New NCAA president Charlie Baker says his first 100 days on the job will be vital and he plans to spearhead an effort to regulate NIL and how student-athletes profit off their names. The current NIL space lacks guidelines and parameters and is a relative free-for-all across college sports. Baker wants to protect student-athletes and prospective recruits from entering relationships with unqualified individuals or marketing companies.
“I think for the NCAA, until you actually had NIL, it would be hard to know what it was going to look like,” Baker said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Now we have it and the question becomes, should there be an attempt to make this more visible, more transparent, more — the word I guess I’m really looking for is easier for kids, student-athletes, families to understand what’s real and what’s not.”
Baker said the revenue-producing sports — football and men's basketball, primarily — face an ongoing challenge to "operate differently" than the rest of college athletics.
“At the same time, recognize and understand that for the vast majority of the schools and the kids there’s an investment here being made by their schools, and by their supporters in these programs,” Baker said. “And they’re doing it because they think it’s an important part of the student-development process, and I just don’t want that to get lost.”
Earlier this spring, Florida quarterback signee Jaden Rashada asked out of his letter of intent with the Gators after his NIL deal went awry. Rashada signed with Florida on Dec. 21, the first day of the Early Signing Period. The Gators had up to 30 days to respond to Rashada's request, but did so quickly. Per 247Sports' Brandon Huffman, Rashada's eventual LOI release ended the widely-reported saga with Florida, which had been brewing for several days after the Pittsburg (Calif.) product did not enroll early as previously planned.
Baker told the AP that the NCAA will need help from Congress to help govern NIL.
As it stands, states have their own NIL jurisdiction, which creates uneven ground nationally in both competition and recruiting.
“The NCAA doesn’t need permission from the federal government to do the right thing," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told the AP.
“I think for the NCAA, until you actually had NIL, it would be hard to know what it was going to look like,” Baker said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Now we have it and the question becomes, should there be an attempt to make this more visible, more transparent, more — the word I guess I’m really looking for is easier for kids, student-athletes, families to understand what’s real and what’s not.”
Baker said the revenue-producing sports — football and men's basketball, primarily — face an ongoing challenge to "operate differently" than the rest of college athletics.
“At the same time, recognize and understand that for the vast majority of the schools and the kids there’s an investment here being made by their schools, and by their supporters in these programs,” Baker said. “And they’re doing it because they think it’s an important part of the student-development process, and I just don’t want that to get lost.”
Earlier this spring, Florida quarterback signee Jaden Rashada asked out of his letter of intent with the Gators after his NIL deal went awry. Rashada signed with Florida on Dec. 21, the first day of the Early Signing Period. The Gators had up to 30 days to respond to Rashada's request, but did so quickly. Per 247Sports' Brandon Huffman, Rashada's eventual LOI release ended the widely-reported saga with Florida, which had been brewing for several days after the Pittsburg (Calif.) product did not enroll early as previously planned.
Baker told the AP that the NCAA will need help from Congress to help govern NIL.
As it stands, states have their own NIL jurisdiction, which creates uneven ground nationally in both competition and recruiting.
“The NCAA doesn’t need permission from the federal government to do the right thing," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told the AP.
