Impact of NIL in College Football: You've Got to Wear Them to Sell Them

College athletes are going to be allowed to capitalize on their name, image, and likeness. Which means jersey sales are going to be a driving force in the future.

Whether you like it or not, college athletes will soon be able to capitalize on their own name, image, and likeness. And though the entirety of the regulations and rules have not been clarified by congress just yet, the expectation is to have something in place by the start of the 2021 academic year. 

So, what does that mean for recruiting powerhouses such as Georgia and other schools that recruit exclusively four and five-star players? Well, it means you're probably going to have to prove to them that their "brand," their name, image, and likeness will be best suited and marketed at your institution. 

Sure, the majority of that will still be based on winning. If you make it to the biggest games on the biggest stage, you provide your athletes with a bigger platform to promote themselves. 

However, the NIL ruling could certainly change some things. Like jerseys— assuming players will be able to cut a percentage of the sales. 

Georgia fans adore the team's black jerseys. So much so in fact that a standard 2007 Black Matthew Stafford jersey is selling for $207.77 right now on eBay. For comparison, a signed standard Jake Fromm jersey is selling for $219.99. 

The only thing is, Nike doesn't make the black jerseys anymore. Their method is simple, if you don't wear them, we don't sell them. Visit the Georgia team store over on Fanatics.com and you've got red and you've got white as options. 

And when Oregon walks into the house of a recruit in a few years, it's no longer going to be a discussion of "Hey, look at all these jersey combinations you're going to get to wear." Instead, it's going to be "Hey, look at all these jerseys we are selling." 

Kirby Smart's favorite line when asked about jerseys is, "Keep the main thing the main thing." And certainly, the main thing is winning. But recruiting is dang sure a close second in terms of importance at the University of Georgia. And if Smart hopes to continue to recruit at this astronomical pace he's currently at, he's going to need to adapt to the times that are coming. 

Even if that means wearing black when Bama comes to town instead of Louisiana Lafayette. 

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