I don’t know of any schools that are resisting the NIL movement. On the contrary, every school that is talking is talking about helping student-athletes find and exploit NIL opportunities.
The University of Nebraska is an interesting case. Nebraska has a storied tradition and a fervent fan base. Nebraska also has a new branded NIL program or at least a catchphrase: #NILbraska.
Nebraska has launched a three-pronged plan aiming to educate the school’s 650 or so athletes about how they can maximize profiting off the rights to their name, image and likeness. Fittingly, the university has dubbed the initiative “#NILbraska.” In addition to educating its athletes, the school will be deploying older students who are knowledgeable about financial literacy, marketing and other relevant topics as “NIL advisers.”
But, it is Nebraska. It's isolated, and its not a glamorous location (at the moment).
NIL opportunities will make the future challenging for programs like Nebraska.
Can NILbraska provide the same NIL opportunities as Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Alabama? Probably not.
Does this push Nebraska down a tier? Maybe.
Does it make it impossible for Nebraska to become elite again as in the Tom Osbourne era? Probably.
Wishy-washy conclusions but this is the world of NIL. It is going to change the competitive landscape but probably just a little bit.
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