NIL And The Transfer Portal in College Sports

The world of college sports has drastically changed in a span of only a few years. The rise of NIL and the transfer portal has altered the landscape of college sports as we know it. But have these changes been positive or negative? How will college sports evolve even more? Here is my opinion.

NIL

On July 1st, 2021, the NCAA passed a deal that will go down in history. NIL stands for name, image, and likeness. It allowed college athletes to start getting paid. People have argued about this issue for a long time, saying things like, “These players are on national TV every day and don’t get paid a dime. The work these players are putting in just to fall into college debt seems cruel.” At first, it was a great thing for college athletes; they got paid for simply having cards made of them or sponsorships with companies, but it soon took a turn for the worse. Big schools with more money than others started to realize that they could get big-name high school athletes to come to their school if they simply handed them more money. It no longer mattered if their team, coaches, equipment, and education were sub-par; it was now all about the money. And just recently we saw the worst sight college sports has seen yet: a player, not playing, just to get more money. Nico Lamaleava was unsatisfied with the amount of money he was getting paid (2.2 million a year) as quarterback on the Tennessee Volunteers. Americans making that much fall into the top 0.009%. Nico ended up transferring to UCLA, where he will make four million dollars per year. Nico wouldn’t have pulled this off without another crucial aspect: the transfer portal.

The Transfer Portal

More than any other sport, college basketball has been most affected by the transfer portal. This year, we saw hardly any players stay with the team they were recruited by. Even players who won the national championship still wanted out. No matter what, players always wanted the picture-perfect team, coaches, and stage. For players, this seems like a dream come true; they get to choose their perfect team year after year. This is also a plus with coaches for big schools. They can have the best players from smaller schools. The only thing left out is the small schools. It doesn't matter if they have a great season; their best players will just transfer out, and they are left with a completely different team the next year. The transfer portal is causing a drastic shift in college basketball. You may have wondered why March Madness was so different this year. The first time since 2007 that all four number one seeds made the Final Four. As every year goes on, the big teams will just get better, and the smaller teams will likely decline. Whether you like it or not, the era of Cinderella runs in the tournament may be over.

Overall thoughts

I think that NIL and the transfer portal are ruining college sports, but inevitably, it is here to stay. People will only care about the money. When they say it's not about the money, it is. And as long as big schools get paid, the transfer portal and NIL are here to stay.