The most polarizing topic in college football – and college sports as a whole – is Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). While it’s great for the athletes, it is simultaneously ruining the sport. And yes, both of those statements can be true. Take it from me, a current member of the Arkansas football team.
My name is Kyle Thompson and I’m a walk-on for the Razorbacks. This will be my third year on the team, meaning I was going into my senior year as a defensive lineman at Aledo High School in Texas when NIL payments to college athletes were legalized in the summer of 2021.
It’s been nearly three years since that historic legislation change and it’s clear those in charge are still trying to figure things out. Here’s my perspective as someone still strapping on the pads and in the locker room on a daily basis.
NIL Isn’t All Bad
Generally speaking, there are a lot of positives to NIL.
Even for those on scholarship, that money can be sent home to family members who need it or could even be set aside to make a down payment on a house upon graduation, the latter of which would go a long way in getting ahead in life.
Then there are the walk-ons. Thankfully, I have been blessed to be in a situation where I don’t have to worry about being $50,000 (or more) in debt because of student loans just to pursue my dream of playing big-time college football.
Not all of my teammates, and walk-ons across the country, are that lucky. Even if they’re nowhere close to as big as those for star players, NIL payments help pay for school.
NIL has also given athletes an avenue for serious charitable efforts. Just look at what my former Arkansas football teammate, Cam Little, did on behalf of Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas over the last three years.
Challenges for Arkansas Football and Others
At the same time, NIL payments aren’t always innocent. The amount of money being poured into college football, specifically, has led to a slew of problems.
Coaches can’t keep a player on their team if they don’t have an extra $10,000 or more after said player has had a good spring season. Based on what I’m hearing from friends in other programs, a lot of high-major teams in today’s game have players who’ve barely seen the field asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars to return for another season.
If they don’t get paid, they will either threaten to enter the transfer portal until they get the money or really enter the transfer portal and find another football program that is willing to pay. Players who threaten to enter the transfer portal and then don’t end up leaving create a dynamic of animosity and isolate themselves. Coaches and their teammates feel a sense of disloyalty from them.
I have personally seen some NIL checks come in late and players try to opt out of lifting weights and practicing until they get their money. This is what you call a cancer to the team. Yes, it might be frustrating to get paid late, but when you’re getting paid the large amounts that some of these players are getting paid, while also getting an education, how can you complain at all?
I think most college athletes are grateful for NIL, but at the same time, they often become so accustomed to having it, they become greedy, ungrateful and don’t realize how good they actually have it.
The Problem of the Transfer Portal
Another thing to consider when thinking about NIL and how the money impacts the game is the transfer portal.
The transfer portal has become a way for college athletes to “opt-out” of their program quickly and easily. More often than not, the decision to enter the transfer portal is driven by monetary incentive.
Unless you were a highly rated recruit or played a lot in college, the transfer portal is risky to enter if you don’t know with certainty where you are going to end up playing. To test the waters, a lot of players will have someone reach out on their behalf ahead of time to other colleges when they want to enter the transfer portal. This is still against the rules, but it is how the players gain confidence on whether other schools will actually end up offering them.
Reform is needed for the transfer portal.
There are players who go to a college to play and end up staying for only one semester before another team comes calling and offers more money. More often than not, the player will immediately take the offer and leave. There are players who enter the portal 2-3 times throughout their collegiate career, and now with NIL in play, we are seeing this more and more frequently.
The ease of the transfer portal and motivation of NIL money is shifting the sport overall. It is turning college football into a ladder where the goal is to make as much as possible, and eliminating the sense of loyalty to a football program and education.
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More coverage of Arkansas football, NIL and the transfer portal from BoAS…
