Greg Sankey discusses 'brokenness' that's on the way with Name, Image and Likeness

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is in favor of Name, Image and Likeness deals that are done the right way.

However, he is also seeing several issues pop up with Name, Image and Likeness throughout college sports.

Sankey joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday and discussed the “brokenness” with NIL that could be on the way.

“You can see a Heisman trophy winner on advertisements. Somebody wins a Heisman, they go into Nissan ads. We have a gymnast in an athletic apparel clothing [deal]. We have a women’s basketball player sign with Reebok. Those are real Name, Image and Likeness activities,” Sankey said.

“At the same time now, we have a court case involving a former student-athlete who signed away much more of his rights than he understood. I have watched stories about collectives outside our footprints saying, ‘We can’t fulfill the agreements we’ve established.’ We’ve seen offers that have gone unfulfilled. Those aren’t talked about a lot.  That’s the brokenness that will come.”

There have been ongoing discussions behind the scenes about how to best manage NIL reform and the college landscape. Legislators are working in Washington, D.C. this week on that issue.

Greg Sankey believes that something needs to be done to fix some of the issues he is seeing around the country. That includes with high school recruiting and with transfers.

“Whether people want to hear it directly or not – collectives are shifting the oversight of athletics programs away from our campuses. That’s a reality. That’s not meant to be disagreeable, but we have worked hard to have our athletic programs led by university leaders – by presidents, chancellors, athletics directors. That means that those who have advocated for Name, Image and Likeness activity also have to reconcile that not every Name, Image and Likeness deal that’s’ represented is an actual Name, Image and Likeness deal,” Sankey said.

“So we’ve seen examples right now. … And I know the problems may not manifest themselves in attendance and TV ratings right now. … But the trailing indicators we have to deal with.”

Finally, Sankey said that it is important for schools and players to make sure that Name, Image and Likeness is done in a way that makes the most sense for everyone. He is hoping changes will take place soon that ensure that happens.

“We have to understand that not every circumstance around transferring leads to graduation. We have to understand that not every one of these deals that is struck and reported is actually fulfilled,” Sankey said. “And the more information that can be shared about those realities, I think the more people are going to have some very pointed questions about what is broken in this system at the present time.”