NIL athletes are royalty?

The past and present, and the truth about NIL.

Trouble in Paradise (The Medieval Times of NIL)

By Keithon Foster and James Chawla 

When thinking of all of the money scandals that have happened throughout college sports, many people instantly think of Reggie Bush. Who is Reggie Bush? Arguably one of the best college football players to ever play the game. Back in 2005, Reggie Bush was one of the most famous athletes in the entire country. His electrifying play on the field drew the eyes of many fans. In the year 2006, right after he was drafted 2nd overall by the New Orleans Saints, it was reported that his family had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts. Bush, knowing that this act was illegal, denied all reports that this was true; however, it was later found that this was indeed the case. Therefore, he was stripped of one of the most honorable prizes in all of football. The Heisman trophy. After hearing of the NIL rule change, Bush requested to receive his trophy back; however, he was denied. Whenever NIL is being discussed, Reggie Bush is always the “go to” or the example that people use. But there were actually more athletes profiting illegally from NIL. 

During the early 1990s, the “Fab Five” was  one of the greatest talents the game of college basketball had seen at the time. From 1991-1993, the five young stars dominated college basketball the way that’s never been done before. Seeing the talent, Michigan head coach Steve Fisher trusted his freshmen, and made them have a huge impact over the team’s success. Today we see teams like Kentucky playing high level recruits instantly, and having immediate impact. However, during the early 1990’s, freshmen were not looked upon to lead the team. The “Fab Five,” and most notably Chris Webber, changed the way we view incoming high level talent.

Even creating the fashion trend of baggy shorts instead of the standard shorts at the time. Many people did not approve of this appearance; however, the team was so dominant that it became a new look. The talent and impact of the “Fab Five” is undeniable; however, legal troubles may have prevented you from ever hearing of them. Back in 2003, star player and most notable player of the five Chris Webber, was under investigation for allegedly receiving $38,000 illegally from a booster during his playing time at Michigan. Webber pleaded guilty to the allegation, thus having all of the Fab Five’s records, stats, and accomplishments completely erased from the college basketball world. The scandal even saw Michigan losing four seasons of post season eligibility. Although the record books no longer show it, Chris Webber and the Fab Five changed the way we view college athletics today. Freshmen have shown they can have immediate success in a variety of sports. This can be attributed to the immediate success of the five young stars. Overall, through all of the legal troubles, the “Fab Five” is still one of the greatest talents the game of basketball has ever seen.

Back in 2014 there was a court ruling in a case between former UCLA basketball player, Ed O’Bannon, and the NCAA which challenged the NCAAs use of college athletes name, image, and likeness of its current and former athletes for commercial purposes. Another way that current and former players NIL was used in 2014 without compensation was through the widely popular video game series made by EA Sports which would publish multiple games a year, including NCAA Football which was their most popular out of the many NCAA sports video games they put out over the years. Obviously with the ruling of this case ruling in the favor of O’Bannon and the athletes he fought on the behalf of, EA Sports had to discontinue this series of video games until as of recently due to the new NIL laws that have been put in place. With the new laws put in place, EA Sports announced over the summer that they have started working on licensing agreements with hundreds of D1 schools to bring back the widely popular and terribly missed NCAA Football video game series. EA Sports has announced that they expect the earliest for the relaunch of the video game to be in the summer of 2023. 

With NIL coming into play now, there have been many incidents in recent memory of where high profile athletes have gotten in trouble with the NCAA for getting caught using their NIL for monetary benefits or even to receive gifts which has resulted in many different things including vacating wins and player suspensions. Obviously some of these incidents from recent memory that comes to mind are Maurice Clarett a young and impressive running back from the Ohio State University in the early 2000s, the Ohio State tattoo scandal in 2010, and even as recently as a couple of weeks ago when Illonis star basketball player Kofi Cockburn got suspended for signing memorabilia for money before NIL went into effect on July 1, 2021.  

In the fall of 2003, star Ohio State running back Mauire Clarett was coming off of a very special freshman campaign setting a then record for rushing yards by a freshman. In the fall of his sophomore year he was suspended for a total of six games for many things including receiving academic aid he should not have, but the NIL part that got him in trouble was that he accepted the use of a rental car free of charge that he borrowed from a local car dealership in the Columbus area. After this while debacle, Clarett’s career at Ohio State would take a turn for the worst as he would eventually be dismissed from the school and would never really find his footing in the pros either as he would never even play in a preseason game, some could argue the NCAA barring players from benefiting off their NIL completely derailed Clarett’s young and promising career, but that’s a topic of discussion for another day. 

Another incident that occurred involving NIL was in 2010 and it also involved Ohio State again, but for different reasons. In 2010 what seemed like a routine visit to the tattoo parlor in Columbus would ultimately result in the suspension of then star quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four of his teammates. The five Buckeyes players were suspended for the first five games of their season for selling their Big 10 championship rings, game worn jerseys, and even some of their awards they had won in the past. When the investigation happened, it was made known that this tattoo parlor had been giving these players improper benefits that were in violation of the NCAA’s NIL rules for up to two years at the time.  The players were still allowed to play in that year's Sugar Bowl against Arkansas, but as stated earlier would have to sit out the first five games of the following year. Along with being suspended, the five players would all have to repay their debts which were all over five figures. To open up the 2011 season, the university would self impose NCAA violations and decided to vacate all of their wins from the 2010 season, including what was a 31-26 Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas. 

