College sports are generating real money, and athletes are finally able to profit from their name, image and likeness. Five years after the NCAA opened the door to NIL compensation, players can earn from schools, donors, collectives, brands and their own audiences.
That change was supposed to answer the old criticism that student-athletes could generate commercial value for their schools while receiving nothing in compensation. The legal fight that helped open the door, O’Bannon v. NCAA, ended with antitrust scrutiny of the compensation rules and a path toward monetization.
But the market that emerged is still missing one of the basics of any honest exchange: transparency. Blake Lawrence, a former college football linebacker and co-founder of Opendorse, said 'information is necessary to create a fair market.' He said 67% of school compensation tracked by his company goes to athletes without agents.
The numbers show how fast the market is moving. College football kickers have begun using informal group chats and social media to compare offers, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The report said starting kickers at Power Four schools are averaging roughly $225,000 this season, up from 60.9% from a year earlier, with some getting as much as $600,000.
Even so, Lawrence said college sports still lacks the financial plumbing that would make prices more honest. An athlete’s total package can include school payments, collective money, brand deals and other commercial arrangements, but there is no NFL-style centralized database containing every contract.
That matters because leverage depends on information. In professional sports, historical contracts are available to teams and agencies, giving both sides a cleaner basis for negotiation. In college sports, players and their representatives often have to guess where the market sits, especially when a player is highly skilled but not widely known.
Lawrence said earning potential in NIL comes down to two things: athletic ability and social media reach. He described some athletes as 'anomalies' when those two forces combine. He pointed to former LSU gymnast and social media influencer Livvy Dunne and former Heisman Trophy winner and current NFL player Travis Hunter as examples.
Representation is becoming more valuable for the same reason. An agent with multiple athletes can gather information across schools and negotiations, which can improve bargaining power. That is not a flaw of competition; it is what happens when a market is real but incomplete.
The broader lesson is simple. College athletes may have won the right to earn, but many still do not know what the next player is making. Without better disclosure, the market cannot fully reward talent, and the people with the least information will keep getting the weakest deal. Capital rewards clear rules. Right now, college sports still do not have them.
