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NIL, which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness, has changed how college football and professional sports work. It lets college players earn money before going pro.
This shift is significant.
During an interview on The Triple Option, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell explained how NIL impacts young athletes joining the NFL.
“It brings on a lot of responsibility at an earlier age,” Goodell said. “I think it probably puts a lot of responsibility on colleges to make sure that kids understand that and they’re prepared for that. It changes the dynamic.”
He added, “The zeroes get pretty big, and the impact when you make bad decisions is pretty significant for a young man and their family, so they need to be prepared for that.”
Goodell believes supporting colleges can ease the transition from college football to the NFL. “The more we can help and support colleges to make sure that our transition programs could be applied potentially to them, would probably be a good thing,” he said.
He explained further, “It’s a big jump from college football to the NFL. This probably does reduce that a little bit because it’s one less adjustment, but it’s still big.”
NIL acts like training wheels for athletes before they hit those multi-million dollar contracts in the NFL. Some college stars like Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders or Texas QB Arch Manning are already making big bucks.
But most players aren’t there yet. Even so, any money earned is more than what they made in high school.
This early income teaches them crucial financial habits — investing, saving, and spending wisely — which become even more important as they earn more.
Roger Goodell recognizes that when the NCAA helps its athletes succeed, the NFL benefits too.
“We believe in a strong college football system,” Goodell said. “We also believe that players are better prepared for the NFL when they do have not just the additional experience in college football, but really exposure to the educational system.”
He emphasized education’s importance: “Even if you don’t get the degree, hopefully, you get close enough that you can go back and get it.”
“A lot of our players do that,” Goodell continued. “I think that’s a good thing for us because it’s indicating kids are staying. They’re not making that choice. They’re going to say,’ I’m going to go back and play college football another year.’”
“We think that’s always great. We’ll support that every day,” Goodell concluded. “I’m really proud of our eligibility rules and proud of the fact that we want our kids to stay in college football as long as they can.”
