The Impact of NIL Deals on College Football Recruiting

January 31, 2025 by Staff

The college recruiting model really changed overnight with the development of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals. What in years gone by was a battleground in most cases resolved through coaching talent, stadium infrastructure and conference affiliation is a marketplace in which students make financial incentives a part of consideration, in addition to athletically developing. Schools in America are having to adapt to a new reality in which NIL deals can tip a school in its direction—or have them scrambling to react.

How NIL Has Evolved Recruiting Practices

For years, recruiting involved stadium expansion, new lockers and state-of-the-art training facilities. All of that still holds value, but recruits increasingly have a new question: "What will my NIL look like at your school?" Schools in big television markets, schools with deep-pocketed donors backing NIL collectives and schools with a successful track record have a recruiting edge in blue-chip talent, win-loss record aside.

A very strong presence in the sports betting scene is underdog fantasy and most prominently in competition for NFL DFS, its impact runs deep in college football. Most future professionals view NIL as a gateway to financial independence in anticipation of moving over to the NFL.

The Rise of NIL Collectives

To maintain proper competitiveness, numerous schools have supported NIL collectives—funded groups with donors whose role is to collect and pool monies for player endorsements. NIL collectives have presented recruits with a brighter financial future in terms of knowing what to count on when arriving at campus. Schools with strong collectives have taken a position at the head of recruiting high talent.

Also, NIL collectives have facilitated a new level of connectivity between communities and students at home. Players have sponsored camps, partnered with companies, endorsed merchandise and even sponsored camps that generate a lot of dollars. What comes out of it is a personalized experience for student-athletes, but a recruiting tool for schools to gain and maintain the best talent, too.

The Effect on Smaller Schools and Underdogs

Where blue-chip programs have fared well under the new NIL model, less dominant schools have a less level playing field. Schools in a non-Power Five conference have long kept even with success through sleeper talent development, but NIL inserted a new barrier in the pipeline. High-profile talent who in years gone by have pursued development programs will seek schools with a better NIL and lesser programs will have to become entrepreneurial in recruiting approaches.

Despite these obstacles, a few programs have discovered a model for competing through individualized branding options, long-term career development and direct NIL endorsements. For instance, a few universities have focused on niche segments in which neighboring companies perceive value in backing student-athletes, providing incentives that bridge gaps.

The NIL's Effect on Transfer Portal Moves

The portal in and of itself was a game-changer, but when in conjunction with NIL, it changed the sport in its entirety. Players who have success at smaller schools and overachieving at them become target recruits for big programs to recruit talent to join them. With a six-figure NIL deal, a Power Five school can make it even less feasible for a Group of Five school to maintain its emerging talent. College football's power continues to shift in a direction that works in its biggest brands' best interest.

The Role of Agents and Marketing Firms

College and high school recruits increasingly have representatives and marketing agencies representing them in negotiations for NIL deals. Previously, a five-star recruit could have opted for a school for continuity in coaching and a proven track record of developing for the NFL. Today, many such choices involve financial negotiations with representatives and such negotiations have obscured the boundary between amateurism and professional sports to an unprecedented level.

Marketing entities have become a key part of developing an athlete's name, getting endorsements and developing public relations approaches that will serve them in good stead long into life post-college life. Most successful professionals have an awareness of social presence, fan relations approach and commercial alliances that will serve them in good stead long post-career competition.

Recruiting Ethics and Compliance Challenges

As NIL deals expand at a breakneck pace, programs have become increasingly ambitious with compliance. As much as can be prohibited, schools can no longer pay students for performance, but NIL's most shady region creates a scenario in which illicit "pay-for-play" deals become difficult to monitor. What is in question now is whether stricter guardrails will be adopted in the form of an NCAA crackdown or whether Congress will move in and apply national standards.

The Future of NIL and College Football

In years to come, NIL deals will become ever more prevalent in college football recruiting. As much as a concern for many, eroding competitive balance in the sport, for others, it is a long-awaited move toward player empowerment. Those programs that adapt most effectively to NIL realities will go on to dominate and programs that don't will face a challenge in keeping pace. One fact is really for sure: college recruiting will no longer resemble its current form.

The future will depend in part on whether NIL continues down its current path and in part, whether new organized restrictions will go into effect. College football is at a crossroads and its direction will have long-term consequences not only for recruiting but for the state of the sport in general.