What Really is NIL? Learning the From LSU Blueprints

Isabelle Callahan

In the new era of NIL, the flash, the fame and something never seen before, LSU is in a class of its own with the way they are innovating and bringing in multimillion-dollar deals for athletes that walk the halls of the sacred facility.

When you see the swoop, one thing comes to mind: Nike. The iconic brand that millions across the globe wear every day for leisure, and a brand known for cultivating the newest and most cutting-edge athletic clothing. Inside of that are 10 LSU athletes who got the opportunity of a lifetime.

Derek Curiel, Outfielder Baseball

Kailin Chio, Gymnast

Tori Edwards, Utility Softball

Casan Evans, P Baseball

Trey’Dez Green, TE Football

Jayden Heavener, P Softball

ZaKiyah Johnson, G Basketball

DJ Pickett, DT Football

Jurnee Robinson, OH Volleyball

Dedan Thomas Jr., G Basketball

The high-caliber athlete, mixed with the name of LSU that carries around, helps facilitate the most sought-after deals in college athletics.

Across six sports, these athletes are known not only for repping the swoosh but also for helping shape it, with the way they represent the pride of LSU and the love for the letters across the jersey.

But what really is there to know about NIL? In this brand new world of money being thrown around, there is no need to be flown to private hotel rooms to sign autographs and chunks of cash. This is something never seen before, so here’s a little bit about what you need to know.

For decades, athletes were all told the same thing: you are not allowed to make money and profit from college athletics, it would compromise “amateurism”. In 2021, that rule was cracked, and since then it has shifted the entire world of college athletics – but not always apparent to the athletes it’s affecting.

At its core, NIL helps athletes earn money by licensing their personal brand through companies that see the opportunity to influence people to buy a product. Here is what NIL is not: the school’s direct payment to a player, pay-for-play, or guaranteed money for being on a roster. Schools still cannot directly write a check to the athletes to play for them, but the line between NIL compensation and recruiting incentives has become a very blurry one that is still being navigated.

Athletes receiving NIL deals are required to report deals over $600, but most of the high-dollar deals typically go to quarterbacks or highly followed athletes on social media. The high-caliber athlete, mixed with the name of LSU that carries around, helps facilitate the most sought-after deals in college athletics.

Here is how athletes can earn NIL: brand endorsements, social media posts across any platform, camps and clinics, or collectives. Now, despite headlines about seven-figure deals, most athletes earn only a modest amount from brand deals unless they have a high likelihood of success in college sports.

NIL collectives have become the most common, influential and controversial. Alumni typically fund these systems and boosters, who offer NIL opportunities, often tied to charity work and appearances for athletes at LSU-sponsored events.

What athletes aren’t told enough is that NIL is treated as income; many receive 1099 forms and are considered independent contractors, and without proper guidance from a trusted adult or school, many students are hit with unexpected tax bills.

Ask coaches and administrators, and they’ll insist it is entirely separate, but talk to any prospective athlete. The answer might be different because, at the end of the day, as an athlete makes the final decision to commit to a school, NIL opportunities play a significant role in that decision.

The bottom line, NIL has empowered athletes, exposed unique inequities and accelerated the professionalism of college sports. With every opportunity it has created, confusion has followed in this entirely different world.

For college athletes, NIL isn’t just about making money, protecting your rights and navigating a system that’s still writing its own rules that never stop changing. For LSU, the name itself carries a weight far greater than itself and continues to push the envelope in allowing athletes to make a mark on the athletic world, one deal at a time.