📚 How The NIL Is Draining Tech Budgets in the NCAA: A Growing Crisis and What to Do About It

The introduction of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) in July 2021 transformed college athletics from a one-sided economic structure to a marketplace where athletes could finally monetize their value. However, this long-overdue reform has produced unintended financial and strategic consequences, especially for smaller and mid-tier NCAA programs. The pressure to compete in the NIL era is forcing some programs to tap into essential technology and performance budgets, undermining athlete care, long-term development, and innovation pipelines.

This analysis explores the real-world effects of NIL on NCAA tech investments, presents two university case studies, and outlines what the NCAA and institutions must do to restore balance between competitive recruiting and athlete wellbeing.

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How NIL Is Disrupting Tech Budgets and Donor Flows in NCAA Athletics

Top football and basketball recruits are commanding six- and seven-figure NIL deals—with some freshmen reportedly asking for upwards of $1–2 million just to consider committing. These market dynamics, fueled by NIL collectives (independent booster-led fundraising organizations), have created a seismic shift in internal resource allocation:

• Donors and boosters are redirecting funds previously earmarked for sports tech infrastructure, recovery rooms, biometric monitoring tools, or staff hires to NIL pools.

• Some athletic directors and performance leads report direct pressure from leadership to scale back on performance tech purchases in order to reallocate those budgets toward recruiting-related NIL expenses.

• In many smaller programs, tech and performance innovation budgets are being frozen or entirely eliminated, resulting in a competitive disadvantage not just in recruiting but in actual athlete development and injury prevention.

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Here are below some fictitious case studies of how the NIL is impacting NCAA programs. The point here is the illustrate how NCAA programs’ tech budgets are being impacted by the NIL:

CASE STUDY 1: NCAA Football Team – Tech Cuts to Fund NIL Promises

A NCAA Football program had built a reputation over the past decade as an innovator in athlete performance and recovery. The school used Catapult GPS tracking, force plates, and individualized sleep monitoring for players.

However, by the 2023–2024 season, the program’s entire $300,000 annual tech and innovation budget was suspended to help fulfill a collective-driven NIL pool aimed at attracting two four-star quarterback recruits.

Impacts:

• The sports science director resigned in protest.

• Player injuries increased by 22% year-over-year.

• Three top defensive players transferred out due to what they perceived as “outdated facilities and care.”

The two quarterbacks split starts, and neither stayed longer than one season.

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Why This Matters: The Downstream Impact of Tech Budget Cuts

Tech cuts don’t just limit innovation—they degrade the quality of care, increase risk, and ultimately hurt the athletes NIL aims to empower. Here's how:

• Injury Risk Increases: Without proper load monitoring (e.g., via Catapult, Kinexon, or force plates), overtraining and fatigue injuries rise, especially in high-intensity sports like football and basketball.

• Slower Rehabilitation: Fewer resources for diagnostics (e.g., hamstring testing, motion capture) lead to extended recovery windows and reinjury.

• Athlete Experience Declines: When players no longer have access to individualized nutrition, sleep tracking, or modern recovery methods (e.g., cryo, BFR, pulsed EMF), they feel less supported—impacting performance and retention.

• Program Reputation Suffers: In today’s social media age, players talk. If word spreads that a school lacks investment in modern performance care, it becomes harder to attract not just players, but coaches and practitioners.

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CASE STUDY 2: NCAA Women’s Basketball Program – Donor Fatigue Hits Performance Budget

A respected mid-sized Division I program in the South, had made consistent NCAA tournament appearances in women’s basketball and was lauded for its use of sports science and recovery tech. In 2021, they invested in sleep analytics (WHOOP/Oura), Kinven’s force diagnostics, and even built a small athlete neurofeedback lab.

In 2024, the team lost its top recruit to a Power Five school offering a $500,000 NIL package. In response, this NCAA program launched its own NIL collective—and it worked: they secured three high-profile high school recruits.

However, 80% of the new NIL collective funds came from the school’s existing network of performance donors. These donors declined to support new equipment purchases or travel for the sports science team in 2025.

Consequences:

• Athlete sleep tracking and nutrition programs were paused.

• Recovery time post-games increased from 48 to 72 hours.

• Despite the new talent, the team’s tournament run ended early due to player fatigue and injuries.

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How a Freshman NIL Cap Could Create Balance

To preserve the core mission of college athletics and protect long-term player wellbeing, the NCAA could introduce reasonable regulation for incoming athletes—specifically:

• Cap Year 1 NIL compensation to a maximum % of scholarship value or a fixed amount (e.g., $100,000 cap) with performance-based escalators for Years 2–4.

• Allow bonuses for GPA, on-field performance, or team impact, aligning compensation with accountability.

• Require transparency and reporting of NIL collectives, helping athletic departments track overall fundraising flows and maintain budgetary balance.

This cap wouldn't eliminate player earnings—it would create structure and sustainability while preventing predatory recruitment cycles that damage institutions and athletes alike.

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Tech Budget Cuts = Lower Quality Programming and Player Care

The short-term effect of redirecting budgets to NIL deals is already being felt:

• Reduced access to injury prevention tools (e.g., force plate diagnostics, motion capture, sleep science).

• Fewer staff hires in critical areas such as nutrition, psychology, strength and conditioning, or load monitoring.

• Slower innovation cycles, leading to outdated practices, higher injury risk, and less precise training.

• Athlete trust and retention may decline, as the quality of care and development they receive fails to match promises made during recruitment.

In essence, players might get more money up front but receive a poorer developmental and health experience—a paradox that undermines both the individual and the program's long-term success.

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What the Future of NIL Might Look Like

If left unchecked, NIL could lead to:

• A two-tier NCAA system: Power programs operate like professional teams, while smaller schools struggle to survive competitively.

• Disbanded internal sports science teams as tech becomes viewed as “non-essential.”

• Private performance vendors replacing school infrastructure, but without integration or long-term planning.

• Increased injuries and burnout, shortening player careers and damaging school reputations.

But with smart regulation, the future could be far more optimistic:

• Schools adopt hybrid NIL models that support athletes financially while investing in lifelong performance and wellness.

• Donor and collective systems bifurcate, allowing designated gifts for performance, education, and innovation alongside NIL funds.

• Tech vendors offer co-branded NIL deals, turning performance analytics and recovery tools into part of a recruit's branding story.

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Recommendations for NCAA Programs

1. Advocate for freshman NIL caps through conferences or third-party regulatory bodies.

2. Create protected tech endowments, where donors fund performance tools and staff with guarantees the money won't be diverted.

3. Educate donors and collectives on the downstream value of investing in health, recovery, and innovation—not just talent acquisition.

4. Involve players in the tech process, showing how tools like sleep tracking, nutrition testing, or GPS systems directly improve their performance—and branding.

5. Partner with sports tech vendors who offer flexible pricing or activation campaigns that enhance player development and NIL value simultaneously.

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Conclusion

The NIL era is an essential evolution in college athletics—but without checks and strategy, it risks undermining the very ecosystem that helps athletes thrive. For many programs, the hidden cost of NIL is not financial—it's the slow erosion of performance standards, wellness infrastructure, and competitive edge. The solution is not to roll back NIL, but to introduce smart regulation, cap risk for younger athletes, and protect critical investments in player care and innovation.

By taking action now, the NCAA can foster a future where athletes win—not just in dollars, but in health, performance, and longevity.

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