NIL Endorsements swell the Competitive Gap Between Power 5 and Group of 5 Universities

Now that college athletes have the ability to get paid for their name, image, and likeness, standout athletes are being lured to the top programs by a dollar sign.

NIL endorsements are deals that athletes sign to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). These deals come from boosters, outside organizations, and individual businesses. Endorsements have ranged from athletes selling their own clothing brand, to a Bentley dealership giving away a car. 

For universities in the Power 5 conferences, this inadvertently helps them sway recruits to choose their school. However, for group of 5 schools, this makes it tougher to keep up with the competition. 

The focus will greatly be on college football, because out of all collegiate sports, football has the largest number of NIL deals. Division 1 college football is broken up to 10 conferences, the power 5 (SEC, ACC, BIG 10, BIG 12, and PAC 12) that hold the largest universities, and the group of 5 (AAC, MAC, MWC, SBC, and C-USA) which includes the mid-level universities. 

The college football landscape has become very similar to the NFL with the endorsement contracts, and the transfer portal which allows students to transfer schools, acting as the free agency of college sports. 

For a power 5 school like Ohio State, head coach Ryan Day says it would take $13 million dollars in NIL deals to retain his roster next year. While the Kent State football team has less than $33,000 in NIL endorsements, calculated by On3, an NIL tracker. 

“We’re a MAC school, we know where our place is. We have a lot of athletes who might go to the next level, but it’s like two out of a hundred,” said Phil Tizio, associate athletics director for compliance at Kent State. “That’s why a lot of times we’re very welcoming of student athletes with internships, or shadowing within the department.”

Brendon Fenton, a redshirt junior wrestler at Kent State University, gave a student athlete’s perspective on NIL deals. 

“I really like that they have changed it to let student athletes make money because we have trained our whole lives for this,” he said. “I have never had a real job because of sports and just trying to get my school paid for was all I worked towards. So, I think it’s good for athletes to get that chance to make money and get deals.”

Tizio and Fenton agree that Kent State understands its place in the middle of the pack of college sports.

“For mid-level schools like Kent, I feel like it doesn’t really affect us as much. Some people may get little sponsors, but I feel like it’s really only the stars or national champions that make a killing with NIL,” Fenton said.

Just as Fenton said about the big stars getting the money, the big colleges have gained a greater edge on recruiting the top players. 

So far, Jake Feeri is the only Kent State wrestler who currently has an NIL deal. His deal is with Water Street Tavern, there are currently no details of what the endorsement includes. 

“We’ve got a couple athletes at Kent State that have that type of potential to gain those deals,” said Keith Johnston, the head coach of cheerleading at Kent State. “But if we have a player who’s getting a nice endorsement deal, but they’re enticed to go to a bigger school because of bigger deals. I think that impacts these middle level schools a lot more.”  

Name, image, and likeness endorsements are a new addition to college sports. So far, it has been game changing for many schools and athletes and has the potential to grow into other sports, and maybe even within the mid-level conferences. 

“I think that could be a negative, you know. You get recruited by a certain school and they put in two or three years and all of a sudden you’re gone and up at another school,” Johnston said. “I think that when you’re recruited and signed you should stay with that school, but that’s my personal opinion.”

Johnston said that his cheerleaders have yet to sign NIL endorsements at Kent State, but believe they will have the opportunity some day. 

“There’s always the chance of a career ending at any point in time,” he said. “That’s the other side of the coin. They can go ahead and make some money.”