Recent Missouri Law Change Revolutionizes NIL

The state of Missouri passed a bill on Thursday that drastically changes NIL and recruiting for college football. The Tennessee Volunteers and others should pay close attention.

"Sell yourself." 

It's a common phrase used in each avenue of life. To convince someone that you have something they should want, you must present what you can offer them. In college football recruiting, you're convincing a prospect why they should attend your university. Those topics include pedigree, academics, NFL development, and recently, Name, Image, and Likeness, better known as NIL. The NCAA finally allowed athletes to monetize their brands after years of profiting off their efforts, but the rule changes weren't quite clear.

While schools are mandated to allow players to seek outside revenue, each program has a different approach to employing it. Some are investing resources in their booster clubs to ensure they can pay each athlete, which has swayed several high-profile recruitments. Everyone used that system during the first few years of NIL - schools pitched their collectives and boosters, but that was it. As college football frequently teaches us, it didn't stop there. Programs are now putting pressure on state legislatures to legalize other forms of NIL.

The state of Missouri is a shining example. The state government passed a bill that allows Missouri high school athletes to sign endorsement deals with companies as soon as they sign with an in-state school. College coaches are allowed to attend negotiations as a third party, a definite asset to Missouri schools. Florida lost out on 2023 four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada because a NIL promise fell through - it certainly would have helped if the Gators could have been present in those meetings.

Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz was in attendance when the bill was passed into legislation, along with several other Mizzou counterparts. All that's left to be done is for Governor Mike Parson to sign the bill into law, and the Tigers will get a massive advantage in recruiting their home state. Missouri is home to several high-major prospects in 2024, including defensive end Williams Nwaneri and wide receiver Ryan Wingo.

With national recruits beginning to come out of their state, Missouri recognized they needed an advantage. While the NCAA states that you can't pitch NIL in recruiting, this bill flies in the face of that, as have many others in recent months. Arkansas, Texas, and Colorado are all adopting similar laws to ensure they have the upper hand when trying to lock down their home states.

No one seems to know what NIL is, partly because the NCAA doesn't seem to know what it is. The schools that are challenging the rules and adopting new state legislature to maximize their pitches will certainly see themselves in more battles if other programs don't follow suit. However, others are bound to, which means we could see more major shake-ups in the NIL space quite soon.

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