NIL is just the latest chapter in the long and uneven history of compensation in college sports

NIL, or name, image and likeness payments, has become the latest chapter in the long and uneven history of compensation in college sports. This new form of compensation is not the first time athletes have been rewarded for their efforts. In the beginning, athletes received train tickets, walking-around money, and scholarships to play. For decades, some of the money went under the table, but now the NCAA has approved it.

To understand NIL, it's important to look back at the history of athlete compensation in college sports. The NCAA was founded in 1906 by President Teddy Roosevelt, who aimed to address the sometimes-fatal violence in college football and establish eligibility standards. Before its rulebook grew into a massive document covering hundreds of pages, athletes accepted cash or train tickets as inducements to attend various schools, sometimes covering tuition and room and board.

Initially, athletes were considered amateurs, but the NCAA's Sanity Code of 1948 aimed to curb the flood of recruiting inducements designed to lure supposed amateurs. The NCAA resisted athletic scholarships at first, arguing they violated the concept of amateurism. However, they standardized the granting of scholarships in 1956, paving the way for future changes.

When Ed O'Bannon, a former UCLA basketball star, won a class-action lawsuit in 2014 over the use of his likeness in a video game, the NCAA faced a series of losses that transformed college sports. This lawsuit helped pave the way for athletes to receive stipends to cover costs of living beyond their scholarships. Eleven years later, the House settlement allowed schools to share athletic revenue with players, with up to $21.3 million available this season.

This development legitimized third-party name, image and likeness deals, leading to football rosters with payrolls exceeding $50 million.