As college football’s NIL system continues to evolve, the rules and practices of the system get murkier.
As college football’s NIL system continues to evolve, the rules and practices of the system get murkier.
Under the College Sports Commission’s watchdog mandates of monitoring and approving of every NIL deal over $600, many player compensation deals have been hit with extended delays and rejections; putting players, programs and sponsors at risk of forfeiting money and eligibility restrictions.
Since the summer of 2025, the clearinghouse of the CSC has been the guardians of NIL. Bringing guidance and law to a new and ever-changing system is dire, but flaws in the system must be addressed and solved in an efficient manner.
As college football continues to trend toward an era of prioritizing roster growth through NIL rather than early development, the system of reviewing and approving NIL deals must be sharp and fast. That is simply not the case at this moment in time.
On the front line of defense for players, programs and sponsors are legal teams anchored by Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler.
The two men and their teams, as well as others, seek to build cases of players around the country whose NIL deal approvals by the CSC have seen delays and or rejections that leave them in legal binds.
Aiming to fix the system, making it more player-friendly and avoiding ineligibility concerns, the thought is that the fear that being truthful about business deals like NIL does not hold the same weight as it used to.
The system needs changing, or else problems will continue to worsen, and the lines of acceptable and fair business practices will become even more blurred.