NIL Damage: What is Happening?

On the surface, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) brings positive changes for student-athletes, but lurking below the surface of the money pile lies significant and widespread damage.

In all honesty, the rules under the NIL House vs NCAA settlement cater to the upper 1-2% of athletes while causing major changes and devastation to the other 98%. College athletic programs are now forced to reduce scholarships or cut roster spots due to this NIL agreement.

The exact tally damage associated with the House settlement is not fully known but the impact is extensive, especially for non-revenue sports. And, yes, the athletes and coaches I work with have been impacted since the 98% make up a large majority of those who I serve.

Shrinking scholarship opportunities

An estimated 5,000 athletes in Division 1 and nearly 10,000 athletes across divisions have lost roster spots under the House vs NCAA settlement. D1 schools must adhere to new roster caps. Multiple sports are being hit including: men’s gymnastics, swimming & diving, cross country, track and field, tennis, fencing, rowing, and others. All these programs contain diminishing numbers.

Some schools have simply decided to gut entire programs. For example, Ohio State eliminated scholarships for men’s gymnastics. Pepperdine dropped golf as a sport. The University of Virginia abandoned its diving program in early 2025. NC State made drastic cuts to their diving program. The University of Texas cut scholarships and roster numbers for both their swimming and diving programs. Thank goodness one of my divers (also an Olympian) just graduated from UT.

This is direct damage of the new roster limits and shifting resource priorities brought on by this NIL settlement catering to the 2% of athletes. And, without a doubt, this redirect of resources also affects the 100’s of preferred walk-ons and walk-ons.

Again, there is no centralized number of consequences yet, but evidence suggests dozens of programs nationwide must reduce scholarships and walk-on opportunities or entirely discontinue programs.

Here is the low-down on some specific damage

Swimming and Diving

• High risk: Hundreds of programs-Cal Poly, Grand Canyon, UCLA, and UTEP-have already cut teams, citing financial pressure from roster caps
• Roster cap: Limited to 30 athletes per gender-many teams previously carried 40+
• Net effect: Cuts to walk-ons and lesser-funded programs-elite athletes might stay, but depth is shrinking

Track & Field / Cross-Country

• Severe impact: Programs like Florida men’s track faced cuts-rosters exceed new cap limits (45 for track, 17 for XC)
• Roster caps: 45 athletes (track) and 17 athletes (cross-country) per gender, leading to significant roster reductions
• Widespread concern: USTFCCCA and others warned of deep cuts to Olympic-sport rosters

Wrestling

• Early casualties: Cleveland State drops wrestling and coaches across the nation cite threat to both scholarship and walk-on spots
• Roster cap: 30 athletes per gender-forcing cuts at schools with larger teams

Rowing and Crew

• Roster limit: Women’s rowing capped at 68 athletes and programs with extensive walk-on usage may cut non-scholarship rowers
• Community reaction: Reddit notes mixed approaches-some Ivy League schools opting out to protect depth

Gymnastics (Men’s & Women’s)

• Vulnerable: Although current teams (≤20 athletes) may avoid immediate cuts, schools are pausing or shrinking recruiting
• Cap set at 20 per gender: Ohio State cut scholarships for men’s gymnastics – only 17 Division 1 schools even offer men’s gymnastics significantly impacting this Olympic sport

Tennis

• Some program losses: At least 7 programs cut in the past year – both men’s and women’s rosters are capped at 10
• Smaller martyrdom vs. scale: While programs exist in high numbers, smaller schools are disproportionately impacted

Golf

• Walk-on culture threatened: Roster limit holds at 9 players – most programs shrinking to 9
• Long-term pipeline affected: Iconic breakthrough stories like Jason Dufner’s may become rare

Other Sports Affected

• Water Polo, Fencing, Skiing, Volleyball, Rugby, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Equestrian, etc.: All now have specific roster caps-e.g., water polo at 24, fencing at 24-threatening roster sizes and walk-on roles
• Baseball & Softball: Less impacted but still subject to roster control (baseball cap at 34) – smaller schools impacted by athletes leaving for money and opportunities

