“This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a press release. “With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level. The current environment — both legal and legislative — prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve.”
Athletes are already planning to take advantage. Iowa Hawkeyes basketball player Jordan Bohannon, for example, announced plans to sign autographs at a fireworks store in Iowa on Thursday. And in Nebraska, Runza Restaurants offered NIL deals to the first 100 student-athletes at any Nebraska college who agree to promote the company’s rewards program on social media.
Local athletes are also jumping into the NIL world.
Malachi Smith, a freshman guard the Dayton Flyers men’s basketball team, shared an image on Instagram that read, “Effective tomorrow, July 1st NCAA student-athletes are now allowed to capitalize off of their Name-Image-Likeness. You can contact me on my DM or email about advertisements or other business inquiries for your brand or business.”
Several Ohio State football players also declared their intention to benefit from the new rules. Tight end Jeremy Ruckert and offensive lineman Thayer Munford both shared the same image on Instagram that ready in part, “Any local or any companies at all that want to use my social media as a platform to promote, do commercials, etc., to brand themselves, my DMs are open for business. Message me if interested.”
The new NCAA policy does come with some rules. Athletes are not allowed to appear in advertisements wearing school apparel, for example, or use phrases associated with the school. Here’s what else is prohibited.
• “NIL agreement without quid pro quo (e.g., compensation for work not performed).”
• “NIL compensation contingent upon enrollment at a particular school.”
• “Compensation for athletic participation or achievement. Athletic performance may enhance a student-athlete’s NIL value, but athletic performance may not be the “consideration” for NIL compensation.
• “Institutions providing compensation in exchange for the use of a student-athlete’s name, image or likeness.”
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