You Pay to Win the Game

The NCAA updated its name, image, and likeness (NIL) guidelines this week for the first time since they were implemented last summer, specifically targeting a loophole that allowed groups of boosters to skirt the rules.

💰 What’s going on?... Shortly after NIL laws came into effect last July, many boosters began pooling money to form businesses called “collectives” that facilitated NIL deals for athletes at their favorite schools.

• As it turns out, many of these collectives had been signing deals violating the NCAA’s only rule when it comes to NIL: no paying a player specifically to attend a certain school. 
• The rule had always applied to individual boosters, but this week’s change explicitly covers collectives as well.
• The NCAA said it may pursue the most outrageous violations that occurred over the past 10 months, but its “focus is on the future” in regards to the updated rules.

✋ Yes, but… Nearly two dozen states have laws on the books prohibiting schools and the NCAA from punishing athletes for accepting money from third parties. The new guidelines, if enforced by the NCAA, could lead to legal challenges that industry consensus says “would be incredibly difficult for the NCAA to win,” per Axios.