norm
Power 5 schools with big TV deals will keep pulling further ahead. Schools may cut non-revenue sports altogether to make room in the budget. The college model starts to look more like professional sports — salary negotiations, agents, and arbitration replacing academics, development, and leadership.
These ideas might sound like fairness, but they could easily erase the “student” from “student-athlete.”
The NCAA designed NIL to open doors — but it may be closing them instead. The system is slowly teaching young athletes to chase money long before they’ve built the maturity to manage it.
What NIL Has Become at the Top
At the Power 5 level, NIL has become less about opportunity and more about retention and recruitment.
Most NIL money doesn’t come from real business partnerships — it comes from collectives: donor-funded organizations designed to funnel money to athletes in exchange for commitments or continued participation.
A handful of deals still involve true market value — endorsements, content creation, or appearances — but those are the exceptions, not the rule.
It’s created a version of the Wild West where:
- A freshman backup can make six figures without ever starting a game.
- A star quarterback can switch schools and double his deal overnight.
- And the NCAA still insists, with a straight face, “This isn’t pay-for-play.”
That sound you just heard was every compliance officer’s head hitting the desk.
Why NIL Is Not for 99% of High School Athletes
Here’s the truth bomb most recruiting websites won’t say: if your athlete isn’t among the top 1% of high school players in the nation, NIL shouldn’t even crack their Top 10 priorities.
Before NIL ever matters, a recruit has to:
- Be an elite athlete — one of the best in their region, maybe even their entire class.
- Play a sport and position that actually moves the financial needle (Power 5 football, men’s basketball, or a few women’s sports with national TV exposure).
- Land at an elite Power 5 school — one with massive alumni backing, national television contracts, and booster collectives willing to spend millions to win.
- And then, maybe, be marketable enough to stand out among all the other elite athletes already on that same roster.
For everyone else? NIL isn’t a plan — it’s a headline.
Unless your family owns a business and just wants to pay your kid to appear in a commercial about mowing the lawn (which, technically, is legal in some states), NIL shouldn’t be stealing your family’s focus.
Instead, invest your energy in what actually creates leverage:
- Skill development
- Academic excellence
- Emotional maturity
- Consistent communication with coaches
Those four things have built more college opportunities than NIL ever will.
A Little Perspective
Think of NIL like the lottery.
Everyone talks about winning it.
Everyone dreams about what they’d do with the money.
But almost no one actually cashes in — and some of the ones who do wish they hadn’t.
The difference? At least a lottery ticket only costs a couple of bucks.
Chasing NIL before you’re ready can cost you focus, development, and opportunity.
If you want something to chase, chase the things that every athlete can control — how you prepare, how you treat people, and how you respond when things don’t go your way.
That’s the kind of currency that never loses value.
The Real Win
Let’s not pretend NIL doesn’t matter. It does — for a select few. But for most high school athletes, it’s background noise compared to learning how to manage time, lead a team, and balance priorities.
Families should still understand the basics of NIL to avoid being misled, but they shouldn’t build their entire college strategy around it.
Because the athletes who chase NIL tend to chase the wrong things.
The athletes who chase growth?
They’re the ones who end up earning opportunities that money can’t buy.
Final Word
NIL is a fascinating part of the modern college landscape — but it’s not the destination. It’s just a billboard on the highway.
If your athlete truly becomes valuable enough to attract deals, great — they’ll be ready when it happens.
Until then, teach them to value what’s lasting: discipline, humility, and consistency.
For more guidance, tools, and weekly insights on recruiting, leadership, and navigating the college journey, visit CoachMattRogers.com — and stay focused on what you can control, stay humble, and keep chasing significance.
