Opinion: the NIL era left most athletes behind; it’s time universities fix that

Tennis ranks among the bottom of CU Boulder's NIL revenue streams. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports)

College sports changed the moment NIL arrived, but not in the way most athletes expected. The new rules gave every student-athlete the right to profit from their name, image and likeness. 

What they did not guarantee was the support needed to turn that right into a real opportunity. Three years later, that gap has become one of the clearest divides across college athletics. 

NIL immediately opened its doors to athletes, but only to those whose sports had already garnered television coverage and national attention. 

Football and men’s basketball surged to the top of the market, fueled by massive audiences and established personal brands. According to the 2024 Opendorse “NIL at 3” report, football alone is projected to account for roughly $1.1 billion in NIL earnings this year, while men’s basketball adds nearly $389 million. 

Those numbers reflect interest, not injustice. What they also reflect is how limited the NIL experience remains for thousands of college athletes outside those spotlighted sports. 

The right to earn may be universal, but the pathway to earning is anything but. 

For athletes in cross country, golf, tennis, swimming, skiing, and dozens of other NCAA sports, the barriers look very different. They train year-round, travel extensively and represent their universities with the same professionalism as athletes in high-revenue programs. 

Yet, many have no clear direction on how to approach NIL businesses, build a personal brand or advocate for themselves. Most do not have agents or dedicated media teams. Their games are covered by local recaps, not national broadcasts. Without structured support, NIL becomes less of an open marketplace and more of a maze. 

 “The biggest challenge is awareness and support,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence. “Many athletes aren’t lacking marketability — they’re lacking systems that help them activate it.” 

His point captures exactly where NIL has stalled. Opportunity exists, but universities must build the infrastructure that allows athletes in every sport to access it. 

Colorado is ahead of the curve in addressing that reality. CU’s Athlete Resources for Career & High Performance (ARCH) program gives athletes guidance in areas ranging from career development to mental performance to NIL education. ARCH cannot negotiate deals, but it prepares athletes to understand the NIL landscape and market themselves responsibly. 

Some of Colorado’s athletes have already benefited from that structure. Runners have collaborated with nutrition brands. Volleyball and soccer players have leveraged Boulder’s active-lifestyle culture to pursue partnerships. These examples prove something important: when athletes are given tools, they use them. 

The larger issue is that most universities do not offer anything close to what CU provides. NIL workshops often target only football or basketball. Branding resources go to the programs with the most visibility, not the most need. Many athletic departments rely entirely on outside collectives and leave athletes to navigate the rest on their own. That uneven support structure has become the true dividing line in NIL. It’s not the money itself, but the access to the process. 

Addressing this does not require rewriting NCAA policy or redistributing NIL revenue; it requires a shift in institutional priorities. 

A universal starting point across all schools could include updated headshots, basic media training, social promotion for every team, simple branding templates, and clear connections to local businesses. These steps are inexpensive and realistic. They allow athletes to pursue NIL without feeling overwhelmed or overlooked. 

Some athletes will always earn more than others; that’s just how the markets work. But the ability to participate should not depend on what sport an athlete plays or whether their games appear on national television. It should depend on whether their university chooses to support them. 

Colorado’s ARCH program is not perfect, but it is a model. It shows what is possible when a school invests in all of its athletes, not just the ones with the largest audiences. 

Other universities should follow that lead. NIL gave every athlete the right to advertise themselves; it is time for universities to give them a chance to use it. 

NIL is shaping the future of college sports, and the schools that understand this moment will define that future. The ones that don’t will leave their athletes behind. 

Every athlete deserves more than potential access. They deserve the support that makes opportunity real.