College Basketball NIL

College Basketball and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness): A Transformative Era

The landscape of college athletics experienced a seismic shift when the concept of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) came into play. This change, especially in the realm of college basketball, has had profound implications. Let’s break down this revolutionary concept and its impact on college basketball.

Summary of College Basketball and NIL

• The Concept: Understanding NIL.
• The NCAA’s Stance: From resistance to acceptance.
• Effects on College Basketball: How it’s changing the game.
• Opportunities and Challenges: The double-edged sword.
• Notable NIL Deals: Athletes breaking the mold.
• Future Outlook: What’s next?

1. The Concept

Name, Image, and Likeness rights allow college athletes to profit from their personal brand. This includes endorsement deals, personal appearances, and even their own business ventures. Historically, these were privileges reserved for professional athletes.

2. The NCAA’s Stance

The NCAA had long opposed the idea of student-athletes monetizing their NIL, emphasizing the amateur nature of college sports. However, with mounting pressure and legal challenges, they transitioned to allowing athletes to capitalize on NIL rights without compromising their eligibility.

3. Effects on College Basketball

NIL has drastically changed college basketball:

• Recruitment: Top recruits might now consider schools not just for their basketball programs, but also for potential NIL opportunities in those markets.
• Player Empowerment: Players now have a platform and means to build and control their personal brands.
• Fan Engagement: With players launching their own brands or products, there’s a new avenue for fan engagement beyond just games.

4. Opportunities and Challenges

Opportunities:

• Financial Independence: Players can now have an income source during college.
• Entrepreneurial Ventures: Athletes can start their businesses, from merchandise lines to camps.

Challenges:

• Distractions: Balancing basketball, academics, and now business can be daunting.
• Market Oversaturation: As more players jump on the NIL bandwagon, standing out becomes challenging.

5. Notable NIL Deals

Several college basketball players have already inked significant deals:

• Paige Bueckers: The UConn star signed multiple endorsements, including with StockX and Gatorade.
• Chet Holmgren: The Gonzaga standout secured a deal with the trading card company, Panini America.

6. Future Outlook

As the NIL era matures, we can expect:

• Regulation Evolution: As challenges arise, there might be tweaks in regulations.
• Integration in Curriculum: Colleges might introduce courses helping athletes navigate the NIL landscape.

FAQs:

Q: Can all college athletes profit from NIL? A: Yes, it’s not limited to basketball or even Division I athletes. All college athletes can capitalize on their NIL.

Q: Are there restrictions on the kind of endorsements? A: Yes, schools and states might have specific restrictions, especially concerning conflicting sponsor interests.

Q: Has NIL impacted women’s basketball as well? A: Absolutely. Stars from women’s basketball, like Paige Bueckers, have secured significant deals, highlighting the opportunities NIL offers across genders.

In Conclusion

The introduction of NIL rights in college basketball has ushered in a new era, democratizing opportunities for student-athletes. As the landscape evolves, it’ll be intriguing to witness the long-term implications and how institutions, players, and the industry at large adapt.

We don’t have the actual NIL salary numbers or NIL budgets, and may never have. I think a decent stand in to understand what schools have money, or at least money around the program, is the overall basketball budget. This past year’s numbers are not out yet, but below are the pre Covid budgets. I choose those numbers because I think it’s a better reflection than the covid year empty gym weirdness and different states with different rules.

I also believe schools attendance is a decent informer to gauge audience and interest, with much of this based on Q Score type social media followings. Willing paying eyeballs.

