Insider explains what's next for recruiting following elimination of National Letter of Intent

The NCAA Division I Council approved Wednesday to eliminate the National Letter of Intent program in what’s now the latest and perhaps biggest change to the world of recruiting.

Since 1964, the NLI program has been the seal of approval for schools during National Signing Day, but things will now look different in the future. According to a document obtained by On3, the NLI will be replaced by a new financial aid agreement and revenue share contract.

On3’s Pete Nakos sat down with Josh Newberg to discuss the seismic change and what could come next:

“It’s not canceled, but it’s going to look a lot different than we’ve gotten to know for the last, actually over 50 years now,” Nakos said. “Revenue sharing is coming to college sports, that’s supposed to start the 2025-26 academic year, so all the recruits we’re talking about right now, they’re going to be the first class who get the revenue sharing dollars.”

“The NCAA made this move today because they’re going to need to reshape and rethink what a binding agreement looks like for an athlete when so many dollars are attached, and that is why we’ve seen the National Letter of Intent go away. So there’s still going to be binding documents moving forward that need to be reshaped and rewritten, but for the time being, yes, the National Letter of Intent is officially dead as we know it.

“This was a necessary step to the end destination.”

Recruits will be prohibited from signing more than one valid aid agreement, and according to the document, recruiting must stop when an athlete signs with an institution. Early National Signing Day is set for Wednesday, Dec. 4. February’s National Signing Day is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.

With Early NSD less than two months away, what’s next?

The elimination of the NLI comes with the Early Signing Period for the 2025 cycle being less than two months away. As the House v. NCAA settlement remains on track to begin with the 2025-26 academic year, the incoming signees are entering a new era as the financial aid agreement and revenue sharing is set to replace the NLI.

Figuring out exactly what the December signing period will look like remains tricky, however, according to Nakos.

“I don’t think we know exactly what Dec. 4 — which is what, 10-11 weeks away at this point — is going to look like this year, especially with today’s decision,” he said. “The one thing that we will know though is athletes are obviously going to enroll in universities, athletes are always going to want to announce where they’re going to college, and in this age of NIL and soon-to-be revenue sharing, I think more and more we’re going to see athletes announce financial agreements, whether it be with a third-party collective or eventually with the institution.

“I think it’s going to be a lot more tricky. When athletes are making dollars from a collective or the institution that are revenue-sharing dollars, I think that’s when things get much more muddier than they already are.”