My Thoughts on NIL

 A topic that has come up recently in my Sports Econ class is the NIL laws put into place last year. In class, we had a discussion about the pros and cons about NIL and although overall I believe NIL laws to be a new, wonderful benefit, I can't help but think about what consequences it can have in the future. Student-athletes have been in a fight for compensation for as long as I could remember. This constant debate about should college athletes be paid. And to no one's surprise the answer was always, "that's why they have scholarships." Which is not false, athletes do most of the time get free meals, free room and board, free tuition, free schoolbooks. But is it enough to live as a college student? Maybe for the privilege handful that can be given the luxury of just going to school and playing a sport. What about those in D2 or D3 schools with minimal scholarship opportunities, or the less fortunate ones that are lucky enough to be good at a sport that they were allowed into college but still have families in their hometown they have to take care of? All these factors are what make NIL laws a benefit to student athletes. With this boom in social media where anyone can make money of their name, image, and likeness, the NCAA had to put a law in place for those athletes making millions. Which is fine, until they ban the schools from helping regulate these athletes. How is, for example, George Mason supposed to help out star basketball player, Josh Oduro, when he is being scammed or threatened on his viral TikTok page? What's to stop players from Ohio State start transferring to Michigan State because Gatorade has a better deal there than in Ohio? How are athletes that are not fortunate enough to pay for a good agent who has hers/his best interest at heart? All these factors are what the schools and compliance departments need to learn and adapt to in the next couple years. Hopefully these departments get the necessary research and funding to create a plan or program for the benefit of student-athletes.