The last instance of former NIL rules getting a player in trouble that would not do so in the new era of NIL actually wasn’t too long ago. Just a couple of months ago Illonis star basketball player, Kofi Cockburn signed autographs for some money, this was in violation of the NIL rules due to the fact that he signed these autographs in June of 2021, an entire month before the new era of NIL came to fruition, which was on July 1, 2021. Due to Cockburn’s mistake, he was suspended for Illonis’s first three games of the season. The preseason All-American’s presence was felt as one of the games he was suspended for was a 67-66 loss to Marquette in a Gavitt Tip-off game, whether this loss will later derail or mess up the program has yet to be seen as it is still very early on in the 2021-2022 college basketball season. 

Although the new era of NIL has only been around for about five months, the sports world has already seen college players capitalize on their opportunities that previous college athletes have not been able to do without getting in trouble as seen in the many instances above. The new era of NIL brings together college athletes to be able to be properly compensated for whatever advertisements for commercials they decide to appear in, which is wildly different from the NIL of the past where athletes would be penalized by the NCAA in very harsh fashions. If the new NIL is here to stay, the world will eventually see young NCAA athletes become multi-millionaires off of their proper compensation, which was only a thought or a dream to athletes of the past. 

Vol Kings and Queens of NIL Today

By Matthew Mikulec 

In addition to preparation for sports seasons athletes at the University of Tennessee have a whole other gameplan to prepare for this school year. The new NCAA rules give student athletes the rights to their name, image, and likeness (NIL). It’s calculated the average athletes can/will make anywhere from $1,000-$10,000. This date is without the top college athletes in the nation that have made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Multiple Athletes have made the leap over and started collecting whether it's money or goods. What are the most significant NIL deals on Rocky Top? 

Ashley Rogers is a senior at the University of Tennessee and plays for the softball team. The senior pitcher was lucky enough to have one more year of eligibility to play and now collect off her name. The Athens native joined VidSig where she's able to offer pitching lessons and video chats. Click the following to view Adhley’s fees and availability  Ashley Rogers – VIDSIG Cooper & Cade Mays are brothers that start on the offensive-line for the Volunteer football team. The two decided to team up with DW Designs, a company that strives on creative clothing. Not only did DW Design sign the Mays boys but the entire UTK football team gave the athletes a chance to create their personal brand. Cooper and Cade decide to create “Home Mays'' shirts and distribute them to stores to be sold. The two racked up lots of social media attention and the sales came next. Cade, the older brother, was one of the first Tennessee Athletes to sign an NIL deal. His first venture was showing up at the Old City Sports Bar in Knoxville to expose the positives in NIL signing in the future. 

Kenndy Chandler Is new to Rocky Top this year. The five star basketball recruit from Florida is the talk of the 2021-22 Vols basketball season. Once he signed two deals he became a East Tennessee house hold name before stepping on the court. Chandler signed a deal with Alumni Hall UT with fellow incoming freshman and teammate Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. This deal would help prompt Alumni Hall, a store that sells Tennessee apparel from T-shirts to sneakers. The Freshman did not stop there as he also inked another deal with Leaf Trading Cards. Chandler is to prompt and sign cards for the Memphis based company in exchange for a deal that was reportedly with “five figures.”

Alontae Taylor is one of Tennessee’s premier athletes. Taylor was just invited to the 2021 Senior Bowl, a prestigious honor for all college football players to show off their talents to NFL scouts. He tackled on two interceptions this season building to his draft capital. Taylor was also building smiles from Vols fans off the field from his NIL signing with Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company. Taylor made a deal within a deal, On his social media the star DB decided if he got an interception during the game Vol fans were allowed to claim two free cookies. Surely enough Taylor delivered to the Tennessee fanbase with two interceptions on the season. Making enough money off the deal, Taylor actually turned down multiple NIL deals so he could focus on the season in pursuit of stepping closer to the professional level. 

John Fulkerson has gained the most significant name, image, and likeness deals this year. A lot of it has to do with his fun personality, work ethic, and effort in giving back to the Knoxville community. Fulkerson has inked deals with Pal’s Sudden Service, Mayfield Milk, and many more. It’s clear that the “Super Senior” is taking advantage of his extra year of eligibility. But that's not why he's a fan favorite every time the Vols hit the court. After all of the earnings Fulkerson has made he decided to find a way to give back. He’s donating one dollar for every point he gets this season to the Tennessee Fund. Multiple news stories were developed by this move from the Vols big man giving him more likability for his name and image.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: NIL at UTK (Jousting NIL)
By Kayla Matlock and Christian Scott

We all assumed that because athletes can now profit off NIL that their lives would be changed forever. For some that may be true. For others, not much has changed since the NCAA changed their decades long rule. 

Students across pretty much every sport have signed some type of deal or received some type of “perk.” Evan Russell, a baseball player for the University informed us that he has made over $20,000 in NIL deals that consists of partnering with the recently built house of Dicks Sporting Goods, Crockett Creek Jersey, and typical autograph signing that consists of face to face interaction. 

Trey Lipscomb, who also plays for the Baseball team, has had 6 different NIL deals that consists of clothing, vehicles, yoga, spin classes and food.