The Challenges of NIL: Balancing Student-Athlete Responsibilities in 2024

Pitt has had the last week off from game action, and that has given the team time to focus on finals week, among other things, amidst a busy season.

“First and foremost, I think they’ve done a really good job of taking care of academic stuff,” Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said about his team on Thursday. “That was our goal, to try to finish up strong. I think we’ve done that, we’ve been able to get in and get some practice, we’ve been able to get some really good rest, get some individual work. Today will be the first day when we start to really hone in on our opponent that we’re playing on Saturday. I think the break has been good for us. It came at a really good time after a tough stretch, and hopefully we can make it work for us.”

Capel’s team is currently 9-2, with big wins over Ohio State and West Virginia so far. The team’s NET ranking has been sky-high since the release of the first rankings in early December. On Friday, the Panthers were at No. 11 in the country.

“The main thing is that I wanted them to focus on exams, on finals. Their exams that they have, and papers, and presentations, on all of those things. I think, especially now, with NIL involved, sometimes we can be guilty — and we’re probably guilty too — the coaches, of remembering they’re students. This isn’t all the way professional yet. It’s close to it, but they do have a responsibility of being student athletes. But when we have extended periods of time, there is a disconnect I want them to have. Our season is very long, it encompasses two semesters. They don’t get the normal things — they aren’t normal students, so you don’t get a Thanksgiving break, you don’t get a fall break, like everyone mostly gets. You get a few days for Christmas, not what everyone gets, but it’s what we sign up for when we do this.”

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel in a press conference on Thursday, Dec. 19.

“Whenever we have a chance to have an extended break there is a period in there, or moments that I do want them to disconnect from basketball and just go be a student.”

A local reporter then asked Capel if he believes this year, college basketball feels more professional than last year.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “And I think it’s going to continue to go that way. Any time money is involved, especially a lot of money, the way it’s covered. I’ve watched some games, just had some games on TV, and some of the things I’ve heard the commentators say at times, it’s mind-blowing. I heard one commentator say the other day — I don’t remember what game it was, but — ‘this guy is getting paid too much to miss a shot like that.’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard that said in an NBA game, and I watch a lot of NBA. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that said.”

Kansas State’s basketball team has been a prime example of what Capel is speaking about. The Wildcats, coached by Jerome Tang, reportedly have an excellent NIL budget for their basketball team. However, the team is 6-4, and has lost two-straight games — including one to Drake, a mid-major team built on elite Division Two transfers who joined first-year head coach Ben McCollum this year at the D1 level.

“I can’t go on my phone without people wishing the worst for me,” K-State star transfer Coleman Hawkins said. “Not just for me, but for our team. It devastates me. I just went on my phone and saw someone say, ‘I hope you break your leg.’ That’s the kind of stuff that our team has been dealing with all year.”

In response to the Wildcats’ recent struggled, Bill Walker, a former Kansas State player, had this to say on social media about the team.

“The fans aren’t stupid,” Walker said. “You got paid, and they want production point blank, period!! Give the fans what they paid for!!!”

Kansas State’s coach, Tang, also spoke using similar words as Capel about the current college basketball landscape.

Jerome Tang on his message to the team when they see all the social media postings.

Mentions @franfraschilla 🔽

“They pay him way too much to miss that shot… I watch NBA games and they never say that about NBA players who make way more money than that.”@CoachJTang pic.twitter.com/CnqfFUPiX0

— Vince Lovergine (@Vince_Lovergine) December 18, 2024

“It’s covered differently, to a certain extent,” Capel continued. “I think you’re seeing some of the young people feeling the pressure. That’s what comes along with it — I think that’s the thing that a lot of people fail to discuss, or realize, or talk about, as we just opened the floodgates, really, without any guardrails on this, is the impact that this is going to have on young people. Over time, I think you’re starting to see some right now, but I don’t think you realize, it’s hard. One of the reasons you see a lot of professional athletes, when they’re done, they have a really hard time, they have a really, really hard time, and I think you’re going to start to see that even more on the college level now, because some of these guys, this will be the most [money] that they’ll make. I want them all to make it. But the responsibility of that. If you gave me money when I was 18 to 21, 22, I wasn’t equipped or prepared to handle all the things that come along with it. You’re going to see some of that as we go forward.”

The NIL market has been ever-changing since the inception of collectives boosters, and publicized deals. According to the NCAA’s NIL Assist platform, last year, men’s college basketball players made, on average, $65,853 for the year — the highest per-player average among any sport. The NCAA even pointed out in its data that the average power-four conference player (Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC) made $171,272 last year. Capel says, those numbers are still increasing.

“It’s changing,” he said about the NIL market. “Every year, it’s gone up. For the first time, this season, we’ve dealt with it with high-school seniors. I’m not saying we’re naive, we’re not naive, but we didn’t have to deal that with last year’s freshman class.”

Pitt brought in four-star prospects Jaland Lowe, Bub Carrington, and Papa Amadou Kante two classes ago, which Capel was referring to. In addition, Pitt brought in Marlon Barnes Jr.

“That was never part of the equation of us getting them,” Capel said. “It was something that was discussed after the fact, after they got here. We talked about, ‘We’re trying to do something, we think we will be able to do something,’ but it wasn’t a determining factor in us getting those guys. That’s completely gone now. So, that’s the first time we have seen it. Now, other people may have experienced it, especially when you’re recruiting top-20, top-ten, top-15 guys. But for us, this is the first time we’ve experienced that. I imagine then, when you get to March and April when the season is over with and you get into the portal, those numbers are going to be way higher than they were last year, just like they were way higher this year, this past spring and summer, than they were the previous year.”

Watch Capel’s full press conference here.