An NIL expert predicts a minimum salary of $ 50,000 for Power 5 players WGN Radio 720

Footballers and men’s basketball players who receive scholarships at one of the major conferences can expect to soon earn at least $ 50,000 each year he plays, due to the inflow of money from so-called booster teams that deal with transactions by name, image and similarity.

This forecast, based on market trends, was made this week by Blake Lawrence, co-founder and CEO of a company that helps athletes and schools navigate the ever-changing NIL landscape.

The increase in the amount of dollars available to college athletes through the recent formation of teams has caught the attention of the NCAA, which this week issued recommendations to schools in hopes of maintaining NIL’s original intention to compensate.

College sports leaders are concerned that some teams have gone beyond paying athletes for activities such as recommendations and performances, and have violated the ban on paying for the game by offering cash to influence athletes ’decisions about where to go to school. NCAA regulations prohibit boosters from coming into contact with potential recruits.

Lawrence co-founded Opendorse in 2012 to facilitate deals for professional athletes. The former Nebraska footballer was one of the advisors who worked with the NCAA on shaping NIL policy, and he expanded his campaign to give college athletes the opportunity to earn their fame and developed conservation technology that allows schools to track transactions.

Lawrence based his minimum of $ 50,000 a year on the player on the assumption that booster teams send about $ 5 million annually to NIL pools and that some of the money will go to athletes in other sports. More than half of the 65 Power Five schools, including Notre Dame, have teams that support NIL.

Michael Leroy, a professor of labor law at the University of Illinois who is researching college athletes ’compensation, said Lawrence’s prediction is correct.

“It’s an overheated market,” Leroy said, “and it really reflects the delayed demand for player pay.”

Lawrence said the best five-star rookie could have a NIL earning potential of more than $ 1 million a year given the money coming from outside the team, especially if he is a defender. The four-star recruits could well earn in six-figure numbers.

But even a lower-ranking rookie in a less glamorous position will be well compensated – one who earns $ 50,000 – because the booster team will take care of that to keep the peace in the team, Lawrence said.

“If a whole class comes to campus and they’re all fellows, and one person earns a six-figure and another earns zero dollars, it will lead to a split,” Lawrence said. “What these groups have done in certain markets is understood to be about equality. Everyone in this locker room will receive some support to ensure equality at the grassroots level. And there may be added value for the most marketable and influential people in each recruiting class. ”

How long Booster bands choose to fund NIL’s capabilities is debatable.

Jason Belzer, a lawyer and founder of Student-Athlete NIL, who worked with Penn State and Rutgers to create teams, said that setting a fair market value for athletes is a moving goal, and that for athletes who receive money, it is important to provide real services in return.

Belzer cited an example where every SEC school has a team, $ 10 million a year goes to footballers. He said members of the team supporting the team that finished last may be disappointed and regret about funding NIL.

“They’ll say, ‘Well, I’m not going to invest any more because my investment hasn’t paid off.’ I didn’t get my name on the building. Otherwise I didn’t get access to anything. And wait a second. Now I don’t want this coach anymore, but I just gave all the money to the student-athletes, I can’t even pay to buy the guy back, ”Belzer said.

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AP College Sports Writer Ralph D. Rousseau contributed.

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