For Nebraska football fans and really fans all over the country, NIL has been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the Huskers have landed some very good players thanks to the deep pockets of fans and boosters. On the other hand, they’ve lost out on some players, perhaps because of the deeper pockets from other programs.
So it’s a bit of good news and a bit of bad news that NIL might be on the way out and that another system might be coming in on its heels. That’s not to say that things are going to change immediately or overnight. But it looks like one of the states that ushered in NIL is now looking for its replacement.
According to Sports Illustrated, the state of California is looking to roll out a kind of revenue sharing that would change the way things are done for Nebraska football and programs around the country. The College Athlete Protection Act would mean that players earn a percentage of what a school earns thanks to their efforts. For a program like Nebraska football, that could be one heck of a recruiting tool.
There are other details that are worth digging into including the fact that the bill would tie a part of an athlete’s pay to graduation. It also requires schools to provide medical care and scholarships for athletes after their eligibility runs out. Most importantly, the bill makes it so that the players does are not considered employees of their universities.
This isn’t the first time that the California assembly has tried to shepherd revenue sharing through the process. A similar bill died last year. However, the renewed push, in the middle of unprecedented numbers for NIL rights could be seen as a preferable alternative.
It’s also possible that revenue sharing could end up being a companion to NIL as an added bonus for players who enroll in big schools. At the same time, it would certainly offer an advantage for a program like Nebraska football that is earning hundreds of millions.
The bottom line is that this revenue sharing option is something to take a long look at in the coming years as the methods of making sure that college athletes get their share of the pie evolve.