What is NIL & Revenue Sharing in College Sports?

(Last Updated August 21st, 2025) - College athletics is entering a new era of athlete compensation. Two major changes—Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) rights and revenue sharing—are reshaping the relationship between student-athletes, universities, and brands. This page explains both, highlights their differences, and provides resources to help you understand how these policies affect college sports today.

What is NIL?

Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) refers to an athlete’s right to profit from their personal brand. Since July 1, 2021, NCAA athletes have been able to sign endorsement deals, promote products on social media, and even launch their own businesses.

  • Examples of NIL activities:

    • Endorsements and sponsorships

    • Social media promotions

    • Personal camps, lessons, and appearances

    • Athlete-founded businesses

📊 Explore more: NIL Deal Tracker

What is Revenue Sharing?

Revenue sharing is a system in which schools directly share athletic department revenues with student-athletes. Unlike NIL, which depends on outside brands, revenue sharing is an internal redistribution of money generated from media rights, ticket sales, and sponsorships.

  • Examples of revenue sharing:

    • Flat annual payments to athletes in specific sports

    • Percentage of conference media rights distributed to athletes

    • School-based revenue pools for athlete stipends

📊 Explore more: Revenue Sharing Tracker

Why These Changes Matter

  • Athletes now have multiple income streams: individual NIL deals + guaranteed school revenue share.

  • Schools face new compliance and financial planning challenges.

  • NIL professionals (administrators, agents, brands, and SaaS providers) form a growing industry around these changes.

💬 Join the conversation inside NILNewsstand Pro

FAQs

What is NIL in college sports?
NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. It allows college athletes to earn money from their personal brand through endorsements, sponsorships, and appearances.

What is revenue sharing in the NCAA?
Revenue sharing is when schools directly distribute a portion of athletic department revenue—like media rights or ticket sales—to student-athletes.

How are NIL and revenue sharing different?
NIL is funded by outside brands and sponsors, while revenue sharing comes directly from a school’s internal revenue.

Can athletes earn both NIL and revenue sharing?
Yes. Many athletes will combine personal NIL deals with guaranteed revenue-sharing payments from their school.

Do all athletes receive revenue sharing?
Not always. Revenue sharing typically applies to specific sports or rosters based on conference or school policies.