From left to right: Margzetta Frazier (UCLA), Bryce Young (University of Alabama), Hercy Miller (Tennessee state), Lexi Sun (University of Nebraska), Mitchell Pehlke (Ohio State)

Shutterstock.com (Background); Amy Sanderson/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News (Frazier); Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images (Young); Hannah Foslien/Getty Images (Miller); Andy Clayton-King/AP Images (Sun); Courtesy Ohio State Athletics (Pehlke)

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R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.3, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Cashing In

In the past, college athletes weren’t allowed to make money from their fame. A new rule is changing that. Will it help or hurt the sports you love?

December 2021-January 2022

by Tod Olson

Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT/Alamy Live News (Gurley)

Todd Gurley

In 2014, Todd Gurley played for the University of Georgia. He was the best running back in college football. On game days, more than 90,000 fans showed up to watch him plow through defenders. They paid as much as $200 for their tickets. On the way out, they bought his #3 jersey for $134.95.

The University of Georgia made more than $50 million on football that year. But when the school found out Gurley had made $400 by selling his autograph, it wasn’t happy. Gurley was suspended for four games.

Today, Gurley’s story would have a different ending. This year, college athletes are allowed to advertise products for the first time. They can sell T-shirts and hats printed with their names. They can autograph whatever they want. And they can do it all for money.

If he were a college star now, Gurley could be rich before he even entered the NFL.

In 2014, Todd Gurley played for the University of Georgia. He was the best running back in college football. More than 90,000 fans showed up to watch each of his games. Some of those fans paid $200 for their tickets. On their way out, they purchased his #3 jersey for $134.95.

That year, the University of Georgia made more than $50 million on football. But when Gurley earned $400 by selling his autograph, the school was not happy. Gurley was suspended for four games.

Today, Gurley’s story would be different. This year, college athletes can sell their autographs. They can sell T-shirts and hats printed with their names. They can advertise products too.

Imagine if Gurley were in college now. He would get rich before he even entered the NFL.

In 2014, Todd Gurley—who played for the University of Georgia—was the best running back in college football. On game days, more than 90,000 fans showed up to watch him plow through defenders. Some of those fans paid as much as $200 for their tickets. On their way out, they purchased his #3 jersey for $134.95.

The University of Georgia made more than $50 million on football that year—but when the school discovered that Gurley had earned $400 by selling his autograph, it wasn’t happy. Gurley was suspended for four games.

Today, the ending to Gurley’s story would be considerably different. This year, for the first time, college athletes are allowed to earn money by advertising products. They can sell T-shirts and hats printed with their names, and they can sell their autographs.

If this rule had been in effect when Gurley was in college, he could have been rich before he even entered the NFL.

PAUSE AND THINK: Who is Todd Gurley? Why did he get in trouble?

What Is NIL

College athletes can now use their name, image, or likeness (NIL) to make money.

What does that mean, exactly? They can now be paid to:

College athletes can now use their name, image, or likeness (NIL) to make money.

What does that mean, exactly? They can now be paid to:

College athletes can now use their name, image, or likeness (NIL) to make money.

What does that mean, exactly? They can now be paid to:

1. Put their name on a product, like volleyball player Lexi Sun’s “Sunny Crew” sweatshirt

2. Sign autographs, like these Ohio State football players

3. Appear in an advertisement, like Fresno State basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder’s Boost Mobile billboard

4. Give a social media shout-out, like Auburn quarterback Bo Nix’s iced tea ad on Instagram

1. Put their name on a product, like volleyball player Lexi Sun’s “Sunny Crew” sweatshirt

2. Sign autographs, like these Ohio State football players

3. Appear in an advertisement, like Fresno State basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder’s Boost Mobile billboard

4. Give a social media shout-out, like Auburn quarterback Bo Nix’s iced tea ad on Instagram

1. Put their name on a product, like volleyball player Lexi Sun’s “Sunny Crew” sweatshirt

2. Sign autographs, like these Ohio State football players

3. Appear in an advertisement, like Fresno State basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder’s Boost Mobile billboard

4. Give a social media shout-out, like Auburn quarterback Bo Nix’s iced tea ad on Instagram

An Unfair Rule?

The rules in college sports are made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. For decades, the NCAA refused to let college athletes get paid. The best athletes already get a free education. The NCAA believed students should be focused on learning, not making money.

Some athletes argued for years that the NCAA rules were unfair. They pointed out that college sports are a big business. Colleges get money from ticket sales. TV stations pay them to show their games. Athletes like Gurley got none of that cash.

In the end, Gurley did just fine. He has made almost $50 million playing in the NFL. But most college athletes aren’t so lucky. Only about 2 percent of top-level players make it to the pros. Some compete in sports that don’t even have pro leagues. Those athletes have spent years of their lives training. College might be their only chance to turn that hard work into cash.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sets the rules for college sports. For decades, the NCAA would not allow college athletes to be paid. The group said that many athletes already get a free education. It said that students should focus on learning, not on making money.

Some athletes said the rules were unfair. College sports are a big business. Colleges get money from ticket sales. They get money from TV stations that pay to show the games. Athletes like Gurley got none of that cash.

