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Last week on LinkedIn, I asked people for their unpopular NIL opinions.

Most people provided popular or rather common takes.

However, there were a few that stood out as trending towards unpopular. (I also stand by my opinion that NIL Go will be a powerhouse in the industry once the process improves.)

With that being said, let’s take a look at some insights.

But before you continue, reply to this newsletter and tell me your truly unpopular NIL opinion. (The crazier, the better.)

First up is ExtraPoints maestro Matt Brown, who writes a fantastic newsletter focused on college athletics, and also now owns NIL Wire, which is exclusively NIL content.

Matt and I spoke via phone earlier this year and he mentioned this in our conversation. I agree with this take in that companies are using a ‘cart before the horse’ business model that may or may not work. (He also right in that the majority of college athletes are not marketable and the athletes have little to no interest in building their brand. Tough pill to swallow for most college athletes, but it’s the truth.)

Perhaps these companies think they are solving an issue by getting ahead of it, but time will tell.

My longtime colleague Reji Gregoire had a great take on a highly-debated topic: Politics/policies and sports.

While most politicians who would want to work with college athletes on NIL deals (such as Montana state senator Jon Tester), there is also a good angle for athletes to promote voting in general or certain issues that benefit a local community.

And while Rachel finds value in athletes promoting neutral topics, she notes there’s a good opportunity for these athletes to lean in to what they believe in and support issues they truly care about. (Which I agree with.)

Will McNeeley shares a recruiting hot take in that NIL increases the difficulty of high school athletes getting recruited.

While I somewhat agree with his take, I feel NIL has opened doors for those athletes who are not four and five star recruits to be recruited by colleges at all levels - not hindered the process.

However, I am aligned with his insights on those involved with teams wanting success quickly - and big NIL donors now feel the need to call the shots/have influence purely based on the amount of money they donate.

Thank You for reading today’s newsletter

^{I discuss insights and news related to NIL and personal branding for athletes every Wednesday at 12p ET/9a PT.}

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