Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.
The landscape of college athletics has changed dramatically in the past decade. In 2026, and really the couple of years prior, we’ve really gotten to see the consequences of money and contracts seeping into the amateurism of college athletics. NIL, or Name, Image and Likeness, has officially opened up a can of worms, and I believe that can will be open forever more.
We’re seeing the ugliness (can’t spell ugliness without NIL) of the new era of college athletics play out in real time, and college athletic departments are doing all that they can to keep up…