Navigating an Intercollegiate Athletes’ Transition Related to the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Interim Policy

Abstract

On July 1, 2021, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Interim Policy, permitting most student-athletes across the U.S. to monetize their NIL through participation in various branding activities, having a transformative effect throughout intercollegiate athletics. The purpose of this manuscript is to conceptualize NIL as a career change event and share an intervention supporting an intercollegiate student-athlete in navigating this NIL-related transition. This includes the client’s challenges related to the stress of negotiating contracts, decisions about transferring or remaining at an institution, and a lack of clarity around regulations of NIL engagements. Using the Scheme of Change for Sport Psychology Practice (SCSPP; Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011a) as a framework, the authors conceptualize NIL as a change-event and overall career transition in which student-athletes are transitioning to businesspeople, as highlighted through the case study of Jamal (pseudonym). This manuscript offers applied considerations for sport psychology practitioners supporting intercollegiate student-athletes through this unprecedented transition.

Keywords:

• Intercollegiate athletics
• NCAA
• NIL
• sport psychology practitioners
• student-athletes
• transitions

The current landscape of intercollegiate athletics in the U.S. rapidly evolved with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) adoption of the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Interim Policy on July 1, 2021. This policy suspended the prior rules related to NIL, which immediately permitted most student-athletes the opportunity to monetize their NIL. NIL is a legal term that includes the right to promote products or services based on one’s name, image, or other aspects associated with their identity. Prior to July 2021, student-athletes were prohibited from receiving compensation or pursuing opportunities to profit from their NIL while participating in an NCAA sport. With the 2021 policy change, most student-athletes were now permitted to sponsor camps using their name, promote products on social media, and other activities for commercial promotion (Solomon et al., 2022).

NIL has contributed to the already significant amount of money at stake for student-athletes competing for an NCAA member institution, as demonstrated by the fact that in 2019, Division I schools reported an athletics revenue of $15.8 billion (National Collegiate Athletics Association, 2019). The most prominent and profitable institutions within the NCAA Division I belong to the Power Five Conferences (P5), including the Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific (Pac)-12, Southeastern Conference (SEC), and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)¹. This manuscript illustrates the impact of navigating NIL contracts and the transfer portal on intercollegiate student-athletes’ health and well-being, multicultural implications for marginalized groups of student-athletes, and the application of the Scheme of Change for Sport Psychology Practice (SCSPP; Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011a) used by sport psychology practitioners, illustrated through a case study.

The evolution of student-athlete transfer rates and NIL

While student-athletes transferring from one institution to another has been commonplace for decades, NIL is now being leveraged as a recruiting tool to persuade student-athletes to enter the transfer portal, which officially launched in its current form in 2018. Following the establishment of the transfer portal, whereas previously student-athletes who transferred had to sit out between one or two seasons before resuming competition, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors adopted the one-time transfer policy in 2021, permitting student-athletes to be eligible immediately upon transferring to another institution. The following transfer data was not easily extracted, but the NCAA reported stable figures between 2004 and 2018 and a 2.1% increase between 2018 and 2021. Between August 2021 and July 2022, more than 20,900 student-athletes entered the transfer portal, representing a 10% increase from the prior year (National Collegiate Athletics Association, 2023). The advent of NIL in intercollegiate athletics has created new challenges for student-athletes as they consider transferring between institutions. These transitions are negatively impacting their health and well-being due to the added stress of negotiating NIL deals and contracts, ultimately coming at the detriment of their academic performance (Sellers, 2022).

The introduction of NIL carries cultural considerations, including racial identity, gender, and nationality. In terms of racial considerations, it is important to note that the primary drivers of revenue within this billion-dollar industry of intercollegiate athletics are football and men’s basketball. Hence, we suspect that Black student-athletes and their families will be disproportionately affected by the stressors associated with negotiating NIL deals, especially since 55.9% of men’s basketball players and 55.7% of men’s football players participating in the P5 identify as Black (Cooper et al., 2017; Kalman-Lamb et al., 2021).

Another multicultural concern regarding the introduction of NIL in the NCAA pertains to its impact on Title IX and gender equity. To date, the implications regarding the landscape of NIL as it relates to gender equity illustrate a mixed picture. As of 2022, Opendorse, one of the leading NIL marketplace and technology companies, found that Division I male athletes account for 67.4% of total NIL compensation compared with 32.6% of female athletes. Football student-athletes generated 48.6% of total revenue, men’s basketball generated 17.7%, and women’s basketball generated 13.5% (Nakos, 2022). However, due to the power and influence of social media branding (Hawkins-Jedlicka et al., 2023), female student-athletes across all sports are overcoming barriers and capitalizing on opportunities to not only monetize their NIL, but also to have a larger community impact and bring awareness to issues of gender inequality in sports.

