New NIL Guidance for D1 Institutions

New NCAA Clarifications about NIL:

Here’s what you need to know

On Wednesday, October 26th, the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors voted unanimously to issue clarifications and guidance on how athletic departments can support student-athletes in the new NIL era. The newly released clarifications outlined how institutions can and should provide relevant educational resources and content to student-athletes, collectives, boosters, coaches, and prospective student-athletes. 

The new guidance is undoubtedly a step forward in the NCAA providing clearer guidance.  In a statement Jere Morehead, chair of the board and president of the University of Georgia, said, “The NIL landscape is constantly evolving, and the Board of Directors decided it was important to offer further guidance with respect to a number of key questions that have arisen recently.  As we continue to reinforce current NCAA rules, we expect to offer further guidance in the future on what should and should not be done when engaged in these activities. We are committed to fostering a fair and appropriate NIL environment that supports our students and complies with our rules.”

Some important takeaways from the newly released clarifications include:

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR NIL ENTITY/COLLECTIVE

INSTITUTIONAL EDUCATION AND MONITORING 

• Institutions can/should provide education in financial literacy, taxes, entrepreneurship and social media.
• Education can be provided to SAs, PSAs, collectives, other NIL entities.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR STUDENT-ATHLETE NIL ACTIVITY

• Institutions can engage  a marketplace that matches SAs with NIL opportunities, provided no institutional involvement.
• Institutions can inform SAs of NIL opportunities and provide photo/video/graphics to SA.
• Institutions can promote SA’s NIL activity, provided there is no value or cost to the institution (e.g., retweeting/liking a social media post). 

 NEGOTIATING, REVENUE SHARING AND COMPENSATING

• Athletics staff members CANNOT (directly or indirectly) represent enrolled SAs. 
• Individual/entity acting on behalf of the athletics department (e.g., third party rights holders, third party agents) CANNOT represent enrolled SAs, including securing and negotiating deals on behalf of SA.  
• Institutional coaches CANNOT compensate SA to promote coach’s camp.

Since the inception of NIL, Spry’s products and goals have been and continue to be aligned with the NCAA’s initial NIL legislation and the recently released clarifications. Spry provides a robust library of educational materials designed to give your student-athletes the skills and information needed to maximize their NIL opportunities. 

We anticipate that more rule changes will be announced as NIL continues to take shape in the collegiate landscape. Please visit www.spry.so/education to learn more about how Spry can provide your student-athletes with the resources they need to be successful.