Top Attendance

Basketball Budget
1	Duke	ACC	$22,178,473
2	Kentucky	SEC	$20,202,558
3	Louisville	ACC	$19,180,078
4	Florida St.	ACC	$16,773,013
5	Alabama	SEC	$15,966,875
6	TCU	Big 12	$15,718,763
7	UCLA	Pac 12	$15,468,381
8	Marquette	Big East	$14,979,149
9	Syracuse	ACC	$14,845,555
10	Villanova	Big East	$14,428,932
11	Michigan St.	Big Ten	$14,395,851
12	Georgetown	Big East	$13,573,946
13	Virginia	ACC	$13,400,721
14	Indiana	Big Ten	$13,230,211
15	Kansas	Big 12	$12,547,439
16	Texas Tech	Big 12	$12,338,645
17	Texas A&M	SEC	$11,818,860
18	Texas	Big 12	$11,649,912
19	North Carolina	ACC	$11,204,115
20	Providence	Big East	$11,117,186
21	Pittsburgh	ACC	$11,013,283
22	Ohio St.	Big Ten	$10,996,364
23	West Virginia	Big 12	$10,798,893
24	Northwestern	Big Ten	$10,646,711
25	Tennessee	SEC	$10,554,613
26	Auburn	SEC	$10,536,653
27	Gonzaga	WCC	$10,496,251
28	Illinois	Big Ten	$10,480,939
29	Arkansas	SEC	$10,440,326
30	Arizona	Pac 12	$10,383,630
31	Oregon	Pac 12	$10,348,633
32	NC State	ACC	$10,295,048
33	Oklahoma	Big 12	$10,072,404
34	St. John’s	Big East	$10,028,677
35	Vanderbilt	SEC	$9,901,818
36	Michigan	Big Ten	$9,874,360
37	Baylor	Big 12	$9,860,432
38	Purdue	Big Ten	$9,604,624
39	LSU	SEC	$9,512,515
40	Mississippi	SEC	$9,432,295
41	Uconn	Big East	$9,325,922
42	Florida	SEC	$9,317,385
43	Washington	Pac 12	$9,224,123
44	Houston	American	$9,219,796
45	Nebraska	Big Ten	$9,180,631
46	Maryland	Big Ten	$9,163,793
47	Minnesota	Big Ten	$9,115,817
48	Utah	Pac 12	$8,965,613
49	Miami	ACC	$8,895,333
50	Wake Forest	ACC	$8,805,630
51	Creighton	Big East	$8,590,055
52	South Carolina	SEC	$8,561,964
53	Wisconsin	Big Ten	$8,548,485
54	Virginia Tech	ACC	$8,525,606
55	Arizona St.	Pac 12	$8,349,598
56	Notre Dame	ACC	$8,331,273
57	Missouri	SEC	$8,255,259
58	Clemson	ACC	$8,229,736
59	Memphis	American	$8,217,757
60	Wichita St.	American	$8,182,863
61	Iowa	Big Ten	$8,097,014
62	Kansas State	Big 12	$8,028,533
63	Georgia	SEC	$7,756,002
64	Iowa St.	Big 12	$7,693,014
65	Cincinnati	American	$7,644,770
66	SMU	American	$7,590,481
67	Rutgers	Big Ten	$7,545,360
68	Seton Hall	Big East	$7,506,127
69	BYU	WCC	$7,447,430
70	Mississippi St.	SEC	$7,443,131
71	Dayton	Atlantic 10	$7,434,825
72	St. Louis	Atlantic 10	$7,428,566
73	Xavier	Big East	$7,406,374
74	Penn St.	Big Ten	$7,343,831
75	Colorado	Pac 12	$7,252,987
76	Stanford	Pac 12	$7,143,168
77	Georgia Tech	ACC	$7,095,493
78	USC	Pac 12	$6,901,843
79	Boston College	ACC	$6,872,835
80	DePaul	Big East	$6,793,520
81	Oklahoma St.	Big 12	$6,700,510
82	Temple	American	$6,487,460
83	Oregon St.	Pac 12	$6,203,088
84	Tulsa	American	$6,196,308
85	St. Joseph’s	Atlantic 10	$6,152,876
86	California	Pac 12	$6,131,940
87	VCU	Atlantic 10	$6,102,633
88	UNLV	Mountain West	$5,795,483
89	San Diego St.	Mountain West	$5,786,034
90	Butler	Big East	$5,760,815
91	Duquesne	Atlantic 10	$5,612,982
92	Washington St.	Pac 12	$5,483,898
