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BYU Football: How to fix NIL in college sports

By Adam Gibby

Nov 20, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Christian Jones (70) pauses before a snap during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Christian Jones (70) pauses before a snap during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 27, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; BYU Cougars tight end Dallin Holker (32) is pursued by Southern California Trojans defensive lineman Jamar Sekona (77) in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; BYU Cougars tight end Dallin Holker (32) is pursued by Southern California Trojans defensive lineman Jamar Sekona (77) in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

NIL has changed how BYU Football players and athletes around the country view the sport.

BYU  Football made a big splash in the NIL world early in the process when they announced their deal with BUILT Bars. Since then however, bigger schools with bigger donors have turned NIL into a bidding war for the best players.

While there is no clear easy way to correct or make this NIL process completely fair, there are a few different ways to at least equal out the playing field.

Granted, I am no expert in finances or accounting. As a BYU Football and sports fan in general, I care about the future of the sport. The way that things are trending however, in a couple of years there won’t be players playing for the love the sport and nobody will even think twice before transferring just to make more money.

Things have to change, and I’ve come up with three solutions that may help.

1. Savings Account

While a company could still choose to sponsor a single player, many companies like BUILT are wanting to do team, or at least position deals. In these kinds of deals there can be a universal agreement between schools to have a setup similar to the following. In this example, I will use an NIL deal that pays $5000 per year/student.

  • After one year: 50% paid up front, 50% saved
  • After two years: 60% paid up front, 40% saved
  • After three years: 75% paid up front, 25% saved
  • After four years, 100% paid plus the $6500 saved up

If an athlete leaves early the money is returned to the company/given to other athletes.
This would incentivize players to at least think twice before transferring to another school. If a receiver for example is about to play his fourth year for a school or leave, he would be giving up thousands of dollars to leave. Could he still do it? Sure, but it would have to be a thought out decision based on potential, not just leaving for the sake of leaving.

For anyone who honestly thinks that $6500 or even $20,000 isn’t worth their potential success at another program, the decision is still a simple one and worth it. For players who just care about making every penny possible, they would be less likely to leave.

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