ESPN estimates how much money athletes would make with NIL rights

This has been a long time coming for student athletes across the country.

It has been a major debate between coaches, members of the media, players and fans for the better part of the last 20 years, and has really intensified over the last five.

After all the talk, it looks like it’s finally going to happen. In January, the NCAA will vote on a proposal to allow student-athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness.

The proposal includes many rules on what players can and can’t be paid for. As you can imagine, there are a lot of details, so ESPN made it digestible for all of us.

Dan Murphy used four different scenarios to break down how much athletes can make for social media posts. All-American’s could earn anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million for Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram endorsements, shoutouts on Cameo, etc., whereas a non-revenue athlete may make only $1,000 to $3,000. Revenue athletes who may not be All-Americans still have the potential to earn anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000, Murphy estimates.

The world of social media has grown so much and there’s a ton of money in it. There’s no reason why student athletes shouldn’t be allowed to use their platforms to make a profit.

“You don’t need to be a nationally known college star to build a significant following on social media. Promoting or endorsing a product via a YouTube channel, Twitter post or Instagram account is worth about $600 per post for an athlete with roughly 25,000 followers on Twitter and Instagram. Several companies, such as Opendorse and INFLCR, already exist to help athletes build a following and potentially connect with advertisers. The opportunities for this level of athlete are likely to come from local companies or brands that relate to a specific special skill or interest the athlete has shown in their social media presence. For example, Ohio State senior punter/bottle-flipping expert Drue Chrisman might have picked up some interest from Dasani or Aquafina during his time as a Buckeye.”

I don’t see a scenario in which this doesn’t pass. But if it doesn’t, it’s only a matter of time before it does.