93	Grand Canyon	WAC	$5,331,006
94	Belmont	OVC	$5,129,856
95	Fordham	Atlantic 10	$5,075,355
96	Tulane	American	$4,984,520
97	South Florida	American	$4,931,868
98	Richmond	Atlantic 10	$4,782,542
99	Rhode Island	Atlantic 10	$4,745,208
100	Nevada	Mountain West	$4,706,010
101	UCF	American	$4,594,025
102	Santa Clara	WCC	$4,445,480
103	Colorado St.	Mountain West	$4,415,218
104	St. Mary’s	WCC	$4,401,818
105	Loyola Chicago	MVC	$4,348,837
106	George Mason	Atlantic 10	$4,287,689
107	Utah St.	Mountain West	$4,250,996
108	UTEP	C USA	$4,247,850
109	New Mexico	Mountain West	$4,206,654
110	Loyola Marymount	WCC	$4,137,858
111	San Francisco	WCC	$4,071,649
112	Umass	Atlantic 10	$4,025,395
113	Pepperdine	WCC	$3,975,688
114	William & Mary	Colonial	$3,970,949
115	Old Dominion	C USA	$3,953,002
116	East Carolina	American	$3,942,406
117	St. Bonaventure	Atlantic 10	$3,832,105
118	Bradley	MVC	$3,778,660
119	Boise St.	Mountain West	$3,678,140
120	Fresno St.	Mountain West	$3,642,878
121	Portland	WCC	$3,599,607
122	La Salle	Atlantic 10	$3,558,014
123	Northern Iowa	MVC	$3,550,793
124	George Washington	Atlantic 10	$3,548,937
125	UAB	C USA	$3,533,944
126	Western Kentucky	C USA	$3,455,918
127	Liberty	A Sun	$3,400,852
128	High Point	Big South	$3,369,936
129	Ohio	MAC	$3,337,404
130	Wright St.	Horizon	$3,330,147
131	Wyoming	Mountain West	$3,329,650
132	Davidson	Atlantic 10	$3,297,453
133	Charlotte	C USA	$3,295,523
134	Charleston	Colonial	$3,289,426
135	Fairfield	MAAC	$3,280,514
136	Detroit	Horizon	$3,276,678
137	Elon	Colonial	$3,221,829
138	Siena	MAAC	$3,219,292
139	Northeastern	Colonial	$3,207,255
140	Quinnipiac	MAAC	$3,203,013
141	UCSB	Big West	$3,202,493
142	Pacific	WCC	$3,181,522
143	Rice	C USA	$3,169,654
144	Marshall	C USA	$3,161,233
145	San Diego	WCC	$3,120,907
146	Buffalo	MAC	$3,093,556
147	New Mexico St.	WAC	$3,077,862
148	Akron	MAC	$3,045,115
149	Middle Tenn	C USA	$2,982,636
150	Hawaii	Big West	$2,960,055
151	UC Irvine	Big West	$2,953,537
152	Hofstra	Colonial	$2,939,154
153	Georgia St.	Sun Belt	$2,917,278
154	Iona	MAAC	$2,881,346
155	North Texas	C USA	$2,847,662
156	Missouri St.	MVC	$2,808,838
157	Monmouth	MAAC	$2,795,919
158	Delaware	Colonial	$2,785,559
159	Louisiana	Sun Belt	$2,780,548
160	Drexel	Colonial	$2,760,011
161	James Madison	Colonial	$2,709,807
162	Seattle	WAC	$2,681,442
163	Toledo	MAC	$2,673,988
164	Boston	Patriot	$2,669,686
165	Robert Morris	Horizon	$2,661,978
166	Drake	MVC	$2,649,047
167	Bucknell	Patriot	$2,624,075
168	Troy	Sun Belt	$2,604,565
169	Milwaukee	Horizon	$2,588,033
170	Evansville	MVC	$2,570,477
171	UTA	Sun Belt	$2,557,576
172	Louisiana Tech	C USA	$2,556,193
173	Bowling Green	MAC	$2,544,177
174	Denver	Summit	$2,532,725
175	Rider	MAAC	$2,508,228
176	Cal Baptist	WAC	$2,503,353
177	UC Riverside	Big West	$2,485,812
178	Southern Illinois	MVC	$2,482,549
179	Northern Kentucky	Horizon	$2,470,374
180	Manhattan	MAAC	$2,455,366
