Since 2021, college athletes have been permitted to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). NIL, in short, encompasses an athlete’s legal right to financial control over their personal brand. Examples of approved NIL activities include sponsored social media posts, commercial endorsements, autographs, and public appearances. Despite this new and exciting freedom, a pronounced gap in pay remains between Division I and Division III athletes.
Prior to the NCAA’s decision to amend their regulations — as well as the implementation of new state laws — athletes had to surrender their NIL rights if they wished to compete on a collegiate sports team. These limitations came under public scrutiny as such policies restricted student-athletes from receiving fair compensation; all the while, coaches and institutions could still profit from their athletes’ identity and popularity, transforming college sports into a multibillion-dollar entertainment industry.
Now, college athletes are free to pursue sponsorships and receive pay for their positions. NIL deals fall into two main categories: commercial and collective. Commercial deals center athletes as influencers, whereas collective deals consist of organized groups offering NIL opportunities in exchange for enrollment at a particular school.
While Division I and Division III athletes are both eligible to capitalize on their NIL, differences between the Divisions and their athletes’ access to paid endorsements are worth considering. According to an article published by Bloomberg, “On average, a men’s basketball player at a top 25 school, for instance, can expect to make about $350,000 per season from NIL,” and “A women’s college player at a top 25 school, on the other hand, can make more in NIL (about $89,000) than the median WNBA salary of $78,000.”
For 2024 NCAA National Champion Cody Wheeler, opportunities for NIL activities—such as brand sponsorships and endorsements — have not been easy to come by. “It’s definitely more difficult at a DIII [university],” said Wheeler, “because those big companies want those big names from those big schools and that sort of thing.” He explains that for Division III athletes, the responsibility falls on them to contact companies, saying, “I think a lot of people don’t wanna [reach out] because they probably feel like the companies are gonna reach out to them. And it’s not really like that for DIII [athletes], at least for the people I’ve heard of.”
Some also argue that the varying rules for offering athletic scholarships contribute to this gap between Division I and Division III athletes. While Division I universities offer student-athletes scholarships for their athletic merit, Division III schools decide against this, prioritizing a balance between academics and athletes and emphasizing the ‘student’ portion of ‘student-athlete.’ Although Division III universities compensate through their provision of financial aid and academic scholarships, there is still a sizable gap between the opportunities and outright pay between athletic Divisions.
