As of July 1, 2021, any college athlete from the three divisions of the NCAA can monetize their name, image and likeness, often referred to as NIL. With this put into motion, it now opens the door for athletes to entertain deals involving sponsorships and endorsements. Many have been tirelessly fighting for these athletes, making it remind us of the pioneers who paved the way for modern society in the United States. 

Unfortunately, the NIL rules and regulations have always been the cause of controversy, even having punished past athletes who didn’t abide by them. Now that the concept is legal, let us take a look at those who could have benefitted the most from the NIL 2021 rules had they been present within the former athlete’s timeline.           

First, former Florida Gators QB, Tim Tebow of the 2006-2009 dynamo he led under Urban Myer. In his four seasons in Gainesville, the 2007 Heisman winner completed 67.1% of his passes for a whopping 9,286 yards and 88 touchdowns. He rushed for 2,947 yards and 57 touchdowns in his 55 games played for the Gators. Out of the four years, he lost just seven games in his collegiate career. During one of those games, he delivered his iconic “I Promise” speech in defeat against Ole Miss. Once delivering those riveting words, he kept his promise and led his team to the National Championship that season.

In the time since then, Tebow has done nothing but benefit from marketing opportunities delivered from his “Tebowing movement” during his time with the Denver Broncos, to now having a clothing brand. Imagine what he could’ve done at the peak of his college career?

Staying on topic with college quarterbacks, another athlete who could have benefitted immensely from NIL is none other than Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel. From 2012-2013 in his short spurt of college football, “Johnny Football” was a household name. Few players have dominated on the college football scene quite as Manziel did with the Aggies. As a freshman, he completed 68.0% of his passes for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns. And as a true dual-threat quarterback, he racked up 1,410 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground. His best game that season came against No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where the Aggies won 29-24. Manziel would go on to win the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first freshman to do so. Known as "Johnny Football," Manziel registered the name as a trademark as well as “Money Manziel,” simultaneously complimented as a trademark in 2013. Unfortunately, his NFL career didn't quite pan out, but there's no denying the attention he demanded in his two years at Texas A&M would have put the “Money” in “Money Manziel.”

Switching gears a bit, as we look into the athletes who would have benefitted from NIL in college basketball, most recently the first person that comes to mind is none other than New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson. Zion was already a human highlight reel in high school, earning himself a verified Instagram account before having played a game at Duke. Not only that, but rapper Drake wore his high school jersey in public. If the rules were in place, Zion would have been able to turn a profit before stepping onto a college campus.

Once at Duke, however, his game translated onto the big stage. He was the consensus National Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-America selection. Zion even had former president, Barack Obama, in attendance for a rivalry game against North Carolina, which ended in Zion’s foot exploding out of his shoe. The incident caught so many eyes, Nike’s stock dropped one percent overnight, translating into potentially millions lost. It’s safe to say Zion would have likely had NBA-like earnings in college.

Another noteworthy college basketball NIL beneficiary would have been Michigan’s “Fab Five,” composed of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. They became the first starting lineup in the NCAA to be composed of all freshmen, contributing to merchandising and ticket sales to sky-rocket for the University.

Of course with no NIL rules being in place, the hopes of joining in on the profits were slim, however, a Disney documentary called “The Fab Five” help relinquish the lost success in these endeavors for the athletes. The name “Fab Five” screams merchandising and if only the NIL rules were existent within their timeline, they too would potentially be as rich as an NBA All-tar.

The college athlete who would arguably benefit the most from NIL has to be The University of Southern California’s legendary running back, Reggie Bush. Bush played for the Trojans from 2003 to 2005 and earned himself a feature as the cover athlete of wildly popular EA Sports’ 2007 NCAA Football game. Not only that, but once earning the Heisman Trophy, he was under scrutiny for “violating NCAA policies” causing Bush to forfeit the award in 2010 due to media pressure. This was in response to receiving benefits for his family as a college football player at USC. Now that the NIL rules have been updated, he has recently spoken out on these allegations, claiming that this is no longer a punishable offense and his trophy should be rightly reinstated. 

There’s no question that the NIL rules are a measure that was bound to happen. However, what now remains beyond the surface is whether or not these former athletes should be recompensed for the amount of profit they not only generated to their programs but their schools as well. At least it is now safe to say that from now on, any college jersey you see Drake wearing in public, that athlete is rightfully making a profit off it.