In the United States of America, there is a major dilemma occurring in the present moment with a form of entertainment and competition that is something unique to one of the most referenced countrieson the globe. The situation requires a high number of colleges and universities throughout the nation to pay student-athletes enrolled at their institutions a fair, working salary for the services they provide in representing their schools in athletic events broadcast to millions of people who watch them compete seasonally.
This truth now applies to schools whose athletic programs are members of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) because of the House settlement, which was a major court case ruling that occurred on Jun 6, 2025. The paying student-athletes provision of the case was implemented nationwide at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.
As for NCAA Division II student-athletes and those in different collegiate athletic associations, the story is a little different. Luka Brancato lives this different reality as a pitcher on the baseball team at Concordia University Irvine, a private Lutheran college in Irvine, Calif whose athletics programs are mostly in Division II, where paying student-athletes on a payroll basis is currently prohibited.
Brancato says that there is not “much profitability and marketability” when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness(NIL) for Division II programs and he thinks that NIL funding at the Division I level is a “total disaster” for college athletics.
“For me, I am in favor of NIL as long as it comes from actual marketability of the athlete”, Brancato said. “A lot of players are getting paid who are not profitable and sometimes just taking up a roster spot. I totally get athletes getting money they deserve and sometimes it feels like it’s just given to them.”
The incentive for smaller schools to embrace NIL funding is possible due to many states throughout the country passing laws where their legislatures can set the amount of funds specific schools can receive for compensating student-athletes through any advertising or social media campaign that they decide to capitalize on.
As the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance at CUI, Andrea Riche has a lot of things to balance when it comes to informing student-athletes and coaches about the “ongoing changes/proposals of NCAA DII compliance.”
According to Riche, since NIL deals for student-athletes became legalized in the 2021-22 school year, there have been 137 reported NIL deals by players at Concordia University Irvine.
“Across the board, DII institutions have been somewhat surprised at the low percentage of student-athletes that are interested in pursuing NIL”, Riche said. But she also added that “we have seen an increase in DII schools signing with third-party companies that provide custom NIL sportwear, licensed college apparel and merchandise.”
Riche stated that increase in third-party cooperation has “allowed student-athletes to become more involved in NIL than they have before” and that she believes the primary income for Division II student-athletes in the near future “will continue to be NIL marketplaces and third-party companies”.
Despite the NIL possibilities available, Brancato has declined a couple of marketing offers from “a couple of smaller companies”. Brancato hopes that in five years, NCAA Division II athletics “stay in a similar spot but also are able to grow.”
“It’s crucial for D2 to continue amateurism because D2 athletics would cease to exist. These schools do not have enough overhead to pay athletes like employees and to keep the school running would have to cut sports. The whole reason the NCAA exists is to retain kids in college through athletics,” Brancato said.
The map above shows an updated list of states who have either signed laws regulating NIL, have proposed NIL laws in their state legislatures, or have no NIL laws proposed or signed yet. Courtesy of NSCA College Recruiting
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