July 1st marks the one-year anniversary of college athletes finally being allowed to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL), something that literally every other person in America is allowed to do without regulation or restriction. Until a year ago, college athletes were limited to a scholarship and stipend due to the NCAA's "principle of amateurism." Their sports were to be pursued for the "love of the game" and nothing more, even while the administrators of the game turned college sports into a multibillion dollar entertainment industry that generates over $19 billion per year.
A year ago, the NCAA was forced to give up on amateurism -- a principle that has never been defined -- due to numerous state laws being passed allowing athletes NIL rights and a devastating, unanimous loss before the United States Supreme Court in the Alston case in which the NCAA was again ruled to be a federal antitrust violator.