College athletes have been getting paid for their name, image, and likeness since the NCAA changed its policy allowing them to sign so-called NIL deals in 2021. Student-athletes only have been able to accept payments from companies outside their universities, but this summer new rules will go into effect giving schools the option to pay athletes directly.
The University of Cincinnati calls the Bearcats’ first few years in the world of NIL a success. Students in both men’s and women’s sports have been signing brand deals and the university’s recent entry into one of college sports’ Power Five conferences, the Big 12, has put the school’s athletes on a bigger stage.
An agreement signed last year between the NCAA and those Power Five conferences allows schools to give athletes a portion of the revenue their athletic departments generate. That share of revenue is capped at $20.5 million per school in this first year. UC’s Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer John Daniel says the Bearcats intend to spend every penny.
Read more at NPR.
