I few months ago I started hearing about NIL collectives and honestly I had no idea what they were. According to experts, NIL Collectives are one of the most popular vehicles for getting money into the hands of student-athletes. #WHAT!?
I had so many questions: what is a collective? Where do they exist? How do athletes get paid? If you’re new to NIL or have questions like I did, below are a few basics that explain what NIL collectives are and how they work.
First off: what does a ‘collective’ mean?
Defined by Wikipedia, a collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest. Collectives work together to achieve a common goal.
What are NIL collectives?
NIL collectives are groups that are separate or independent of a school, but fund opportunities for a schools’ student-athletes. NIL collectives are typically endorsed by the school and created by top donors, former student-athletes and fans of the school. These entities are formed as for-profit, and non-profits.
Where do NIL collectives exist?
A majority of NIL collectives exist at larger schools. At the time of my writing this, over 90% of Power 5 schools have at least one collective and all schools in the SEC have at least one collective.
Who funds NIL collectives?
NIL collectives gather money from various sources, mainly contributions from donors, boosters, businesses, fans and more. Those funds are used to create opportunities for athletes to get compensated in exchange for their NIL.
Do NIL collectives pay athletes?
Yes, NIL collectives use their resources to create opportunities for athletes to get endorsed, for them to get paid and provide other services to athletes through a variety of activities.
Do donors profit off of NIL collectives?
One of the first questions I had was ‘whats in it for donors?’ But to my knowledge, donors do not profit from contributing to NIL collectives. Instead, the activities of student-athletes can raise the profile of a collective, which can result in more exposure (and donations) that benefit future athletes.
Are there any problems with NIL collectives?
There are many logistics that can be improved within the to NIL and NIL collective space, especially when it comes to balancing the playing field amongst programs. The inequalities between earnings and exposure between men’s and women’s sports is astounding.
According to a recent report from Opendorse, only about 34% of NIL Collectives have “engaged in or exist to create NIL opportunities for women’s sports”. That’s less than 50%. We have a long way to go in making NIL equitable for all, and I look forward to seeing the progress that is made.