NCAA Approves New NIL Agent Portal

Aims to increase transparency for the protection of student-athletes

On Wednesday, January 10, during the NCAA Convention in Phoenix, AZ, the NCAA DI Council approved new NIL regulations. Unlike NIL regulation efforts of the past, generally aimed at curtailing player inducement and “pay-for-play” practices, the NCAA has taken a more player-centric approach. NCAA leadership, under new President Charlie Baker, focused these reforms on a guiding principle of promoting transparency in an effort to protect student-athletes – this increased transparency is largely concentrated on NIL service providers.

One notable change approved by the NCAA DI Council is the creation of a new voluntary portal for NIL service providers. This new NCAA-sponsored portal will include agents, financial advisors, and anyone else who provides NIL-related services to student-athletes. Student-athletes will then be able to review those who register with the NCAA portal.

All new NCAA policies approved at the convention will go into effect on August 1st; however, there is no clear indication of when this new portal will become available to student-athletes. While the details of the portal are murky, the ability for student-athletes to openly discuss things such as services provided, rates, and overall competency of NIL service providers in a relatively unregulated space can help weed out predatory actors and ease the process for student-athletes to find a reputable agent.

In theory, this will enable those in the NIL space to gain legitimacy via the portal and will allow student-athletes easier access to finding trustworthy agents and the ability to seek recourse for any potential misdoings of NIL agents. For anyone who has used rating websites like Yelp, it is evident that rating manipulation, both positive and negative, is a legitimate concern. It will be interesting to see how those in the NIL space respond to such a portal. The NCAA has another six months to troubleshoot these concerns and promote this platform to its student-athletes and service providers. Without buy-in from both sides, the portal is only helpful to the NCAA’s image.