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How Will Revenue Sharing Impact Name, Image, and Likeness? Syracuse Faces an Uphill NIL Battle

By Jonathan Kinane

Syracuse's Chris Bell
© 2023 Jonathan Kinane

SWEEPING CHANGES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE LED TO AN IMBALANCE OF POWER AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF COLLEGE SPORTS…OUR JONATHAN KINANE LOOKS AT IF A NEW SETTLEMENT WILL HELP LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD IN THE AGE OF NAME IMAGE AND LIKENESS COLLECTIVES

THE TIMES ARE CHANGING IN MAJOR COLLEGE SPORTS…NAME IMAGE AND LIKENESS LAWS HAVE ALLOWED ATHLETES LIKE FORMER IOWA STAR CAITLIN CLARK TO PROFIT OF THEMSELVES FOR THE FIRST TIME…BUT THOSE REFORMS HAVE CREATED SOME UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES

Mike Waters: “It’s got nothing to do with the student-athlete’s NIL worth it’s more of a pay to play”

NOW ATHLETES COULD BE PAID FOR THEIR PLAY…THE N-C-DOUBLE-A AGREEING TO A TWO POINT SEVEN BILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT THAT WILL SEE POWER FIVE SCHOOLS SHARE REVENUE WITH ATHLETES AS SOON AS 20-25…AND THAT IT MIGHT FORCE SCHOOLS TO RECONSIDER HOW THEY SET UP THEIR NIL COLLECTIVES

Dave Meluni: “So schools are going to have to be smarter and have somebody internally in-house, like an NIL general manager”

AND THAT MEANS THAT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY IS STILL FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE…EVEN WITH IT’S STANDING AS A MEMBER OF A POWER FIVE CONFERENCE, SU IS COMPETING AT A DISADVANTAGE AGAINST BIGGER SCHOOLS WITH DEEPER POCKETS

Mike Waters: “If Alabama starts with 20 million dollars and Syracuse starts with that 20 million dollars, Alabama’s still gonna have NIL collectives that are gonna be bringing in more money than Syracuse”

AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE SMALLER SCHOOLS? THE LE MOYNES AND COLGATES OF THE WORLD? THEY ARE EXPECTED TO FOOT A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF SETTLEMENT…RIGHT NOW, THE PLAYING FIELD IN DIVISION ONE LOOKS ANYTHING BUT LEVEL

REPORTING FROM SYRACUSE, JONATHAN KINANE NCC News”

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — It’s a very fluid time in college sports.

The NCAA, which has governed intercollegiate athletics since 1906, was built on the notion of amateurism which kept athletes from being able to make money off their name and likeness. That changed in 2021, when the NCAA adopted a policy allowing athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

A settlement reached last week took things a step further, paving the way for athletes to share revenue with their schools. The $2.7 billion settlement will resolve three pending antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and the money will be paid out to past and current athletes dating back to 2016.

In terms of the future, athletes at the Power Five level of Division I – the five biggest and most lucrative conferences – will be now be part of a revenue-sharing plan that will see those schools dole out $20 million to their athletes.

The framework of the settlement is vague, as was the NIL agreement back in 2021.

“We need to pump the brakes on calling athletes employees,” said Dave Meluni, a professor at Syracuse University’s Falk College. “Revenue sharing does not make these athletes employees.”

One thing the settlement won’t solve is the disparity in NIL resources between the small schools, the big schools, and the really big schools.

“Right now, it’s not about name, image, and likeness,” said Mike Waters, who covers Syracuse men’s basketball for Syracuse.com. “It’s basically pay for play.”

While Syracuse University has more NIL resources than most schools at the Division I level, it still can’t compete with powerhouses in conferences like the SEC and Big Ten which have an edge in recruiting since they can promise prospects more money.

“You can give Alabama and Syracuse $20 million each but Alabama’s still going to have those collectives that bring in more money,” Waters said.

The real loser are the smaller Division I schools. They are already well behind the NIL conversation and will be on the hook for a disproportionate amount of the settlement. There’s a long way to go to level the playing field.

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