Summary of Roster Damage and Scholarship Caps

The table below highlights major non‑revenue sports, with both roster caps and levels of early impact:

Sport	Roster Cap	Early Impact of Settlement
Swimming & Diving	30	Many programs cut entirely
Track & Field/XC	45/17	Deep roster reductions underway
Wrestling	30	Entire programs cut
Rowing (W)	68	Walk-on spots eliminated
Gymnastics	20	Recruiting slowed
Tennis	10	Multiple programs eliminated
Golf	9	No walk-ons; pipeline disrupted
Water Polo, Fencing, Skiing	Varies	Depth reductions expected
Baseball, Softball	34/28	Constant restructuring

 

Recruiting is changing and not for the good

The playing field is uneven in the current recruiting culture. Schools with strong donor bases or NIL collective can now offer better incentives across the board. This widens the gap between the Power Five schools and mid-majors.

One D2 softball program I work with carried a roster of four pitchers. Only one is coming back next year. The lead pitcher left for a D1 SEC school. Now moving forward, I told the coach, because your D2 program is consistently strong, your successful star athletes will likely get ‘poached.’ Smaller schools like this one, I fear, or those with limited NIL infrastructure cannot compete for elite athletes anymore, especially in low-revenue generating sports.

The damage means more transfers, more decommits, more changes, and less unity in a team. Athletes may now leave programs earlier like this pitcher did after getting NIL offers elsewhere. As coaches aim to solidify roasters, late recruiting changes due to a better NIL offer will increase upheaval and uncertainty.

Reduced emphasis on development

No doubt about it, some athletes and/or their parents will chase short-term NIL gains over long-term education, athletic, and life-skills development. Coaches in these non-revenue sports now spend time competing with social-media-driven recruitment and incentives rather than evaluating athletic potential and character impact on a team.

That said, coaches may now recruit based on marketability – attractive, charismatic, bilingual, etc-because these athletes are likely to attract NIL money. If their appearance, storytelling ability, and social presence are strong, this may now win out over a more athletically and morally stable individual who displays quiet intensity.

Schools that invest in NIL infrastructure such as a marketing staff, content creators, media training, and branding workshops are now preferred by top recruits in non-revenue sports. Schools who do not adapt to this new environment risk falling behind, generating damage throughout their athletic programs.

How come this is happening?

The NCAA House settlement removed per-sport scholarship caps. But it also introduced roster caps. This forces schools to choose who gets the beloved dollars.

Simultaneously, schools are allocating significant funds to the $20 million/year per school NIL pool. This prioritizes high profile athletes (the 2%), and money generating sports like football and basketball. Guess what happens to the non-money making programs already operating in the margins or only exist thanks to football or basketball? Yep, they bear the brunt of the damage, scholarships decrease, rosters shrink, and facility perks change.

Trump appoints Nick Saban to look at the potential damage

Nick Saban has been quite vocal about NIL. He supports the principle-allowing athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness-but he’s critical of the unregulated, chaotic implementation.

The 7-time National Championship coach believes when done properly, NIL is a good thing, ‘Name, Image and Likeness to me is a great concept for players, our players created $3 million worth of opportunity for themselves by doing it the right way.’

But Saban also sends out warnings about the current uncontrolled system, ‘Each year it’s gotten a little worse, the first year $3 million, then $7 million, now they are looking at $20 million. Where does it end?’

This clearly raises fairness and recruiting concerns according to one of the most successful coaches ever in college football. Saban left coaching indicating he could no longer develop and ‘coach’ players. He criticizes NIL is being used to ‘buy’ players through a collective, which shifts recruiting from institutional value to dollar-driven decisions much like a professional team. The damage he contends is the paradigm. This is ‘not a sustainable model’ says Saban, and ‘out of control.’

The fear focuses on unregulated boosters funneling money and the NCAA lacking leverage without federal antitrust protection. It appears President Trump, who appointed Saban to investigate NIL regulation, sees the need for clear, nationwide legislation to regulate NIL potentially through federal or congressional action to ensure competitive balance.

Saban currently suggests an equal distribution model where earnings are standardized across teams or conferences. Yes, this potentially mirrors professional sports salary caps to avoid inequality.