An additional consideration as to NIL's impact is regarding international student-athletes. When NIL was first introduced, and legislation was adopted by the NCAA, the expectation was that all student-athletes would be afforded the chance to pursue opportunities to profit from their NIL. International student-athletes on F-1 visa status are another vulnerable group (Solomon et al., 2022). Due to the nature of the F-1 visa, international student-athletes are prohibited from obtaining employment outside of their educational setting based on immigration law and must forgo opportunities to monetize their NIL (Sethi et al., 2022) ². With over 20,000 international student-athletes enrolled and competing at NCAA institutions, this presents another significant inequity related to NIL (Solomon et al., 2022).

Conceptualization of NIL as a career change event and associated challenges for intercollegiate athletes

The authors utilized the holistic framework offered through the SCSPP (Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011a) to conceptualize NIL as a career change-event within intercollegiate athletics, impacting the life of student-athletes. As suggested by the SCSPP, upon experiencing a change-event in their careers and athletic environment (e.g., the introduction of NIL), which disrupts the athletic engagement status quo (e.g., student-athlete to businessperson) and has the potential to provoke emotional and cognitive imbalance, student-athletes engage in an appraisal process that includes the consideration of existing coping resources and potential solutions. This also leads to a strategic decision on how to respond to the change-event of NIL: (a) deny or ignore it, (b) consult with trusted others (e.g., parents, coaches, teammates), (c) manage it independently, or (d) consult with a sport psychologist (Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011b). Option (d) highlights the role of sport psychology practitioners who are uniquely positioned in this evolving era of NIL to utilize the SCSPP as a guiding framework in NIL-related interventions to support student-athletes through the transition and help to facilitate an effective adaptation and coping process (Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011b).

Within the SCSPP framework, NIL is presented as a career change-event capable of altering the career trajectories of student-athletes due to the disruption in their athletic status quo, shifting their identities from student-athletes to businesspeople. Student-athletes are now not only competing in high-level athletics and meeting the demands of their academic requirements (Sellers, 2022), but they are also experiencing stress related to contract negotiations and offers for NIL (Corr et al., 2023; Hollabaugh et al., 2024). Once NIL contracts are established, student-athletes undertake the additional pressure of sustaining a high level of performance representing their NIL (Hollabaugh et al., 2024). In the age of social media, student-athletes are also presented with opportunities to leverage their online presence to attract NIL deals. This increased social media engagement poses potential risks related to mental health and well-being (Brougham, 2021). Thus, NIL engagement may contribute to student-athlete burnout, which impacts athletic and academic performance due to the additional tasks, such as brand management, as well as the legal and contractual responsibilities they incur (Hollabaugh et al., 2024).

Furthermore, with mental health concerns continually rising in the college-aged population, questions remain as to how NIL will impact the mental health and well-being of student-athletes. In recent years, student-athletes reported elevated rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety, feelings of depression, and burnout (Brougham, 2021). These issues were found to be elevated among marginalized demographic subgroups of student-athletes, including those who identify as female, racial/ethnic minorities, lower socioeconomic status, and LGBTQ. Student-athletes from these subgroups experience additional pressures, stressors, and mental health concerns that largely go untreated (Ballesteros & Tran, 2020). More specifically, Black- identified student-athletes are at an elevated risk of experiencing mental health struggles while facing many barriers to engaging in help-seeking behaviors (Wilkerson et al., 2022). Taken together, this has created an increased demand for more sport psychology practitioners on staff to support student-athletes, and now the need for additional resources and support related to NIL and career planning (Corr et al., 2023; Hollabaugh et al., 2024; National Collegiate Athletics Association, 2023).

