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Five predictions for year 5 of NIL
Some old ideas. And hopefully some new thoughts.
Tariq Ahmad
July 23, 2025
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Five predictions for year 5 of NIL
Some old ideas. And hopefully some new thoughts.
Year 5 graphic
July 1, 2025 begins the fifth year of NIL being legalized for U.S.-based college athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness.
We’ll see a lot of changes this coming year with the House Settlement, NIL Go, schools directly paying student-athletes, and much more.
With that being said, here are my five predictions for the forthcoming 365 days of NIL.
Predictions
Brands will work with fewer student-athletes
While I hate to say this, it’s true: brands are beginning to prioritize bigger name athletes who can move the needle for them as opposed to doing deals with a wider array of student-athletes.
Case in point: Raising Cane’s. The fast casual restaurant chain was a supporter of NIL since day one (July 1, 2021) and has partnered with hundreds of athletes. However, they are moving more towards a traditional influencer route of working with athletes and talent with larger followings (and unfortunately squeezing out the every day student-athlete who eats Cane’s regularly).
Consolidation across NIL properties and groups
While some Collectives have closed and others have become official partners with athletic departments, look for more of this to happen going forward.
In some cases, such as University of Oklahoma, the Collective will sunset and the school’s MMR (Multimedia Rights) partner will take over NIL duties.
More GM roles
While prominent teams (namely P4 football teams and a number of men’s and women’s basketball teams) now have general managers, look for this trend to continue. (More so into other revenue generating sports in general and select elite programs outside of football and basketball, such as Iowa Wrestling and Nebraska Volleyball.)
It’s imperative that these people not only have business acumen, but they also understand the NIL landscape and how to best construct a roster with the current college athletics model.
NIL will begin even younger
With the first NIL class “graduating” and moving on from their college playing days, look for the current high school athletes to make an even bigger presence.
There are 13 year olds out there building their brand. I’m envisioning more of the youth with teams around them to help them with content and showcases these athletes to brands for NIL deals.
Old content out, new content in
Gone will be “Day in the Life”, “Get Ready With Me”, etc. type of content.
While I don’t know where content will go, look for more raw, authentic posts from athletes to highlight their true selves within and away from their sport.
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