NCAA data dashboard offers treasure trove of NIL insights

Even in its nascent form, the NCAA’s new data dashboard – which was unveiled Thursday and includes aggregated NIL data – offers a treasure trove of intriguing insights. 

Working with NIL service provider Teamworks, the NIL Assist platform connects athletes with service providers, tracks disclosures of NIL activities and provides access to evolving trends across the industry.

The public database – which does not identify athletes by name – is a nod toward injecting some transparency into a three-year-old NIL space that has been defined by a scarcity of reliable transaction data. That transparency has been a priority for NCAA President Charlie Baker.

The NCAA is also seeking to get a handle on what it calls “fair market value” for NIL deals, an element addressed in the 100-plus pages of the long-form House v. NCAA settlement agreement. 

The information displayed in the database as of Aug. 1 includes data submitted by members who elected to share their data from the 2023-24 academic year. Beginning Aug. 1, it includes self-reported data from active Division I institutions and Division II and III schools that sponsor a Division I sport as required by NCAA bylaws. 

This real-time data dashboard will obviously change over time, as more information is disclosed. The aggregated data has identifying information removed but illuminates trends about NIL agreements. It includes the valuable ability to sort by a multitude of filters, including subdivision, sport, player position and type of NIL deal.

What does NCAA NIL data reveal?

Here is a just a sampling of some of the interesting insights gleaned from the data:

• Data reported from Jan. 1 through Sunday include 37.3% of disclosures from football, 15.4% from men’s basketball and 8.2% from women’s basketball.
  
• The average total earnings per Power Four conference football and men’s basketball player? $89,643.
  
• The average total earnings per Power Four athlete in sports other than football and men’s basketball? $7,504.
  
• For Power Four football players, the average athlete earnings per player was $76,740.
  
• The average per P4 quarterback? $151,275. The average per Group of Five quarterback? $20,961.
  
• For P4 quarterbacks, the average total earnings per athlete for autograph deals was $201,203. For social media-focused deals – $258,218.
  
• For P4 football players overall, the average earnings for social media-focused deals? $146,068.
  
• For P4 men’s basketball players, the average earnings per athlete was $171,272. For P4 women’s basketball players? $16,222.

One of the most striking takeaways from the long-form House settlement was the NCAA’s continued desire to curtail the ability of collectives to provide so-called pay-for-play compensation packages to athletes for recruiting and retention efforts. 

As part of the settlement, athletes will be required to report deals of more than $600 with third-party collectives to a newly created clearinghouse. If deals are not deemed to be “true NIL” transactions, athletes could lose eligibility and schools could be fined.