NIL Developments Get Support From NCAA

The NCAA’s Board of Governors has moved to support rule changes to allow student-athletes to get paid for their name, image, and likeness in a much-anticipated overhaul of the organization’s amateurism rules. Conditional third-party endorsements will now be allowed, as will outside compensation related to social media, other businesses, and personal appearances.

In essence, student-athletes will now be allowed to profit off of their name, image, and likeness as long as schools are not involved in payments and school or conference logos are not used, the board announced on April 29.

The NCAA’s release said the new rules will, however, allow student-athletes to reference their sport and school and will call on NCAA members to use school compliance officers to oversee the types of endorsement deals and value of individual contracts to ensure fair value for the services provided. While the recommendations outline the ways athletes can make money, they also leave room for discretion at the NCAA and school level. NCAA staff will also aid with oversight.

All deals will also be subjected to a set of “guardrails,” the group said, the specifics of which are still being worked out but are paramount to successful NIL implementation.

For more on the topic, tune in to today’s episode of Fundamentals at 12 p.m. ET when FOS reporter Emily Caron will chat with Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott.