Since 2021, college athletes in the USA have been allowed to earn money with their name, image, and personality. The so-called NIL deals (Name, Image, Likeness) have revolutionized college basketball – with some serious consequences. The identity of small programs is in danger of disappearing, talent is being poached, and even March Madness is losing its magic. Only the National Casino Bonuses will never lose their magic.
From the exception to the rule: what’s behind NIL
When the US Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that college athletes could be compensated for their performances, it was a milestone – especially for justice. From then on, players were allowed to sign advertising deals, do merchandising, and even earn millions. However, what initially seemed like progress for the rights of athletes also had its downsides.
The idea of college basketball – developing talent, growing together over the years, surprising as a team – has faltered. The reality today is much more transactional. Whoever pays, wins. And if you can’t keep up, you lose – players, games, and identity.
The power of the big players: How NIL is shifting the balance
The biggest problem: equal opportunity is almost nonexistent. Big programs with budgets in the millions can simply poach top talent from mid-majors through the transfer portal and lucrative NIL offers. It used to be normal for small teams to grow together for years, causing surprises in March. Unforgotten: Saint Peter’s from New Jersey, which eliminated Kentucky (2-seed) and Purdue (3-seed) as a 15-seed in 2022 and sensationally reached the Elite Eight. Or Steph Curry, who made a magical journey to the quarterfinals with 10-seed Davidson in 2008. Today, those Cinderella stories are becoming rarer.
Saint Peter’s beats Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen.
In 2025, for the first time in the tournament’s history, not a single mid-major team made it to the Sweet 16. Instead, programs from the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 dominated – with one common denominator: money.
Players as brands: Why many put the NBA dream on the back burner
In the past, the G-League or Europe was an option to earn money. Today, many NCAA players prefer to stay in college because they earn more there through NIL deals. This also has positive aspects: Stars like Zach Edey or Armando Bacot stayed in college longer than previous generations because it’s financially rewarding. The example of Cooper Flagg shows just how lucrative this can now be: the Duke freshman is said to have earned around 28 million US dollars in his only season at college.
But the effect is also clear: talented players from smaller leagues move to big schools because the NIL offer is more attractive there. The transfer market is full of stars who were heroes “at home”. Now they are part of a system in which they seem interchangeable.
This dynamic also affects German basketball. In the BBL, clubs are increasingly losing their best young players to college – not because of the sporting level, but because of the NIL payments. Players such as Amon Dörries (Alba Berlin), Hannes Steinbach (Würzburg), Elias Rapieque (Alba Berlin), Ivan Kharchenkov (Bayern Munich) and Sananda Fru (Braunschweig) have already opted for college. The chance of an academic education combined with six or even seven-figure annual salaries at a young age is simply too tempting. Steinbach is also one of them, drawn to the University of Washington – where Detlef Schrempf, Chris Welp, and Patrick Femerling once enjoyed their education. “At the moment, college is the best choice,” he says.
This development is also reflected in the transfer statistics. Never before have so many players transferred within the college system as this year: 2,320 men entered the transfer portal in 2025 – almost twelve percent more than in the previous year (2024: 2,083). By comparison, there were fewer than 1,000 in 2019. The college system today is more flexible, more lucrative – but also more volatile than ever before.
Example Oakland: From hero to commodity
Oakland coach Greg Kampe puts it in a nutshell: His star player, Trey Townsend, grew up near the university and always wanted to play for Oakland – until the offers from the big schools came. Townsend transferred to Arizona, earned a multiple there, and became a Sweet 16 player. Kampe said, “What am I going to do? I can’t blame him.”
Oakland became a stepping stone. So did many other programs. The best players leave, and coaches are back to square one. Culture, identification, continuity – terms that sound increasingly hollow.
