Some of the top college athletes are making millions of dollars.
Name, image, and likeness deals — or NIL deals for short — have become a billion-dollar industry since their introduction to amateur sports in 2021, allowing student-athletes to earn significant amounts of money.
Plus, in May 2024, as part of a major antitrust settlement, the NCAA and its five power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC) agreed that schools can directly pay their athletes for the first time in college athletics history.
This took effect in July 2025, making the 2025-26 academic year the first full season where college athletes could be compensated by…
