ATLANTA — Once upon a time, whispered tales of improper benefits involved $50 handshakes. A booster would shake a college athlete’s hand and share more than warm greetings. The All-American Hugh McElhenny, who played at Washington 70 years ago, offered a variation: “A wealthy guy puts money under my pillow every time I score a touchdown. I can’t afford to graduate.”
McElhenny’s line is cited by Justice Neil Gorsuch in the unanimous June 2021 Supreme Court decision — NCAA v. Alston et al — that changed college sports. Lead plaintiff Shawn Alston, a little-remembered running back for West Virginia, is now to collegians as Curt Flood was to MLB players. Flood’s case opened the gates for free agency. Alston’s case made NIL money the currency of collegiate sports.
In upholding the 2014 O’Bannon v. NCAA decision, the Supremes ruled the NCAA could affix no limit to NIL money. For the rights to his/her name/image/likeness, an athlete can earn whatever the market will bear. Who’d have guessed that the market would bear so much so soon?
