This Ain't Chopped Liver
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College Regents Hold Key to Ensuring Smooth Transition in NIL Era
Today’s guest columnist is lawyer and University of Michigan regent Jordan B. Acker. NIL is here to stay. Sounds obvious, right? Well, to some it’s not, and there’s one group of important voi…
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Trustees, as fiduciaries, are rightly concerned with the economic health and security of the institutions they serve. So how do we live in a world where some of our biggest boosters are funneling those dollars to NIL deals? Quite simply, the long-term nature of trusteeship requires thinking about what happens three to five years from now if we don’t embrace NIL: a talent exodus in the student athlete and coaching ranks, winning less, less creativity in branding, and alumni/student/fan disinterest.
Instead, trustees must grow comfortable with a phrase that’s easily understood in the pros but less so in college sports: revenue sharing. Today’s college sports are a billion-dollar business, with athletes sacrificing time and turning down quintessential college experiences to practice and perform well. With all of the money in college athletics, it was and is simply unsustainable for student athletes not to profit from their talents and contributions. Schools essentially have two options: Work today with their current athletes and create a system that makes sure everyone is compensated fairly, or expect that it will be dictated by the courts, a future players association, or Congress, sooner rather than later.
Finally, while there’s no magic bullet, trustees have to be ready for something that is incredibly difficult in large, legacy institutions: change. Overnight, our system was upended. While we can absolutely be concerned about what that looks like, we have to be adaptable and ready to help steer our institutions through this time of great change.
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The prospect of collectives and donors bundling money directly to student athletes has the potential for chaos, especially when many schools believe these dollars could go to development. Frankly, this short-term thinking will cause schools’ athletic departments (and eventually their fundraising) to nosedive. Let’s be clear: The schools that embrace NIL and do this well are going to be the ones winning championships for the next 20 years.
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