Gurley made money after college. He has made almost $50 million playing in the NFL. But most college athletes aren’t so lucky. Only about 2 percent of top players make it to the pros. Some athletes play sports that don’t have pro leagues. College might be their only chance to make money from their talents.

The rules in college sports are made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. For decades, the NCAA refused to allow college athletes to be paid. The association argued that the best athletes already get a free education. It believed that students should be focused on learning, not making money.

Some athletes argued for years that the NCAA rules were unfair. They pointed out that sports are a huge business for colleges, which get money from ticket sales and from TV stations for the rights to show games. In contrast, athletes like Gurley got none of that cash.

In the end, Gurley did just fine. He has made almost $50 million playing in the NFL. But most college athletes aren’t so lucky—only about 2 percent of top-level players make it to the pros. Some athletes who have trained for years compete in sports that don’t even have pro leagues. College might be their only chance to cash in on that hard work.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why did some people say the NCAA rules were unfair?

Making Deals

Last summer, the NCAA finally agreed to change the rules. Colleges still can’t pay athletes a salary. But athletes can use their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to earn money. By the time school started in August, deals were already being made.

The biggest money went to top athletes in big sports. Hercy Miller is a basketball player at Tennessee State University and the son of a famous rapper. He signed a $2 million deal to endorse a tech company—before he even started school.

But there were also deals for athletes who will probably never be famous. A Nebraska burger restaurant chain offered money to the first 100 athletes to sign up. All they had to do is mention the restaurant on social media.

Of course, it helps if you already have a lot of followers. Lexi Sun is a star volleyball player at the University of Nebraska. She has 78,000 followers on Instagram. For years, Sun turned down offers to advertise products. Now, she is free to make money from her fame. She even has her own line of sports clothing.

Are these changes a good thing? “I’d be one of the few athletes to say I don’t know,” says Sun.

Last summer, the NCAA changed the rules. Colleges still can’t pay athletes a salary. But athletes can use their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to earn money. By August, athletes were making deals with companies.

The most money went to top athletes in popular sports. Hercy Miller is a basketball player at Tennessee State University. He is also the son of a famous rapper. He signed a $2 million deal to endorse a tech company. This was before he even started school.

But some athletes who are not famous got deals too. A Nebraska burger restaurant chain offered money to the first 100 athletes to sign up. All they had to do was post about the restaurant on social media.

Having a lot of followers can pay off. Lexi Sun is a star volleyball player. She plays for the University of Nebraska. She has 78,000 followers on Instagram. For years, Sun had to turn down offers to advertise products. Now she can make money from her fame. She even has her own line of sports clothing.

Are these changes a good thing? “I’d be one of the few athletes to say I don’t know,” says Sun.

Last summer, the NCAA finally agreed to change the rules. Colleges still can’t pay athletes a salary, but athletes are allowed to use their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to earn money. Deals were already being made by the time school started in August.

The biggest money, of course, went to top athletes in big sports. Hercy Miller is a basketball player at Tennessee State University and the son of a famous rapper. Before he even started school, he had signed a $2 million deal to endorse a tech company.

What about the athletes who will probably never be famous? They now have opportunities to make money too. A Nebraska burger restaurant chain offered money to athletes to mention the restaurant on social media. The money went to the first 100 athletes to sign up.

If you already have a lot of followers, your chances of cashing in are even greater. Lexi Sun, a star volleyball player at the University of Nebraska, has 78,000 followers on Instagram. For years, Sun turned down offers to advertise products, but now she can make money from her fame. She even has her own line of athletic clothing.

Are these changes a good thing? “I’d be one of the few athletes to say I don’t know,” says Sun.

PAUSE AND THINK: What can college athletes now be paid for?

“It Changes Everything”

The new rule is turning athletes into businesspeople. Sun says it takes time and energy to manage it all. She tries to make sure volleyball comes first. But for some athletes, it might be hard to balance school, sports, and business.

Margzetta Frazier isn’t worried about that. She’s a star gymnast at UCLA. She’s also a musician.

Frazier’s funny, creative posts have earned her 280,000 followers on TikTok. Finally, she can turn that into a real job.

“It changes everything,” she says. “It makes dreams that were not feasible completely possible.”

College athletes are becoming businesspeople. Sun says it’s not easy. She makes sure volleyball comes first. But some athletes find it hard to balance school, sports, and business.

Margzetta Frazier isn’t worried about that. She’s a star gymnast at UCLA. She’s also a musician.

Frazier has 280,000 followers on TikTok. Her posts are creative and funny. Now she can turn that into a real job. “It changes everything,” she says. “It makes dreams that were not feasible completely possible.”

The new rule is turning athletes into businesspeople. Sun explains that it takes time and energy to manage all of her responsibilities. She tries to make sure volleyball comes first. But for some athletes, balancing school, sports, and business is difficult.

Margzetta Frazier isn’t worried about that. She’s a star gymnast at UCLA. She’s also a musician.

Frazier’s funny, creative posts have earned her 280,000 followers on TikTok. Finally, she can turn that into a real job.

“It changes everything,” she says. “It makes dreams that were not feasible completely possible.” •