Last summer, the NCAA finally agreed to change the rules. Colleges still can’t pay athletes a salary, but athletes are allowed to use their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to earn money. Deals were already being made by the time school started in August.
The biggest money, of course, went to top athletes in big sports. Hercy Miller is a basketball player at Tennessee State University and the son of a famous rapper. Before he even started school, he had signed a $2 million deal to endorse a tech company.
What about the athletes who will probably never be famous? They now have opportunities to make money too. A Nebraska burger restaurant chain offered money to athletes to mention the restaurant on social media. The money went to the first 100 athletes to sign up.
If you already have a lot of followers, your chances of cashing in are even greater. Lexi Sun, a star volleyball player at the University of Nebraska, has 78,000 followers on Instagram. For years, Sun turned down offers to advertise products, but now she can make money from her fame. She even has her own line of athletic clothing.
Are these changes a good thing? “I’d be one of the few athletes to say I don’t know,” says Sun.