NIL Places Olympic Sports in Peril, Federal Subsidies are Necessary

NIL has led to many unintended consequences in the athletics landscape. European developmental basketball programs are facing financial strain as players prioritize NCAA hoops over the European club system; the second round of the NBA draft has become drained of talent as high-level college players find NIL pay-for-play contracts more attractive than two-way G league payment; but, the most damning challenge of them all, is the peril many Olympic sports programs in the NCAA are currently facing.

Unlike most leading nations, the United States does not federally subsidize Olympic sports; instead, it relies almost entirely on private funding and collegiate programs to develop athletes for international competition. This unique reliance on the NCAA and private donors has yet to hold America back on the Olympic stage. However, as college athletics undergo unprecedented financial strain — due to legal shifts stemming from the House v. NCAA case and the rising costs of compensating college athletes — the American collegiate athletics system’s ability to subsidize Olympic sports is at serious risk.