181	Montana	Big Sky	$2,452,114
182	Illinois St.	MVC	$2,440,752
183	CSUN	Big West	$2,438,136
184	Valpo	MVC	$2,415,050
185	Long Beach St.	Big West	$2,412,791
186	Murray St.	OVC	$2,398,909
187	UC Davis	Big West	$2,395,167
188	Stony Brook	America East	$2,392,346
189	Stetson	A Sun	$2,386,051
190	Marist	MAAC	$2,358,993
191	FAU	C USA	$2,352,069
192	Cal St. Bakersfield	WAC	$2,333,990
193	UNCW	Colonial	$2,317,837
194	Hartford	America East	$2,303,817
195	Furman	SoCon	$2,293,070
196	Holy Cross	Patriot	$2,282,921
197	UNCG	SoCon	$2,275,162
198	Vermont	America East	$2,261,158
199	Towson	Colonial	$2,259,918
200	UIC	Horizon	$2,248,503
201	UMKC	WAC	$2,246,404
202	Western Michigan	MAC	$2,243,842
203	Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	$2,243,214
204	UTSA	C USA	$2,239,480
205	Miami Oh	MAC	$2,234,349
206	Lipscomb	A Sun	$2,228,677
207	UMBC	America East	$2,222,771
208	Cal Poly	Big West	$2,181,492
209	South Dakota St.	Summit	$2,177,776
210	Eastern Michigan	MAC	$2,170,870
211	Southern Miss	C USA	$2,169,053
212	Central Michigan	MAC	$2,168,814
213	Kent St.	MAC	$2,158,311
214	Cleveland St.	Horizon	$2,140,282
215	Indiana St.	MVC	$2,129,934
216	Colgate	Patriot	$2,126,456
217	Little Rock	Sun Belt	$2,126,312
218	Cal St. Fullerton	Big West	$2,114,807
219	Montana St.	Big Sky	$2,094,896
220	Oral Roberts	Summit	$2,085,974
221	Campbell	Big South	$2,085,182
222	American	Patriot	$2,072,510
223	Mercer	SoCon	$2,062,738
224	South Alabama	Sun Belt	$2,052,778
225	Penn	Ivy	$2,049,825
226	St. Francis PA	NEC	$2,040,877
227	San Jose St.	Mountain West	$2,035,793
228	Jacksonville	A Sun	$2,025,816
229	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	$2,015,066
230	Loyola Md	Patriot	$2,002,011
231	Texas st.	Sun Belt	$1,976,474
232	Ball State	MAC	$1,975,432
233	Wofford	SoCon	$1,965,358
234	Appalachian St.	Sun Belt	$1,952,593
235	FIU	C USA	$1,951,680
236	North Dakota	Summit	$1,943,907
237	Chattanooga	SoCon	$1,940,945
238	Oakland	Horizon	$1,940,265
239	Lafayette	Patriot	$1,938,231
240	IUPUI	Horizon	$1,928,860
241	Samford	SoCon	$1,917,384
242	Weber St.	Big Sky	$1,913,406
243	Austin Peay	OVC	$1,904,820
244	Texas A&M CC	Southland	$1,901,648
245	Bryant	NEC	$1,883,381
246	Umass Lowell	America East	$1,882,325
247	ETSU	SoCon	$1,878,553
248	Green Bay	Horizon	$1,874,827
249	Utah Valley	WAC	$1,866,466
250	NJIT	A Sun	$1,857,283
251	Fairleigh Dickinson	NEC	$1,846,780
252	Mount St. Mary’s	NEC	$1,815,414
253	Portland St.	Big Sky	$1,809,651
254	Northern Arizona	Big Sky	$1,805,164
255	Albany	America East	$1,799,859
256	Winthrop	Big South	$1,780,882
257	Northern Illinois	MAC	$1,775,696
258	Binghamton	America East	$1,753,592
259	Idaho	Big Sky	$1,729,001
260	Lehigh	Patriot	$1,725,866
261	North Dakota St.	Summit	$1,720,634
262	NC Central	MEAC	$1,710,811
263	Purdue Fort Wayne	Summit	$1,700,944
264	Texas Southern	SWAC	$1,696,591
265	Niagara	MAAC	$1,683,937
