College athletes got another win last week when a federal court ruled in favor for the attorney generals in Tennessee and Virginia. The NCAA tried is trying to regain control of NIL deals to collegiate athletes, but they lost again in a federal court. On Friday, a federal judge granting an injunction from allowing the NCAA to punish athletes for negotiating NIL deals no matter if they’re high school recruits, or players in the transfer portal. It’s another big win for athletes, and another critical setback for the NCAA. Especially in college football, which draws the most NIL deals.
The NCAA spent years trying to rule the lives of college athletes with an iron fist. In reality, they took their control a little too far. Players weren’t allowed to accept anything from nearly everyone unless the NCAA approved it. If you seen a player that needed gas for their car but was short on cash, it could be a violation just to spot them a few bucks. They weren’t allowed to get a lot of jobs (if they could find the time) because there was fear that they were getting opportunities while in school based on their name and likeness. The NCAA took things way too far back in the day, and they’re now paying the price for their actions.
The problem the NCAA has right now is that they’re still trying to enforce outdated rules on a brand new subject. Players are allowed to be paid now, but the NCAA is still enforcing rules in certain situations. Situations where they have no clue on how to address things. Players can negotiate multi-million dollar deals, where in some circumstances, they’re making more in college than what they would by turning pro. But on the flip side, the NCAA is still trying to punish players, coaches, and schools if a player is offered a meal by a coach. Or if they’re offered a few bucks from someone else. They just don’t have the consistency needed to get a grasp of things.
When the players won the right through the courts to receive monetary compensation for their name and likeness, the NCAA did virtually nothing. Instead of developing a a new protocol for NIL deals, they just tried to continue to enforce their original rules. They could have capped NIL deals. They could have developed a process that schools and recruits had to follow during the recruiting process. Instead, they just tried to find ways they could enforce their rules that were carved on a stone slate. There was no proactive measures by the NCAA, and where seeing the repercussions now.
Things are just one huge cluster of a mess because the NCAA opted to do nothing once NIL deals started emerging. College football is in the biggest mess of all sports. Players are using the transfer portal as their own free agency window. They’ll offer their services to the highest bidder. That’s why we’re seeing an increase in college level coaches heading to the NFL. We’re not just talking about head coaches as well. College football assistants are jumping to the NFL for lateral moves, or even a job demotion to get away from the NIL deals. College football is becoming the wild wild west, and the NCAA is becoming the ineffective sheriff.