Yes, it's pay for play. Yes, it's great for everyone
Winning football games is most effective marketing campaign the university could ever run. And this is the whole point of revenue sharing:
Yes, it's pay for play. And here's why that's great for athletes, universities, and donors 💸👇
The experts love to say: "NIL was supposed to be about marketing deals, not paying players to play!"
Hot take: Winning football games is most effective marketing campaign the university could ever run. And this is the whole point of revenue sharing: Universities pay athletes → Athletes win games → Winning drives millions in institutional value
So yes, the 'experts' are right, just misguided: Revenue sharing IS NIL. Revenue sharing IS pay for play. And yes, that's great!
Look at Indiana. Two years ago, IU football was an afterthought. Then Curt Cignetti showed up and started winning.
The results span far beyond Memorial Stadium:
- University Applications: +25%
- Athletic revenue: +20%
- Season tickets: +50%
- Athletic donations: +20%
That's not a coincidence. Football is the single best marketing arm for universities.
When an athlete is on the field, they're apart of the most effective marketing campaign the university could ever run:
- You hoisting the Rose Bowl trophy on ESPN for millions
- You helping a teen in LA decide they want to attend a school in Bloomington
This is why universities are highly invested in competitive college sports. Because the best marketing ROI isn't an Instagram post. It's a damn good football team.
This is also why investment in college Front Offices (GMs, data scientists) are rapidly increasing--and why tools like Dropback exist. Because building the best roster is *the* leading indicator to executing a high ROI university marketing campaign: winning.
It pays for your team to win. And winning players make great teams. And investing in elite processes to identify talent, measure value, and build competitive rosters is *the* most important investment of any program heading into 2026.
So, one last time for the 'experts': Revenue sharing is NIL. Pay for play IS NIL. And yes, that's great for everyone.
