Cracks forming in NCAA’s efforts to hone NIL policy

Almost a week into the NCAA’s “crackdown on NIL policy, cracks are already appearing in the association’s initiative,” as the NIL space becomes “increasingly liberalized,” according to Dennis Dodd of CBSSPORTS.com. Missouri is poised to become the latest state to “expand NIL opportunities beyond the NCAA rulebook,” with a proposed bill that “would allow any athletic department official — including coaches — to assist with NIL deals.” Tennessee late last month introduced a bill that “allows interaction between collectives, coaches and athletes.” Existing laws in Louisiana and Illinois are “undergoing amendment conversions that would allow booster involvement.” This pattern “mirrors how states used their legislative power to spread NIL rights in their states.” Dodd wrote the NCAA was “way late to realize it couldn’t play whack-a-mole trying to contest the laws state by state.” The association “technically prohibits coaches and schools from brokering NIL deals for athletes,” but it was “quick to state last July that athletes are allowed to ‘engage in NIL activity that is protected by state law.'” To stop these deals, the enforcement division “would have to find violations,” but there has been “no meaningful move in that direction since NIL debuted 10.5 months ago.” Relaxation of NIL barriers is becoming “as competitive as recruiting itself” (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/16).