Answering the Big Questions About NCAA’s New NIL Proposal

NCAA president Charlie Baker has proposed a fundamental alteration to the highest level of Division I college athletics. It would be an opt-in scenario for member schools to become part of a new subdivision within Division I, and would be a chance that has been clamored for by many within the industry to give the schools at the highest level more autonomy, while preventing them from splintering off and creating their own organization. It calls for schools to “invest at least $30,000 per year into an enhanced educational trust fund for at least half of the institution’s eligible student-athletes,” and is something of a signal to Congress that the organization is not asleep at the wheel. Baker has stressed that this is in the very early stages and is at this point just a proposal, so what does it all mean? You’ve got questions, and we’ve got (some) answers.