As the final buzzer sounded on March 21 in Pittsburgh, Penn., Jack Gohlke collected the rebound and rejoiced. The senior guard’s stellar performance led the No. 14 seed Oakland University Golden Grizzlies in a bracket-busting upset over the No. 3 seed Kentucky University Wildcats. Golkhe, who has been used almost exclusively as a 3-point specialist, notched 30 of his 32 points from beyond the arc, taking the basketball world by storm. He became the latest example of how improbable and exciting the March Madness tournament can be for fans across the country.
The next day, there was a new post on Gohlke’s social media, and unlike the photos and captions he typically posted, this one appeared different.
“Me and my team made it to the next round by making all our moves count,” Gohlke said, while mimicking a step-back fadeaway in his team’s hotel. “Just like TurboTax, who makes all your off-court moves count this tax season.”
While he joined the likes of Stephen Curry and Jimmer Fredette on the list of deadeye shooters to cause big upsets in March, Jack Gohlke achieved something that no college athlete has done before. He secured a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal—an agreement that allows him to monetize his personal brand—fewer than 24 hours after the game of his life, while his team was still in the March Madness tournament. Having gone from unknown to a household name, he was quick to cash in on his newfound fame.
Gohlke is the most recent example of the impact NIL has on college athletics. On June 30, 2021, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) approved a temporary yet revolutionary policy, allowing college athletes in all divisions to earn money based on their name, image, and likeness. Colleges and universities have long benefited from the success of their athletes, but the athletes themselves never received profits because they were still students. After professional sports leagues started to see their newest athletes come from overseas or alternative leagues in which athletes who would be in college got paid, the NCAA needed to incentivize college athletics, and NIL proved to be just the solution.
Since its introduction, NIL has changed the game for college athletes. There is now a higher importance associated with a student-athlete’s image on social media, as it is a major selling point for companies when deciding which college athletes to endorse. Now there are countless student-athletes making six figures, with a handful receiving millions of dollars in sponsorships.
The college basketball world has seen many of its top names earn large sums of money. USC point guard Bronny James, son of LeBron James, is the highest paid NIL athlete in college sports, earning almost $5 million in sponsorship money, according to On3NIL. Certainly James, and other men’s college basketball stars like Jared McCain (Duke University) and Rob Dillingham (University of Kentucky), have capitalized on their large social media presences, but women’s basketball players are more present in the top ten richest NIL athletes; Iowa University’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese earn $3.1 million and $1.8 million respectively. College basketball players like these are raking in money like never before, and it is both helping and hurting the game.
The ability to earn money as a college athlete has convinced more NCAA basketball players to remain in college and not declare early for the draft. The NCAA has long had an issue with men’s basketball, as some of the brightest stars leave for the NBA after only one year in college. Now that athletes can earn sponsorships and make money while still in college, they are more likely to stay and grow as players, instead of experiencing that growth at the next level. There are countless examples of players using this opportunity to their benefit, especially since COVID-19 granted many athletes another year of eligibility.
One of the best college basketball players today, Armando Bacot, is a prime example of using NIL to one’s advantage. Bacot is a center for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, and he has been a key piece of all his teams so far. He’s had multiple opportunities to enter the NBA draft, but each time he has opted to return to UNC. Because of COVID, Bacot had one more year of NCAA eligibility, and he took the opportunity to remain in college basketball. Unlike athletes of the past, Bacot actually had an opportunity to earn more money while still with North Carolina than in the NBA. He could have declared for the NBA draft, been picked in the second round, and then begun his career in the G-League or near the bottom of a team’s depth chart. Instead, he returned to UNC for more financial opportunity, and for one more shot at winning it all, which has gone well so far. UNC is now gearing up for their Sweet Sixteen matchup.
In women’s basketball, the extra year of eligibility because of COVID has had a much greater impact. The WNBA requires incoming players to play all four years of college basketball, so athletes have no opportunity to leave early in search of greener pastures. However, some women’s basketball players are choosing to stay the fifth year COVID grants them, and NIL is certainly a reason why. Paige Bueckers, the star of the University of Connecticut Huskies, is a great example. She’s returning to UConn due to both COVID eligibility and a season-ending injury her junior year. She is also making about $652,000 in sponsorship money, which is topped by only four other women’s college basketball players.
Additionally, as much as the WNBA is starting to grow in popularity, salaries are still significantly lower than the NBA. The average WNBA salary sits just under $150,000, and while that number is increasing year after year, the brightest stars are making more in college now than at the professional level. Sure, the WNBA’s biggest names, like Candace Parker and Breanna Stewart, have made more money over their careers due to sponsors, but the money at the highest level of women’s basketball is less than one might wish. This could get turned on its head in the coming months, as Caitlin Clark is entering the WNBA with more star power than any prospect in recent memory. Either way, the money now in women’s college basketball is more appealing than the pros, so it will be interesting to see how the WNBA can reap benefits in a possible revival of women’s basketball.
As much as NIL deals seem to benefit athletes, college athletics are hurting. Throughout the NCAA, many legendary coaches have retired in recent years, and some cite the difference in their athletes’ mindset towards winning because of NIL as a reason they left. They suggest that the money college athletes receive diminishes their drive to win as a team, as their financial benefit can lead them to put themselves ahead of the program or institution they represent. Part of what makes college sports, particularly college basketball and the March Madness tournament, so special is that athletes represent a school that thousands support both as students and long after they have graduated. However, the money involved now for star athletes diminishes aspirations of winning at the collegiate level, which in turn reduces the passion of star athletes in college athletics across the nation.
So, there are pros and cons to what NIL has done to college basketball and college athletics as a whole. The NCAA is experiencing microscopic focus on the impact of their temporary policy, and in the coming years, a more permanent policy will hopefully shake up the college athletics world once again. But for right now, all college athletics fans can observe is the massive domino effect of NIL throughout college sports.
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.