Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's rise has captivated sports fans with their skill and determination, but it has also highlighted the NCAA's name, image, and likeness policy, which allows student-athletes to profit from their personal brand.
Since a 2021 Supreme Court ruling allowed athletes to commercialize their reputation and pursue “education-related benefits,” the federal government has provided no framework or safeguards.
About 30 states have approved name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation, and court judgments have generated problems about what institutions may and cannot do in the recruitment process.
In the resultant vacuum, "collectives," third-party organizations formed by wealthy donors and school supporters, can pool money and offer athletes NIL deals, triggering a bidding war. Nick Saban, Alabama football coach, supported traditional NIL programs but criticized this “pay for play” concept at a congressional roundtable last month.
Since the 2021 Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Alston, numerous student-athletes have taken advantage of lucrative name, image, and likeness opportunities. State Farm, Nike, and Gatorade have partnered with Clark, Iowa. Despite the attention on the greatest names, the NCAA has half a million athletes and tens of thousands who can benefit from NIL privileges and networking.
Since then, Ortega has worked with Hudl and led athlete empowerment discussions at ESPNW Campus Conversations. However, the patchwork of state regulations and lack of federal legislation has led to litigation challenging the NCAA's capacity to crack down on some recruitment techniques and complicated college business operations.
“Everyone’s finally taking this situation very seriously,” said Darren Heitner, a sports lawyer who teaches at several universities and represents high-profile athletes at the collegiate and professional levels, including Haley and Hanna Cavinder and Draymond Green.
“Coaches, athletic directors, conference commissioners—they’re all panicking because of the unknown,” Heitner added. “They doubt the system is sustainable.”
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