Why We Continue to Get NIL Wrong
I don't often say this, but the media is to blame.
The Availability Heuristic and NIL Misinformation
Our aggregate understanding of NIL is fundamentally flawed. It’s not just college sports fans - it’s many coaches, administrators, student-athletes, parents, and even industry professionals often misunderstand key aspects of NIL.
The reason? Media coverage* has been driven by outlier stories, reinforcing a distorted version of reality. This is a textbook case of the availability heuristic — a cognitive bias where people judge the frequency or importance of an event based on how easily they can recall examples.
When the media continually highlights million-dollar NIL deals, it creates the illusion that these deals are the norm rather than the exception. This bias leads to a cascade of misperceptions that impact how universities approach NIL, how athletes set their expectations, and how brands decide to invest. The reality of NIL is much more nuanced, but that complexity rarely makes headlines.
*I’m NOT usually a “blame the media” person. I have tremendous respect for reporters, I write a column for Sports Business Journal, and sit on the board of advisors for the Shirley Povich Center For Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland.
The Media’s Role in NIL Myths
Sensationalized Headlines Over Facts
The NIL stories that dominate the news cycle follow a predictable pattern: astronomical deals, superstar recruits, and drama-filled controversies. The stories that don’t get coverage? The thousands of student-athletes earning small but meaningful NIL income through social media, instruction, or local company endorsements. These stories are less dramatic but represent the bulk of NIL activity.
The result? A widespread belief that NIL is only about six- and seven-figure deals. Athletic Directors assume their programs can’t compete unless they secure massive Collective funding. Parents and recruits believe their NIL potential is far greater than reality. Brands expect every deal to deliver massive ROI, even when partnering with athletes who lack real audience engagement.
The Media Conflates NIL with the Transfer Portal and Revenue Sharing
One of the biggest sources of NIL confusion stems from how the media often blurs the lines between NIL, the transfer portal, and the new revenue sharing settlement/agreement. While these are all important topics in college athletics, they are not the same — but media coverage often presents them as if they are.
The Transfer Portal and NIL: Media narratives frequently suggest that NIL is the main driver behind transfers, portraying the portal as a free agency system where the highest bidder wins. While some athletes do transfer with NIL in mind, the reality is that most portal moves are based on playing time, coaching changes, and program fit rather than pure financial incentives. However, when the media only highlights high-profile cases of players switching schools for big NIL deals, it reinforces the misconception that NIL is synonymous with the transfer portal.
Revenue Sharing and the House Settlement: Another area where media coverage has misled the public is in discussions about the NCAA’s legal battles and the potential shift toward revenue sharing. The House v. NCAA settlement, which will likely soon lead to direct compensation for athletes from NCAA revenue, is often lumped in with NIL. This is misleading. NIL is about athletes monetizing their own name, image, and likeness through NIL activities and business ventures, while revenue sharing is about schools paying athletes directly as part of a new compensation model. When media reports conflate these issues, it creates a false impression that NIL is just a stopgap for direct pay-for-play or that NIL will be rendered obsolete if revenue sharing becomes reality. In truth, NIL and revenue sharing can (and likely will) coexist, but they serve fundamentally different purposes.
Ignoring the Business Realities of NIL
When the media focuses only on the biggest deals, it fails to educate stakeholders on what actually drives NIL success. The most successful student-athletes in NIL aren’t necessarily the best players — they are the ones who understand audience engagement and personal branding.
NIL is about influence, not just athletic performance. A volleyball player with 200K engaged followers can be more valuable to a brand than an SEC quarterback with no social media presence. Yet, many athletes don’t hear this message because the media coverage doesn’t reflect it.
According to data from our NIL Research Poll:
The median annual NIL earnings for college athletes is under $1,000.
85% of NIL deals are social media.
Olympic sport athletes with strong digital followings often outperform football and basketball players in brand deals.
None of this aligns with the media’s portrayal of NIL, leaving many athletes and stakeholders misinformed about where real opportunities exist.
How This Impacts Key Stakeholders
Coaches & Administrators
Many coaches and administrators still view NIL as a distraction rather - or worse, they don’t think NIL “applies” to their circumstances. (You wouldn’t believe how frequently a Coach tells me that they “don’t have any ‘NIL’ athletes - as if to say they don’t have athletes interested in earning extra income or have a presence on social media.) This stems from…
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…their exposure to the wrong NIL stories. Instead of seeing NIL as a tool to empower athletes, they see it as a chaotic marketplace dominated by boosters and outside influences.
This mindset has real consequences:
Lack of NIL education — Schools underinvest in NIL education because they assume it’s all about securing collective funding.
Poor recruiting strategies — Programs lose recruits because they don’t offer structured NIL support beyond collectives.
Compliance confusion — Fear of rule violations leads some administrators to over-restrict NIL activity unnecessarily.
Student-Athletes & Parents
Student-Athletes and their families are often the most misled group when it comes to NIL. The assumption that NIL will lead to big paydays has set unrealistic expectations, leaving many frustrated when they don’t see immediate returns.
The truth is that successful NIL athletes are entrepreneurs, not just players who sign lucrative contracts with Collectives or household brands. But media coverage rarely highlights the work behind NIL success. Athletes who don’t understand personal branding, content creation, and business development quickly find themselves left behind.
Brands & Professional Service Providers
Companies and service providers enter the NIL space with flawed assumptions, largely driven by media narratives. Many believe that all NIL deals need to be with top-tier athletes, when in reality, micro-influencers—athletes with smaller but engaged audiences—often drive better ROI.
Another common misconception is overestimating athlete impact; just because an athlete has a high-profile name doesn’t mean they can move product. Additionally, many brands fail to align their deals with what athletes actually care about, leading to short-lived partnerships that fail to generate meaningful returns.
How to Begin to Get NIL Right
Correcting these misperceptions requires a more strategic approach:
Media Responsibility — Journalists need to go beyond attention-grabbing NIL stories and provide a more complete picture. Highlighting NIL successes at all levels, not just the highest-paid athletes, can help reshape public understanding.
Education Over Hype — Schools must invest in NIL education that teaches student-athletes about personal branding, social media, and their own marketing.
Fact-Based Storytelling — Administrators, brands, and athletes must rely on data, not headlines, when making NIL decisions. Institutions should collect and share real NIL data with recruits, parents, and stakeholders to combat misinformation.
Bill Carter is a leading NIL educator and consultant and founder of Student-Athlete Insights. He provides digital courses, live workshops, and consulting to help High School & College Athletes to turn their NIL into income. Bill can be contacted at bill@studentathleteinsights.com.