The College Sports Commission's latest report made one thing clear: deals involving collectives and other school-linked parties now make up most of the NIL money flowing through its NIL Go clearinghouse. So what's the difference between those deals and the ones fans and local businesses make with athletes? Let's break it down.
Quick refresher: what NIL Go is
NIL Go is the clearinghouse the CSC launched last summer. The CSC was created to enforce the rules of the House v. NCAA settlement, and Division I athletes are required to submit NIL deals worth more than $600 through it. CSC staff and outside lawyers review deals to make sure they represent fair market value for a valid business purpose, rather than pay-for-play in disguise.
It's separate from revenue sharing, which is money schools pay athletes directly, up to a cap.
Two kinds of deals
Associated entity deals. These involve parties closely tied to a school, like collectives, and certain other partners connected to athletics, such as multimedia rights holders and apparel sponsors. These deals get extra scrutiny: they need specific deliverables and fair market value, not a blank check. Front Office Sports reported that 78% of deals submitted between Jan. 1 and the end of February involved associated entities, up from 54% in November and December.
Everything else. A pizza shop paying a quarterback for a social post. A brand signing a guard for a campaign. These still need to clear if they're over the threshold, but in our view the question is usually simpler: what's the athlete doing, and is the price reasonable?
What the CSC is watching for
The commission has flagged a few red flags in recent months:
- Warehousing: offering athletes a specific amount of money without specifying which deals they'll have to complete
- Unreported deals: the CSC has opened inquiries into whether athletes at LSU and Nebraska failed to report third-party NIL deals
- Pay-for-play: deals that don't reflect fair market value for a valid business purpose
Where fans fit
Fan purchases from athletes look a lot more like the "everything else" category than the collective model. A fan buys a shoutout, a video, or a collectible. The athlete delivers it. The exchange is visible and specific.
That clarity matters. CSC CEO Bryan Seeley has said NIL Go wasn't designed with this many associated-entity deals in mind, and those are the ones slowing reviews down.
A few practical notes for athletes and families, based on what the rules say (and not legal advice):
- Know the $600 reporting threshold and check with your school's compliance office on how it applies to your activity.
- Keep records of what you delivered and what you were paid.
- Be wary of anyone promising big guaranteed money without clear deliverables.
The bigger picture
For years, NIL headlines have been dominated by collectives and seven-figure recruiting packages. That's still a big part of the story. But the rules now in place reward something simpler: real work, real value, clearly documented.
That's good news for athletes who want to build a direct relationship with fans, and for fans who'd rather engage with players they follow than just read about deals made behind closed doors.