NIL-related Intervention: The case of Jamal

In the case of Jamal (pseudonym), we present the impact of NIL and the accompanying interventions as one student-athlete transitioned from a student-athlete recruited during high school to a businessperson in college (Fridley et al., 2024) negotiating contracts and making difficult decisions, such as financial considerations that were impacting his health and well-being. The case presented took place at a Division I P5 institution located in the Northeast region of the United States. Both authors are former intercollegiate student-athletes and share a commitment to multicultural competence and social justice in their research and applied work. The first author has worked with athletes at all levels as a licensed psychologist for over 15 years in addition to being a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), with a focus on clinical and performance interventions through his extensive training in third wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in which he is board certified. The second author has experience working with athletes at the youth and intercollegiate levels as a behavioral health clinician, Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), and doctoral student, integrating theory and applied interventions. Both authors integrate a developmental, person-centered, and strength-based framework with extensive experience working with athletes to navigate a multitude of transitions across all levels of competition, sports, identities, and demographics, including coping with injury, end-of-career, and behavioral health diagnoses. Both authors recognize that they are now operating within a vastly different landscape from when they were competing, which informs them of the many biases they hold. While the first author was the sport psychology practitioner directly working with Jamal, the second author served as a sounding board, offering feedback and collaborating with the first author in staying up to date on the latest developments in the ever-evolving NIL landscape within intercollegiate athletics and considering its impact on Jamal.

Establishing the working alliance

Jamal is a 23-year-old Black male, a football player from a single-parent household of lower socioeconomic status (SES), highly sought after and recruited through high school, and the youngest child in his family. He chose to consult with a sport psychologist after consideration of his available coping resources and potential solutions in navigating the stressors related to the change-event of NIL. The case of Jamal was selected based on his level of performance and position in football, which accounted for 48.6% of NIL funds in 2022. Jamal and the first author developed a working alliance during team presentations, during which he trained the student-athletes on leadership, communication styles, and mental skills. Jamal later connected with the first author while in the cafeteria following one of the team presentations, expressing an interest in support to discuss his NIL-related stressors and contemplating a decision to transfer.

Context and aims of the intervention

Upon meeting, Jamal consented to treatment during the intake session as rapport was being established and limits of confidentiality were explained. Jamal presented with sleep disturbances, increased anxiety and stress related to considering transferring institutions for an NIL deal (i.e., monetary packages offered for Jamal’s NIL from other universities that were recruiting Jamal to compete as a student-athlete), and other family stressors. He had three NIL offers he was considering from various P5 institutions, and his family was pressuring him to take the largest offer, irrespective of his feelings. This increased familial pressure was an added stressor for Jamal, being that he felt conflicted due to his gratitude and loyalty toward the coaching staff at his current institution while also wanting to make his family happy by complying with their wishes of him taking the largest NIL offer presented.

The case of Jamal was conceptualized using the SCSPP framework, with the intervention’s aim being to provide education, support, and adaptive coping skills for Jamal as he navigated the many stressors associated with the decision-making process. Consistent with the tenets of SCSPP and Samuel’s (2013) consultation framework, the case used this six-phase model to inform the ten sessions. The initial three phases involved assessment, including identifying the change-event experienced, understanding the client’s perception of the change-event, and identifying coping strategies and support resources for the client to utilize. The final three phases involved application, including initiating the change process, providing and exploring decisions regarding the change, and lastly, supporting the client’s efforts in integrating this decision and processing its implications (Samuel, 2013). By making and then implementing the decision to change in the context of his athletic engagement and other life dimensions with the support of a sport psychology practitioner, Jamal experienced a return to emotional stability, reduced anxiety, and an increased sense of empowerment. A brief description of the sessions’ content and outcomes can be found in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Session content and outcomes (as informed by SCSPP; Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011a).

Session number	Session content
Session 1	Informed consent and limits of confidentiality signed, rapport building began with interview, and wrote out decisions related to transferring on the iPad, including psychoeducation and utilizing consciousness raising as the initial catalyst in the process of change.
Session 2	Measurable goals established: improve sleep, develop adaptive coping skills, reduce stress and anxiety, understand family and personal values, make decision about transferring. Identified the change event as NIL deals offered and transfer decision, with Jamal choosing to commit to process of change and exploration of options and alternatives.
Session 3	Gained insight into Jamal’s perception of NIL deals and linked with symptoms. Maladaptive coping skills were identified: experiential avoidance, video games, and smoking marijuana. Sleep hygiene reviewed.
Session 4	Sleep journals reviewed and behaviors to improve sleep were addressed including bedtime/night ritual and limiting phone use after 9PM (i.e., stimulus control). Mindfulness in session began with education and a grounding exercise of diaphragmatic breathing and feeling feet on the ground (i.e., counter-conditioning).
Session 5	Resources and coping skills identified; behavior chain analysis for avoidance, video games, and marijuana, along with journaling before, during, and after those behaviors related to the process of change known as contingency management. Mindfulness - body scan completed in session.
Session 6	Collaborative change process and behavioral chain activated. With the decrease in maladaptive coping, cognitions were presented (as identified in the behavior journals and chains). Cognitive Distortions reviewed. Mindfulness continued.
Session 7	Values Inventory completed to differentiate external versus internal motivators, and to establish behavioral plan for aligning values which elicited a process of self-reevaluation for Jamal. Goals reviewed and reestablished. Mindfulness continued.
Session 8	Explored Jamal’s decision by assessment of ambivalence (MI) and values. Values of family, health and sport were highest. This was built into pro/con list related to these values and transferring/staying. Mindfulness continued.
Session 9	Reviewed pro/con list and made edits in session. Discussed the importance and implications of transferring or staying. Connection of mind, body, soul/spirit was made as it pertained to his values.
Session 10	With improved insight, and following a family meeting, Jamal experienced an environmental reevaluation and came to session to discuss his decision to remain at the institution. Provided support in Jamal’s decision. Plan to continue with Mindfulness training biweekly-monthly.