266	Radford	Big South	$1,682,177
267	Sacramento St.	Big Sky	$1,667,359
268	Alabama A&M	SWAC	$1,667,122
269	UTRGV	WAC	$1,652,983
270	St. Peter’s	MAAC	$1,641,425
271	Longwood	Big South	$1,640,350
272	Canisius	MAAC	$1,639,094
273	Eastern Washington	Big Sky	$1,630,808
274	New Hampshire	America East	$1,601,005
275	FGCU	A Sun	$1,589,474
276	Arkansas St.	Sun Belt	$1,578,156
277	Eastern Kentucky	OVC	$1,576,265
278	Youngstown St.	Horizon	$1,555,175
279	VMI	SoCon	$1,547,786
280	Northern Colorado	Big Sky	$1,538,837
281	North Florida	A Sun	$1,532,649
282	Morgan St.	MEAC	$1,517,680
283	Kennesaw St.	A Sun	$1,510,719
284	Georgia Southern	Sun Belt	$1,505,129
285	Jacksonville St.	OVC	$1,497,090
286	Sacred Heart	NEC	$1,496,346
287	Wagner	NEC	$1,487,551
288	Norfolk St.	MEAC	$1,477,761
289	The Citadel	SoCon	$1,477,703
290	Harvard	Ivy	$1,474,941
291	South Dakota	Summit	$1,469,868
292	ULM	Sun Belt	$1,469,020
293	Idaho St.	Big Sky	$1,461,637
294	Hampton	Big South	$1,460,137
295	Columbia	Ivy	$1,445,658
296	Maine	America East	$1,432,766
297	Yale	Ivy	$1,416,853
298	NC A&T	MEAC	$1,409,516
299	CCSU	NEC	$1,402,297
300	Lamar	Southland	$1,384,151
301	Incarnate Word	Southland	$1,371,582
302	Morehead St.	OVC	$1,361,968
303	St. Francis NY	NEC	$1,358,525
304	Houston Baptist	Southland	$1,345,408
305	Princeton	Ivy	$1,342,776
306	SIUE	OVC	$1,342,465
307	Howard	MEAC	$1,338,284
308	UC San Diego	Big West	$1,336,221
309	Presbyterian	Big South	$1,330,762
310	Tennessee St.	OVC	$1,330,636
311	Bellarmine	A Sun	$1,318,815
312	SEMO	OVC	$1,304,144
313	Southern Utah	Big Sky	$1,301,285
314	Central Arkansas	Southland	$1,295,287
315	Omaha	Summit	$1,262,543
316	Charleston Southern	Big South	$1,243,917
317	Brown	Ivy	$1,239,495
318	Gardner-Webb	Big South	$1,195,668
319	Sam Houston St.	Southland	$1,194,442
320	Western Illinois	Summit	$1,190,756
321	PV A&M	SWAC	$1,184,538
322	UNC Asheville	Big South	$1,183,573
323	Abilene Christian	Southland	$1,178,426
324	SELA	Southland	$1,172,241
325	USC Upstate	Big South	$1,167,592
326	McNeese St.	Southland	$1,162,753
327	Tennessee Tech	OVC	$1,161,305
328	North Alabama	A Sun	$1,159,508
329	Eastern Illinois	OVC	$1,146,676
330	Cornell	Ivy	$1,143,930
331	Northwestern St.	Southland	$1,132,840
332	Dartmouth	Ivy	$1,131,199
333	UT Martin	OVC	$1,119,003
334	Western Carolina	SoCon	$1,089,269
335	Bethune Cookman	MEAC	$1,079,602
336	New Orleans	Southland	$1,052,459
337	Florida A&M	MEAC	$1,033,463
338	UMES	MEAC	$1,000,683
339	Merrimack	NEC	$999,430
340	Alabama St.	SWAC	$992,694
341	Grambling St.	SWAC	$913,266
342	Delaware St.	MEAC	$910,671
343	Tarleton State	WAC	$864,953
344	Dixie State	WAC	$837,366
345	Pine Bluff	SWAC	$833,958
346	Southern	SWAC	$815,704
347	Chicago St.	WAC	$801,305
348	Nicholls St.	Southland	$798,687
349	Coppin St.	MEAC	$785,999
350	South Carolina St.	MEAC	$785,619
351	Jackson St.	SWAC	$676,673
352	Miss Valley St.	SWAC	$576,526