How Are NIL And The Transfer Portal Changing NCAA College Sports?
Although college athletes have always been able to transfer schools, they have seen harder days when it comes to making that decision. With the up-and-running transfer portal, athletes are no longer penalized for transferring their first time.
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What is the transfer portal?
The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) set up a system in 2018 where student-athletes can transfer schools to better their athletic or academic career. This portal is only activated if the student-athlete wants to transfer. Once activated by the student, the college program has 48 hours to put their name into the transfer portal.
Students who enter the portal must enter within two windows, but they aren’t required to choose a new school or team within that same window. Once the student enters the portal they aren’t required to transfer schools, but if they do find a school they would like to transfer to, they must meet the enrollment requirements. Any athlete who decides to transfer will lose any scholarships they had before entering the portal and aren’t promised any scholarships from the transfer school.
What does NIL mean? How is it being enforced?
By definition, according to Icon Source, “‘NIL’ refers to the way college athletes can receive compensation,” they said. “‘Using’ an athlete’s NIL would involve a brand leveraging their name, image, and/or likeness through marketing and/or promotional endeavors.”
Athletes who play for schools in states that have allowed NIL deals can now receive brand deals of all sorts and they receive compensation for them, often monetary. The states that have NIL in place are; Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Morgyn Wynne, vice chair of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee made a statement on the NCAA’s behalf when the Division I council approved NIL disclosure and transparency rules on January 10, 2024.
“Division I student-athletes in many states are already reporting the details of their NIL agreements,” Wynne said. “Disclosing that same information to schools — which would later be shared with the NCAA for the purposes of identifying trends — will offer student-athletes the benefit of better understanding about what a reasonable agreement might be for them.”
There are four elements of student protection to fully protect the students and educate them on what they’re putting themselves through; voluntary registration, disclosure requirements, standardized contracts, and comprehensive NIL education.
How does Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) impact the transfer portal?
Although it hasn’t been proven, NIL deals could vary on the popularity of the school. In the first year of NIL deals being in place, students made a whopping $917 million combined. Schools that already have a strong, established team can bring even more talent into their program making it unfair for the others in the D1 category. On the other hand, schools that are struggling can bring in more talented, or more popular athletes, and brands may find value in that.
Blake Lawrence, CEO of NIL clearinghouse OpenDorse, argues the latter.
"The combination of NIL and transfer portal is leading to a more even distribution of talent across college football," Lawrence said. "That's leading to more parity than ever."
Even though the portal opened in 2018, rules and regulations are changing daily. The transfer portal and NIL deals could help college athletes further their athletic careers post-degree. Only time will tell.
What are your thoughts on the transfer portal? Let us know in the comments!