NIL vs University employees

[highlandute7]

Can someone explain how or if NIL will be different once these players (in all sports) become employees of the University? Doesn’t that mean they will then become paid by the school they attend and with that, can they still take NIL funds coming from booster or can they only receive payment from the school?

Or does this even matter?

[RUUTES]

As Employees the University would have to provide employment protection, manage things through HR, pay taxes, workers comp and be far more responsible for actions and insuring payment etc.

Under NIL someone outside with little or no controls is handing over money.

If they were employees there would be an entirely different set of rules around outside employment, conflicts of interest, etc.

As an employee there would probably be limits or controls on what they could accept as gratuity for performing their University Work.

Frankly employment is both the solution to the current problem AND an end to college sports as we currently know it. It is pulling the final bandage off the wound.

[highlandute7]

Thanks for the reply but not sure it answers my questions.

To be brief – can players still accept NIL money once they are considered employees of the University?

[2008 National Champ]

Yes

[RedRocks]

Most likely.

Think of someone like LeBron James. He receives a salary as an employee of the Lakers, but he also gets paid by Nike and others for NIL/promotion/etc.

[Central Coast Ute]

Yes. Just like pro athletes sign deals with Nike, Wheaties, etc. These kids will essentially become professional athletes.

[highlandute7]

Makes sense. Thanks for the responses.

[RUUTES]

a lot depends on the conditions of that specific employment. If the players were unionized or under individual contracts, then many elements can be negotiated. Are they independent contractors or actual employees?

If they were employees of the “state” then there are conflict rules that may also come into play. A state employee has to disclose everything and can be denied employment if they persist in something seen as a conflict. So, NIL might fall on either side of that depending on how it was set up. State employees also may fall under gift restrictions and I’m not sure how NIL would be considered. I suspect a lot of attorneys would argue for some time over the specifics when we do cross that bridge.

[Tomasina]

If an employee of the University, couldn’t contracts be put in place (as with Coaches) the make it harder to switch teams?

[AlohaUte]

likely the end game is a collectively bargained solution between the players and the NCAA that all NCAA colleges are beholden to. It will likely involve contracts that players have to sign and likely will include provisions for transferring and provisions for cutting players.

[The Miami Ute]

Likely the end game is that big-time college football is restricted to 30-40 schools, which is exactly what the networks want, and everybody else just drops organized competitive sports altogether. Think about it, why would an educational institution all of a sudden be beholden to sports in general and add a thousand more “employees” that really add nothing to its bottom line and are a constant drain to its resources? This in addition to providing them free education, room and board, training facilities, counseling, tutoring, etc…Why would an educational institution take in hundreds of “employees” who, in a lot of cases, wouldn’t qualify academically if it wasn’t for their sporting prowess? The vast majority of schools don’t turn anything close to a profit with sports and now they’re going to be asked to pay these people? It will never happen in a million years.

In a way, I feel bad for future athletes once these changes actually take hold. A lot of people that would never even sniff a college campus were they not athletes are going to find themselves in a perilous situation. Think about how sports have provided an access to upward mobility for millions of people, of which a significant number are minorities. That will all be gone once schools that have sports are forced to treat athletes as employees and they opt out of the new system. Truly a case of killing the goose that lays golden eggs.

[Rick]

Miami,
That’s a brutal unintended consequence. Quite an insight.

[The Miami Ute]

Rick, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and not all change is progress. I have to imagine that the federal government will be forced to get involved if we start seeing a system where athletes, a huge of number of which are minorities, no longer have an opportunity to attend college (in essence, become disenfranchised) because the new rules require all athletes to be considered employees of a university.

[Author]

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