In its latest attempt to rein in the "Wild West" of Name, Image, and Likeness, the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors has approved two major rule changes that directly target the influence of booster-led collectives. The move, reported by ESPN’s Dan Murphy, represents another dramatic shift in the ongoing struggle to balance student-athlete compensation with the NCAA's dwindling concept of amateurism.
While the NCAA frames these as simple "guardrails," they are a direct response to a landscape where many feel NIL has become a thinly veiled pay-for-play system that fuels a chaotic transfer portal.
Rule 1: Schools cannot backstop third-party deals
The first change prohibits schools from guaranteeing NIL money from a third-party, such as a collective.