The debate on whether college athletes should receive financial compensation for their name, image and likeness is not a new one. However, despite lawsuits such as O’Bannon v. NCAA, little changed in the NCAA NIL rules until 2019, when states began to pass their own NIL laws that overrule the NCAA.
Pressured by these laws, the NCAA changed their NIL restrictions on July 1, 2021 — the same day new NIL laws went into effect in many states. College athletes can now make money off their personal brand for the first time in NCAA history.