NIL Is Headed For An Overhaul, Which Will Change The Current Landscape Of 'Pay For Play' In College Sports, Collectives

It wasn't long ago that Name, Image, Likeness was introduced to college athletics. What came with it was a new way to entice players to certain schools. As we've seen over the past year, the number of commissioners and coaches finally calling it what it is has changed.

Let's be clear, paying players to attend college is not new. What is new is the way some are hiding it behind NIL rules and collectives. Long gone are the days of dropping off a bag of cash or setting up parents of potential student athletes with jobs across the country. The scene from the movie 'Blue Chips' was the old way of doing things, but that method is now just something to laugh about.

No, the 'free agency' and 'pay for play' models have taken over college sports in a very short period of time. After the dam was cracked, it didn't take long for the rushing waters to encapsulate college athletics and how student-athletes are compensated.

One of the bigger problems that coaches are seeing in today's world of recruiting is how brazen some of the advisors and recruits are when it comes to a potential paycheck. What was once something you didn't gloat about has now turned into bidding wars between schools that play out in public. Even though most players will not discuss their terms for service, athletes are taking full advantage of a system without many barriers.

Don't Blame The Players, They're Just Taking Advantage Of NIL

Honestly, I don't blame them. A system was setup for players to earn money for the product they produce on the field, which is the same as anyone negotiating a contract in the workforce. Now, we're seeing a collectives dip into their war-chest to buy the services of a prospect or transfer. This is similar to how a booster would get involved before NIL.

No matter how you spin it, coaches are starting to wonder how long they'll have to continue answering questions regarding a prospects worth. The simple answer is we don't know what a 17-year-old young man is going to do in the first few years of college. He or she could be a major bust, and the collectives are the ones funding this unfortunate situation.

Caleb Williams #13 of the USC Trojans runs for a touchdown against Jack Kiser #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Sure, Congress is trying to get involved when it comes to legislation, with the hopeful outcome that players will have a revenue sharing model with each school. But in the meantime, Athliance CEO Peter Schoenthal noted that collectives are just paying salaries, while the rest gets sorted out in the future.

"I believe Congress could act involving college sports, even if it isn’t today," Schoenthal discussed with OutKick. "I also think that collectives will not be around long term as currently situated. That’s not to say they won’t adapt. They will, and many of the best ones already have contingencies in place long term. However, as of today, let’s be clear about what most collectives are doing. They are paying salaries to athletes in a non-regulated space and calling the payments 'marketing deals'."

Peter also believes that revenue sharing is not that far off from happening on college campuses and athletic departments. Will it be complicated? Sure, but there are only a handful of players that are actually making decent NIL money at each school.

"It’s not viable long term and it’s not healthy for college sports," the Athliance CEO noted. "In the next 2-3 years, revenue sharing will be coming to college sports which means certain athletes will be on salary."

What's Next For College Coaches And Player Compensation?

There are position coaches around the country that are discussing NIL in some board room right now. A good amount of these coaches are tired of answering questions regarding how much a player will be paid during his first year, or even second. Also, the argument that college coaches get paid enough to deal with these new parameters has played out.

"I'm on the phone with a recruits until midnight, with I'd say 60-70% of them asking about how much they can make before we even discuss our program," one Power-5 head coach told OutKick. "The focus has shifted in some cases from playing time and a way to the NFL, to now wondering about their first college check. It's stressful, because once they hear a number of what other players earned in the past two years, they automatically expect that type of money for them."

In reality, there are only a certain amount of players worth the six-figure deal that will see them do local advertising for NIL purposes. Now, we've got situations all over the country where players are more worried about getting that monthly check

Could there end up being uniform contracts at these different schools? Sure, but the negotiations for that salary bump is already giving me a headache.

Make no mistake, I'm all for players making money off their name and image, but there has to be a better way to do this. No, that doesn't mean salary caps, so the bigger schools like Georgia or USC can decrease the pay of certain players, like Pittsburgh's Pat Narduzzi wants.

"I believe the NCAA lobbying is working. The narrative has changed tremendously on Capitol Hill," Peter Schoenthal mentioned. "Just look back at the original Congressional Hearings a few months back. It was a mess and all over the place. But it showed those in government had no idea what was going on. Now let’s look at Congress today. We have bi-partisan bills being drafted, including one from Corey Booker, whose current bill is much different than the one he authored a year ago

Sometime in the next few years, Congress will finally make a move that most in the industry are hoping for. As for the current situation we're in, Schoenthal has been out in-front of changes in the way NIL is looked upon, seeing a change coming sometime down the road.

"No one knows what will happen, but things are changing and one of some of those changes are happening in DC.”