Jay Bilas: NIL has led more athletes to stay in school

NIL had a major influence on the decisions of players choosing to stay in college or leave for the pros this offseason. It’s been the first offseason where college players didn’t have to choose between amateurism or the money of the pro route. ESPN’s Jay Bilas thinks it’s made that call a lot easier for players to make.

Bilas broke down the benefits of NIL in a recent article. He says it has removed the gamble side of that decision for the players during their proess.

“Before NIL, the choice to remain in college or join the true “pay for play” professional ranks was a black and white, all or nothing decision. An athlete could choose to stay in school and earn no money, or leave school to earn money,” said Bilas. “With NIL, players now have the option to continue their education and earn money, and many have chosen to do so.”

Bilas has covered college basketball for ESPN since 1995. In that sport alone, NIL has helped secure the return of multiple top players who could have turned pro. Some examples includes North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis. After the seasons they all had last year, all four would normally have turned pro. With NIL, they didn’t have to bank on the NBA money to make their best decision.

While this is just the impact of one year, its effects could reach even more top players moving forward. Bilas sees it as a win-win scenario for all parties involved. The players can make a comfortable decision about their futures while their schools get to keep their star talent.

“The full numbers are unclear at this stage, but the examples are many. For those that champion education, this is a major positive,” Bilas said. “To have any athlete choose to continue his or her education, for whatever reason, can only be seen as a positive if one truly believes in education. In addition, the school benefits by having the athlete for another year.”

NIL reached it’s one year anniversary yesterday on July 1st. While unbalanced at times, it has had success thus far meeting it’s main goal of paying players their due. Getting them to return to college is just the added benefit of that.