Some friends and I were discussing some of the insane NIL numbers that some players were getting, about how some are getting more in NIL money than many NFL players, and then we all realized none of us know exactly how all this works. There are a lot of knowledgeable folks on here that know how all this works. So our questions are:
1. Is the money made available to the player right away? Meaning, are all the dollars available for the player to pull any amount any time he wants?
2. If after a year the player decides to hit the portal, what happens to the NIL money that was paid for that player for that particular school? Does the balance that the player hasn't accessed remain with the school to be used as funds for another player? I realize that the money is paid to the player, but that particular money was paid to that particular player because the was at that particular school.
3. Say a player gets a $5M NIL deal, is that figure for a year or is it for the time he is at the school?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Quote:

---

1. Is the money made available to the player right away? Meaning, are all the dollars available for the player to pull any amount any time he wants?

---

It depends on the contract. Generally, its paid over the season

Quote:

---

2. If after a year the player decides to hit the portal, what happens to the NIL money that was paid for that player for that particular school? Does the balance that the player hasn't accessed remain with the school to be used as funds for another player? I realize that the money is paid to the player, but that particular money was paid to that particular player because the was at that particular school.

---

It depends on the contract. If its a one year deal, then nothing happens. If its a multi year deal, then (again) it depends on the contract. Some require a payback. See Damon Wilson If there is a "balance that the player has not accessed" then that player has no claim to that money.

Quote:

---

3. Say a player gets a $5M NIL deal, is that figure for a year or is it for the time he is at the school?

---

It depends on the contract

Nobody has ever posted a redacted one of these contracts but I think it could be illuminating to do so.

1. I suspect the term of each contract is year to year. It might be "evergreen" unless cancelled by either party. But the effect is that either the school or the player can walk away if dissatisfied with the arrangement.

2. I suspect that some of the players who hit the portal are there because the school or collective declined to continue the deal. To the fans of the school, all they see is the player hits the portal and get mad at the player. But in reality, the NIL funders might be walking away from the player. Maybe the player didn't live up to the potential, maybe the player had health issues, maybe there is a work ethic issue. In any case, the NIL funders might be moving on to a better investment in another player or seeking lower payout to match performance.

3. There are probably some out clauses for bad behavior etc. on the part of either party.

Through friends of friends I've known quite a few players in the past couple years, some have stayed and some have gone. My knowledge of how our nil is structured is they agree upon their contract and then they don't receive that money until after the season is over. Idk what it looks like when they arrive earlier than that but I know that's how it works for the most part.

Quote:

---

My knowledge of how our nil is structured is they agree upon their contract and then they don't receive that money until after the season is over

---

I assure you, this is not the case for A&M NIL deals.

No way.

There are no rules.

Schools are starting to make kids sign contracts so they don't have to pay the NIL in full if the kid leaves.

Bogey1996 said:

---

Wish they would change the naming. Most of these have zero to do with NIL. They are simply pay to play.

---

Which ones? Be specific…

ironmanag said:

---

There are no rules.

Schools are starting to make kids sign contracts so they don't have to pay the NIL in full if the kid leaves.

---

Please provide a source for that claim.

ironmanag said:

---

There are no rules.

Schools are starting to make kids sign contracts so they don't have to pay the NIL in full if the kid leaves.

---

greg.w.h said:

---

Bogey1996 said:

---

Wish they would change the naming. Most of these have zero to do with NIL. They are simply pay to play.

---

Which ones? Be specific…

---

The ones, like virtually all of them, that don't require the player to endorse a product or appear on behalf of a business or perform some specific act of providing their name, image or likeness beyond actually playing the sport. But you knew that already.

Flavius Agximus said:

---

greg.w.h said:

---

Bogey1996 said:

---

Wish they would change the naming. Most of these have zero to do with NIL. They are simply pay to play.

---

Which ones? Be specific…

---

The ones, like virtually all of them, that don't require the player to endorse a product or appear on behalf of a business or perform some specific act of providing their name, image or likeness beyond actually playing the sport. But you knew that already.

---

So those were addressed in the House settlement and the NCAA put the college sports commission in place to gum up deal approval. The judge rejected the process.

Next question?

greg.w.h said:

---

Flavius Agximus said:

---

greg.w.h said:

---

Bogey1996 said:

---

Wish they would change the naming. Most of these have zero to do with NIL. They are simply pay to play.

---

Which ones? Be specific…

---

The ones, like virtually all of them, that don't require the player to endorse a product or appear on behalf of a business or perform some specific act of providing their name, image or likeness beyond actually playing the sport. But you knew that already.

---

So those were addressed in the House settlement and the NCAA put the college sports commission in place to gum up deal approval. The judge rejected the process.

Next question?

---

The suggestion was to change the naming, not the process. Your crusade is tiresome. Sorry you didn't get paid back in the day.

Flavius Agximus said:

---

greg.w.h said:

---

Flavius Agximus said:

---

greg.w.h said:

---

Bogey1996 said:

---

Wish they would change the naming. Most of these have zero to do with NIL. They are simply pay to play.

---

Which ones? Be specific…

---

The ones, like virtually all of them, that don't require the player to endorse a product or appear on behalf of a business or perform some specific act of providing their name, image or likeness beyond actually playing the sport. But you knew that already.

---

So those were addressed in the House settlement and the NCAA put the college sports commission in place to gum up deal approval. The judge rejected the process.

Next question?

---

The suggestion was to change the naming, not the process. Your crusade is tiresome. Sorry you didn't get paid back in the day.

---

You were saying?

"The CSC said 332 deals between college athletes and third-party businesses have been submitted to the NIL Go online platform and rejected from June 11 through Aug. 31. More than 3,000 deals were cleared in the final 11 days of August alone, the CSC said.

The Collective Association, a trade group for the donor-funded businesses affiliated with schools, also released data it compiled from its members. The association claimed more than $11 million earmarked for athletes has been snarled and called for more transparency and speed from the CSC."

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6597682/2025/09/04/college-sports-commission-nil-go-deals/

The CSC process is elective and has no teeth, as it required all 68 P4 teams to sign the agreement and many did not, I don't think we (aTm) did, Technical did not, nor many SEC and B1G teams.

Just about any NIL deal worth north of maybe $50K would all be deemed not market value and invalidated, with very, very few exceptions.

Many people could not tell you who the starting QB is for half the (lower / bad) NFL teams, so how would it be anything remotely approaching market value for a college QB going from Cincy (commuter school) to Technical where Sorsby is not endorsing a product, repping Lubbock businesses, etc.

It's just straight up paying for players, there is zero cap and zero regulations.