Why NIL Education Hasn’t Worked

Irrelevance, fear, and mystification have been the tricks of the trade.

If you want to learn, adapt, or capitalize on NIL, consider my Live NIL Educational Workshops, On-Demand Digital Courses, or NIL Consulting. Contact me at bill@studentathleteinsights.com or read more at https://studentathleteinsights.com/

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“Scared Straight!” 2.0

True story…a friend of mine at a DI mid-major athletic department recently sent me a recording of an NIL educator doing a financial literacy session by Zoom for student-athletes.

I felt like I was watching the 1970’s documentary Scared Straight! (If I just dated myself with this reference 😉, in Scared Straight!"at-risk youth are subjected to harsh confrontations with convicted felons in a prison setting, intended to deter them from a life of crime through fear and intimidation.)

Mind you in the Zoom I was watching, these were not at-risk youth - they were college student-athletes. And the discussion wasn’t about life in prison - it was Name, Image, and Likeness. Yet, the consultant raised their voice, referenced athlete “protection” a few dozen times, and even used some blindfolds and props.

I’m not kidding.

Here’s a truth about NIL education: it has largely failed to reach student-athletes en masse and missed in its attempts to empower student-athletes to capitalize on NIL opportunities.

More important than who is to blame are the reasons NIL education hasn’t worked. There are too many reasons to cite in a single newsletter, but I’ll give you my top three.

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#1 Irrelevance

A quick audit of the curriculum being taught by NIL education’s major players covers the following areas:

• Evolution of NIL Rights

• Current NCAA and State Regulations

• Financial Literacy

• Personal Brand Building

• Social Media

• Legal and Compliance Issues

• Entrepreneurship and Business Development

• Life Skills and Personal Development

After 4 years and thousands of surveys results from student-athletes from my NIL Research Poll, I’ve come to the conclusion that most of this curriculum is viewed as irrelevant by the very student-athletes we are trying to educate.

I’m not saying that this content doesn’t have any value. Rather, I’m telling you that student-athletes just don’t care about most of it. And why would they? They are trying to get from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time. That usually includes trying to land their first NIL deal.

Is content on NIL’s history, state laws, or life skills going to achieve that? Nope.

Until we accept that about 80% of student-athletes only want about 20% of our NIL educational content - the parts that get them closer to a deal in a mater of weeks - we are just spinning our wheels. And worse, we risk disengagement, lack of participation, and lost revenue & other NIL benefits by student-athletes.

Note: I’m seen so much evidence of this that I’m launching a new program/solution in the next few weeks - a kind of NIL Quickstart: A Simple, Actionable Plan for Student-Athletes to Land Their First Partnership. It will be a 30-day plan that includes ONLY 1) Building a Personal Brand, 2) Creating Visibility, and 3) Learning to Sell Your NIL Self. Email me at bill@studentathleteinsights.com if you want a sneak peek.

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#Fear Tactics

I’ve already told you my Scared Straight! story, but there’s one more thing that is important about fear tactics: they don’t work, at all.

Very few NIL educators have a background in education (you may need to read that sentence twice.) So they may not know that in practically all educational environments, fear tactics have been shown to be ineffective and often counterproductive.

Despite it being a quick way to get students' and ADs’ attention, here's why fear tactics don't work in teaching NIL:

• Counterproductive: Instead of motivating student-athletes to learn and engage with NIL opportunities, it pushes them away from the topic altogether.

• Misinformation and Misunderstanding: Fear-based messaging often relies on exaggeration, worst-case scenarios, and incomplete information. This can create confusion and misunderstandings about NIL regulations, risks, and opportunities, leading to poor decision-making.

• Short-term compliance, not long-term learning: Fear may lead to immediate obedience by student-athletes, but it doesn't foster genuine understanding or intrinsic motivation. Students might follow the rules out of fear of punishment, but they won't necessarily internalize the reasons behind those rules.

• Negative emotional impact: Fear can trigger anxiety and stress. This can hinder student-athletes’ ability to focus, think critically, and retain NIL information. It can also damage their relationship with the educator or other voices at the institution connected to NIL.

• Damaged self-esteem and motivation: Threats and warnings can erode student-athlete’s confidence and make them feel like NIL success may not be achievable. This can lead to a lack of motivation and a reluctance to pursue NIL activities.

Focusing on practical learning, ways to get short-term “wins,” and helping student-athletes to identify their unique skills & interests will increase their likelihood to pursue NIL.

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