When the NCAA made changes to its name, image, and likeness rules, allowing athletes to profit from their own NIL, many predicted that it would cause some rifts in locker rooms with some athletes making large sums of money from endorsement deals and others not making much. Some thought it would lead to jealousy and other team-related issues, but that does not seem to be the case.
As On3 shares, a recent survey conducted by Bill Carter of Student-Athlete Insights – a company that specializes in NIL education and consulting – revealed that very few college athletes report NIL causing issues in the locker room.
“A survey of more than 1,000 student-athletes – including more than 415 Division I football players – found that only 8% of respondents have witnessed NIL causing rifts/tensions or say that it’s a ‘locker room problem.'” Crabtree shared via On3. “In addition, the survey found that 76% of respondents said they share NIL earnings information with teammates. Furthermore, 78% of those surveyed said teammates have asked them to share information about their NIL earnings.”
Bill Carter, a former college lacrosse coach and a 2001 SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 selection, told On3 that this survey kills a key argument against NIL.
“The potential for locker room strife was a foundational element of the NCAA’s argument against NIL for what felt like 100 years,” Carter told On3. “It was a foundational element of the National Federation of State High School Associations’ argument against NIL. The day after the NCAA said ‘We’re allowing NIL,’ the high school federation came out and said, ‘We’re never going to do this,’ and ‘The reason is X, Y and Z,’ and X was locker room strife.”
[On3]
