Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in College Sports

Thesis: The rise of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights in college athletics has transformed modern sports by giving athletes new financial opportunities and personal freedom, while also creating challenges such as competitive imbalance, recruiting controversies, and the growing commercialization of amateur athletics.

What NIL is: A set of rules allowing college athletes to receive compensation for endorsing products, making appearances, or engaging in business activities. Enacted in 2021, these policies allow student-athletes to monetize their personal brand without losing NCAA eligibility, transforming how they profit from their fame.(NCAA)

Why it Matters Now: Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) matters in 2026 because it has fully transformed college sports into a professionalized, $2.7 billion industry where athletes are legally compensated, which reshapes recruiting, competitiveness, and player retention. It marks the end of traditional NCAA amateurism, allowing players to earn millions via endorsements and collectives, fundamentally changing how talent is acquired. 

What this Website Explores: This Website explores the history of NIL as well as the current state of it. The website will highlight certain case studies that are important in the landscape of NIL, and scholars researched writing to enable the point of the drastic change that NIL has brought to college sports.