Reflection on the intervention and outcomes

Rapport building, honesty, confidentiality, and continuous development of the working alliance proved to be essential in facilitating an effective overall intervention. Furthermore, case conceptualization using the SCSPP framework, particularly the elements of psychoeducation and eliciting the process of change when working with Jamal (Samuel & Tenenbaum, 2011a), was critical to fostering the environmental reevaluation and self-reevaluation. By taking a strength-based, interdisciplinary, and collaborative approach, the first author was able to effectively support Jamal in his decision to ultimately stay at the university while also offering specific skills and strategies to improve his long-term health and well-being.

Through this process, both authors learned the importance of building trust, visibility of sport psychology practitioners in their respective athletic environments and establishing relationships (e.g., attending games, practices, and events), case conceptualization when working with student-athletes in transition utilizing the SCSPP framework and developing an interdisciplinary treatment team. Due to the ongoing and rapid developments regarding NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, and NCAA policies, the authors were tasked with remaining current on how NIL would impact Jamal’s decision process. Being knowledgeable of these ongoing changes to policies within intercollegiate athletics was instrumental to finding ways to effectively support Jamal and tailor the interventions to meet his adapting needs.

Conclusion

The purpose of this case study was to conceptualize NIL as a career change event and share an intervention supporting an intercollegiate student-athlete in navigating this NIL-related transition. The case of Jamal highlights the significant impact that NIL has had on a student-athlete following the adoption of the July 2021 NIL policy by the NCAA, permitting most student-athletes to profit from their NIL. In working with and reflecting on the case of Jamal, it became apparent how sport psychology practitioners are uniquely positioned to help athletes prepare for NIL-related stressors and thus avoid a crisis-transition or provide support when the crisis symptoms have already emerged. Historically, student-athletes have entered sport psychology sessions to address anxiety/depression, performance issues, or other behavioral health issues. These presenting concerns have since evolved and expanded as they transition from student-athlete to businessperson. As part of this shift, sport psychology practitioners are able to provide a space where student-athletes can benefit from an objective space to address ambivalence about transferring or remaining at an institution, consider financial offers presented to them, and learn coping skills to manage the stress of these decisions.

Practitioners and those working within intercollegiate athletics will continue to see change-events, especially with the evolution of NIL, the utilization of the transfer portal, and conference realignment, placing a renewed emphasis on health and well-being while also forcing ongoing adjustment to remain current in this changing landscape. Practitioners are encouraged to seek continuing education in NCAA programming (e.g., financial literacy, mental health best practices) and consultation with compliance officers at member institutions. It is also imperative that interdisciplinary care is established in the delivery of services, that there is continued social advocacy around multicultural issues in sport, and that increased resources are allocated to support student-athletes as they navigate this significant change-event in intercollegiate athletics. To continue evaluating the impact of NIL on the intercollegiate athletic transition, future directions include the need for researchers to evaluate the impact these policies are having on student-athletes’ health and well-being.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific (Pac)-12, Southeastern Conference (SEC), and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) make up the Power 5. These are athletic conferences within the NCAA where member institutions are grouped based on arbitrary factors such as geographical location, institutional makeup (i.e., academic, demographic, etc.), or monetarily based on television contracts or other financial implications.

2 The F-1 Visa (most common for international student-athletes) allows international students to enter the United States as a full-time student at an accredited college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in a language training program. They must be enrolled in a program or course of study that culminates in a degree, diploma, or certificate and the school must be authorized by the U.S. government to accept international students.