An open NIL standard for the future of college sports
Public NIL is an initiative to establish a better role that NIL plays in college sports—one that empowers athletes to understand and negotiate their market value.
Public NIL is a open-source initiative establishing common-sense standards for the role Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) plays in the future of college sports.
On March 1, 2024, the ban on NIL-driven recruitment was lifted.
"...without the give and take of a free market, student-athletes simply have no knowledge of their true NIL value... this suppression of negotiating leverage... harms student-athletes."
"...NCAA staff to pause [enforcement of] third-party participation in NIL-related activities ... consistent with the injunction [regarding the NIL-recruitment ban]"
Athletes finally have the leverage to compliantly understand and negotiate their NIL value prior to committing to a school.
As a result, the system in which NIL operates must change.
NIL needs a new, public system—with new priorities
Today's new rules require a thoughtful approach for tomorrow. Public NIL prioritizes:
Today’s Private Collective NIL contracts are riddled with predatory terms—payback clauses for transferring, forced exclusive NIL rights representation, and termination rights without cause—built to protect donors, not athletes. Athletes deserve to get paid to attend the school of their choice, without being victim to legal jargon.
Today’s system is in disarray with per-state rules that differ, and per-collective processes that suppress an athlete’s ability to understand or negotiate their NIL market value. Without ubiquitous rules to govern the give and take of the free market, student-athletes simply have no knowledge of their true NIL value.
Today’s Private Collectives infamously lure athletes through overpromising contract value—without willingness to put it in writing, place money in escrow, or show financial records to prove they can actually perform the payments they’re offering. The flow of funds in NIL must be fully transparent, for athletes to both understand their value and trust that their value will actually be paid out.
Public NIL is a call to action for collectives, agencies, brands, institutions, and student athletes to adopt NIL standards that are transparent, athlete-friendly, and ubiquitous system-wide.
Are you building a company, agency, or collective built to PublicNIL's standards? Want to make things official? Apply for certification now.
