NCAA President Proposes Change In NIL That Could Impact UCLA

The college world was completely changed when it was announced that student-athletes could receive NIL deals related to companies using their name, image, and likeness. Top earners like Bronny James from USC are looking to make millions of dollars before they even hit the pro level. Now, the NCAA president has proposed a new deal that could impact UCLA and many other programs. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker sent an open letter to over 350 Division I teams that stated the idea moving forward is to introduce a new tier of competitive tier that would provide student-athletes with a year $30,000 payment, but they would still compete with the entirety of the Division I teams. 

While this is a huge idea that would benefit many of the student-athletes who don't hold the same notoriety as someone like Bronny James, it might also cause issues with UCLA being able to afford that many payments. The same can be said for other Divison I teams who may not be rolling in the kind of money that would cover a multitude of athletes at $30,000. 

It would also be a bit strange to see how this tier would go about being made. They still remain in Division I, but they also have their own tier. Would this mean that the competitive NIL would also battle it out for another different kind of championship? 

This would mean that some programs would also not be able to get in should they not be able to afford those payments. This might sound like an idea that benefits student-athletes and NIL, but it also sounds like it might not be easy to achieve from a logistical standpoint. 

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