Change is inevitable and it’s coming to college football.
Players are fixing to be able to start making money off of name, image and likeness and NIL legislation has already been passed in multiple states paving the way for when the NCAA makes it a reality. NIL laws in South Carolina are set to go into effect in May of 2022.
Count Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei as one of the many players who are happy to get a chance to make some money as a collegiate athlete.
“If it goes through, I’m trying to get on it and make some money,” Uiagalelei told CBS Sports recently. “It’s free money.”
A projection last summer had Uiagalelei with a shot at making as much as $150,000 per year just from his social media presence and since then the quarterback has added tens of thousands more followers.
Uiagalelei is set to take over as the Tigers starting quarterback this season and the rising sophomore said that as long as college players have the right plan in place, the new NIL rules can be a good thing.
“As long as you don’t make that your main priority,” UIagalelei said. “You’ve got a lot of distractions. Shoot, college is hard enough. You gotta deal with school, football, you have a girlfriend; a lot of distractions. As long as you have a plan, it’s just another thing.”