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Guest Post: How the College Sports Commission is changing NIL - and the jobs of Compliance Managers
And why this will be an ongoing shift in college athletics
Tariq Ahmad
July 02, 2025
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How the College Sports Commission is changing NIL - and the jobs of Compliance Managers
And why this will be an ongoing shift in college athletics
College Sports Commission graphic (Photo Credit: Collegiate Water Polo)
Note: Today’s post is written by Isaac Jubran, Compliance Intern, University of North Florida Athletics.
If there’s one thing I have learned from this role, it is that staying ahead in the NIL era means learning to anticipate problems before they even arise. With the new House v. NCAA Settlement and the creation of the College Sports Commission, compliance departments have become the driving force that will transform us from the old NIL world to the new one.
Anticipating issues is complex in the space of NIL particularly because the rules are always changing. Due to the creation of the College Sports Commission (CSC), compliance departments are now responsible for catching new issues that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Compliance departments now also serve as the main source of education for coaches, athletes, and administrators about these new regulations. In doing this, they bridge the communication between schools and the CSC.
One specific example of a new issue compliance departments have to anticipate is keeping a clear line between internal revenues—which are paid directly by the school, and external revenues—third party brands/collectives. The main goal in this scenario is to prevent the two revenues from becoming blurred, as this is needed to stay within legal bounds and protect the entire NIL process.
Additionally, compliance will now serve as the first line of review for NIL submissions. They will check every athlete’s submission before it is uploaded to “NIL Go” to make sure it follows CSC protocol. As seen in the Settlement, any NIL deal over $600 has to be submitted to the CSC for fair market value (FMV) checks, which is a grey area that could keep players from getting the deals they deserve. What counts as “fair market value” can really depend on the school and situation, so compliance departments will have to fight for their athletes’ compensation differences and be ready to explain why higher deals make sense.
Ultimately, how smooth the transition is to the new world of NIL depends largely on compliance departments. Their ability to anticipate issues will make or break the entire NIL process—not just for their particular schools, but for college athletics as a whole.
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