NIL Gold Rush? College-Style Revenue Sharing and Direct Payments Are Still Off Limits for High School Athletes

The Rise of NIL: From College Compensation to High School Opportunity
Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights for athletes are on the rise and have forever blurred the lines between amateurism and professionalism in sports.

What began as a fight to compensate college athletes for their contributions to the enormous revenues their schools and conferences were generating from massive media rights and sponsorship deals, merchandise sales and licensing agreements, and sold out venues, has evolved into direct payments to athletes, fueled by all-out bidding wars for recruits and transfers who enjoy virtual and perpetual free agency.

The NCAA Settlement That Changed the Game
How NIL will be administered on the college level has been resolved, at least for now, following the final approval of a settlement, earlier this month, between the NCAA and lawyers representing members of three different class action lawsuits. The settlement allows schools to share as much as $20.5 million of their revenue with athletes and offer unlimited scholarships. It even set aside $2.8 billion to compensate eligible former college athletes, who did not have the benefit of NIL during their days as a student-athlete.