NIL Deals Bring More Frustration Than They See Fit

In June 2021, the long debate over whether college athletes should get paid gained some momentum as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) passed its name, image, and likeness (NIL) policy, which enables student-athletes to be compensated for their names, images, and likenesses. This policy, which permitted athletes to pursue commercials, social media endorsements, and merchandise, for starters, served as a game changer for UC San Diego athletes by giving them opportunities to earn income while still maintaining their amateur status.

UCSD second-year basketball player and Sixth College Public Health major Francis Nwaokorie is all for it. “I think it’s really good to allow athletes to build their brand up at such a young age and potentially provide for their families in the future,” Nwaokorie said.

While Nwaokorie did not consider NIL deals during his freshman year when the NIL policy was new to collegiate athletics, he is starting to look more into NIL deals this year.

“Coming in as a freshman last year, I had a lot of offers for NIL deals, but I was really focused on the season and trying to make sure I got playing time and didn’t want to get distracted with that stuff at that time,” Nwaokorie said. “Now, as a sophomore, I’m starting to look more into that stuff now that I am more experienced.”

Second-year soccer player Andrew Valverde, a Sixth College Political Science major, transferred from UCLA to UCSD after his freshman season and believes that soccer is one of the sports that lacks the attention that some other high-profile sports like football and basketball receive. Football and basketball receive the most compensation in the NIL market, leaving other sports far behind.

However, Valverde has been able to sign multiple NIL deals.

“I have had the luck to secure great deals with great sponsors. I was a student-athlete ambassador for a soccer clothing brand called CRKSOLY., and they gave me opportunities to showcase myself and their brand,” Valverde said. “I also have been able to get a sponsorship through a trainer and have access to get free training.”

Valverde mentioned the continued struggle most athletes face to find a NIL deal.

“I do wish UCSD makes sponsorships more available for all its athletes and maybe more training so athletes know what they are getting into,” Valverde said. “Basketball and soccer may be [some] of the more high profile sports on the NCAA stage but for some sports, the opportunity to maximize their NIL may be tied to their respective schools.”

According to Jeff Tourial, UCSD’s Associate Athletic Director, the resources are there for students.

“We have created a portal on our website that answers many questions our scholar-athletes may have. In addition, our compliance staff has created a dedicated email address to further provide one-on-one guidance as needed. The Big West partnered with Compass in 2021 to provide a portal assisting SA [student-athletes] in deals,” Tourial stated.

Though UCSD’s location in San Diego can mean that there are plenty of opportunities for student-athletes to capitalize on, UCSD’s conference affiliation limits its national exposure to a tier below other schools in the Pac-12 conference such as UCLA, USC, and UC Berkeley — schools that are more known for their athletics and can spend more on athletics, draw in better athletes, and bring more recognition toward their athletes in terms of media exposure. While this does not necessarily mean the NIL opportunities are not there, UCSD student-athletes may have a harder time signing more lucrative NIL deals compared to student-athletes from other schools.

“I know a few people on other teams who have made deals with Liquid IV,” UCSD fourth-year water polo player and Eleanor Roosevelt College (ERC) Business Psychology major Kayla Peacock said. “They mostly get merchandise and products, depending on the company.”

According to Peacock, there is some frustration regarding the NIL deals’ ambiguous criteria. NIL deals’ criteria states that athletes still have to adhere to school policies and state laws.

“My only criticism of NIL is that we were trying to get our team to be sponsored by Crocs and they sent us a discount code and we weren’t allowed to use it. I don’t really understand why. So my complaint is that the rules are unclear for us as scholar-athletes,” Peacock said.

NIL opportunities are not available for every student-athlete. For Derek Rong, they are nonexistent. Rong, a first-year ERC Business Economics major, is from Canada and is living in the U.S. on a student visa. Although the visa permits Rong to work on campus, the visa stipulates that he cannot work for a business outside of his college.

“I think international students should be able to have the same opportunities,“ stated Rong, who is a fencer. “It’s more about the athlete’s performance and influence. I don’t have any deals, but I would love to explore them.“

This might be the start of a push for more rights for college athletes in California. A bill in the formative stages could see student-athletes earn a share of the revenue tied to graduation. Essentially, athletes could make up a maximum of $25,000 per year and excess money would be placed in a fund that they can access if they graduate within six years. With Division I athletics raking in $15.8 billion in revenue, there is still a lot of money left at the table.

“Certainly, I feel like that [increased rights for college athletes] can really help student-athletes who aren’t in the best situation income-wise at home and also help student-athletes pay for more things they need like airfare/transportation back home or even just to have extra money just in case of an emergency,” Nwaokorie said.

Hendrik Musolf is a Staff Writer for The Triton.