UCLA Basketball: Chilling Status Report Provided On NIL Progress

Most colleges are flirting with the idea of bringing in NIL deals for student-athletes. The NCAA president even floated an idea of Division I schools offering a new competitive tier that would pay student-athletes $30,000 a year. Should this idea come into play, it would change things for schools like UCLA. 

The issue is that it does not appear as though the UCLA Bruins are open to the idea of the NIL deals being used to also court veteran players to schools. Head coach Mick Cronin was asked about the possibility that UCLA would be heading in that direction. 

“Not there,” he said. “There’s a big gap.”

Via Mick Cronin, LA Times

Sadly, it appears as though the NIL status of UCLA is not close to being done. The school could greatly benefit from it though, as there are plenty of student-athletes that are popular.

Take Adem Bona for instance. Despite the Bruins having a less-than-great season, Bona has been a shining aspect of this team. Ethan Garbers is another player who could likely garner some NIL interest, especially after he helped the Bruins win the LA Bowl.

Despite there being the right type of talent at UCLA to garner these types of deals, the school is just not ready to invest in student-athletes in that manner. The hope is that something can be worked out in the near future that would also help the school's recruiting process become more fruitful.