Like me and in general, most parents, Saban believes college sports should first be about education, development, and a young person’s future value to his chosen profession, family, and community. The ‘pay-for-play’ marketplace without boundaries, he warns, shifts the emphasis away from mentoring young people during a time in their lives when they need it.

Other damage points to consider

Imagine the distraction now to academics to seek and maintain a payout. Managing contracts, seeking deals, branding, and social media presence to protect their NIL becomes more important than education. Balancing training, now business responsibilities can lead to a derailment in an athlete’s education. It can lead to mental and emotional fatigue and a lack of life and mental skills development often secured through a tenure in as a student-athlete. The pursuit of money instantly being the priority instead.

The 2% suddenly are now at odds with the 98% with unequal opportunities and team dynamics. This exacerbates human nature of jealousy and resentment. Some teammates may feel undervalued when only one or two players get lucrative deals. This generates division with teams shifting a team culture away from unity to individualism. Immediately, this generates rifts in a locker room. In addition, if coaches are not intentional about developing a unified culture, the danger of favoritism runs amuck with the new normal of NIL.

Money pit damage

One NFL player I worked with following his rookie year was gutted financially by his family taking advantage of him. While I recommended he stop funding these loved ones, he could not say ‘no.’ I referred him to financial advisors I trust. Within two years he was out of the league and stopped sessions with me. Despite my attempts in following up with him, he ghosted and then played one year in the CFL. As of now, I have no idea whatever happened to him. This is sad, yet common tale.

Many young athletes lack the financial education to responsibly manage high instantaneous income. Without proper guidance, these athletes fall victim to unethical family members, business hustlers, and predatory agents. Their lack of financial literacy leaves them open to exploitation. And one NFL agent I recently had dinner with told me these high school to college athletes often unknowingly incur tax liabilities or legal troubles due to their poor monetary awareness.

Mental health and identity damage

Young people already mismanage their mental health with the focus online with social media. We know the increase in anxiety and other mental health struggles increased exorbitantly during covid and beyond. NIL continues this shift of a young person’s self-worth to the external – performance, social media metrics, public image, money earned. And we all know the scrutiny, especially online, can generate worse anxiety, depression, and self-doubt.

This now commercialization of their sport turns something our kids innocently fell in love with into a job way too early. Passion gone, and the developmental stage of an athlete cut short. Now training and performing is a ‘have to’ instead of a ‘get to.’

The bottom line of damage

The official comprehensive NIL death count continues. Programs are shrinking or gone. We know tens to hundreds of non-revenue college sports teams have lost scholarships or roster spots (the 98%), to free up funding for the new NIL money demand and direct-pay structures for the 2%. Estimates exceed 10,000 across non-revenue sports.

The damage also strikes walk on roles largely now eliminated. Since new scholarship-based rosters are fewer, then gone are the entry points for athletes to get an opportunity. This is horrific news for so many athletes needing that chance to prove themselves.

Mid-major and smaller schools are the hardest hit. Most lack deep NIL donor pools, thus AD’s are eliminating teams and athletes to fund revenue sport pay. Schools that cannot keep up with the trend to pay for play will suffer transfers and decommits.

Gone are the days of continuing to develop a player’s athletic gifts along with getting their education and gaining the life and mental skills they need for the rest of their lives. The damage includes educational, psychological, and financial calamities. We probably are never going to recover at this point.

NIL, I’m not a fan. The damage is too significant to the 98% in favor of our culture’s idolization of money and performance for the 2%.

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About Kip Rodgers

 

Every day, I read the headlines about athletes who struggle and end up making poor choices. Memorable headlines include Junior Seau and Johnny Manziel. Recent headlines include the horrific abuse in USA Gymnastics and the suicide of a D1 quarterback at Washington State.

The banners I read show athletes get arrested, released, benched, sustain career-ending injuries, and get taken advantage of by others. And, on occasion, an athlete makes the drastic choice to take their life leaving behind stunned teammates, family, friends, and fans.

This drives me. It wakes me up every day with purpose. Why? At 15, I was one of those athletes contemplating suicide…

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