NIL Isn't Free Money- It's a Full-Time Job

NIL isn’t easy money — it’s earned. Here’s what the work really looks like behind every brand post and paycheck.

By Beau Davis | Salto Solutions

Here's The Deal

Somewhere along the way, people started believing that NIL means athletes just wake up, open Instagram, and get paid for existing.
That couldn’t be further from reality.

No one is handing out money just because you wear a jersey. NIL isn’t a donation — it’s a business exchange.
Athletes are providing value to brands through their name, image, and likeness — and that value takes work to maintain.

So when someone says, “These athletes are getting paid for nothing,” I can’t help but shake my head. Because if NIL is “nothing,” then a lot of people wouldn’t last five minutes doing it.

The Reality of NIL Deliverables

Every NIL deal comes with strings attached — in the form of deliverables.

Athletes can’t just post whatever they want.
Most businesses outline exactly what is expected in the partnership — what to say, what not to say, what tags to use, and what kind of content represents their brand.

And that’s just the start.

Before a single post can go live, the athlete usually has to:

1. Make sure the post doesn’t include restricted imagery — like accidentally showing their school logo.

2. Send it to their compliance department or agent to make sure it passes NCAA and school policy.

3. Then send it to the business for final approval — which might come back with changes or even a rejection.

Then, after all that, they might still need to reshoot or rewrite to meet the deliverable quota written in the contract — sometimes for nothing more than free product or a small gift card.

That’s not “easy money.” That’s time, effort, and professionalism.

Meanwhile, these same athletes are balancing full course loads, weight training, team practices, study halls, travel schedules, and recovery — and still expected to deliver content that aligns with brand standards and university regulations.

That’s not luxury — that’s labor.

The Work You Don’t See

NIL isn’t a magic inbox full of checks. It’s hours spent emailing brands, pitching themselves, filming, editing, and hearing “no” more times than they can count.

It’s the walk-on volleyball player spending her lunch break replying to a coffee shop’s campaign brief.
It’s the gymnast filming and refilming a post to make sure the lighting, language, and compliance all line up.
It’s the diver juggling finals week while editing a video for a free pair of shoes because they committed to deliver two posts that month.

Every NIL post represents a behind-the-scenes list of tasks, approvals, and responsibilities.
It’s a small business inside a student-athlete’s already packed schedule.

So, is NIL “work”?
Absolutely.
It just doesn’t always look like the kind of work people are used to seeing.

Stop Looking at the Million-Dollar Deals

The biggest misconception about NIL is that everyone is rolling in cash.
The reality is that most NIL deals are small. The overwhelming majority are worth less than $100 — or sometimes, no money at all.

But for a lot of athletes, that’s not the point.
It’s about opportunity.
It’s about learning to pitch, to create, to communicate.
It’s about getting real-world experience while still pursuing their sport and education.

The next time someone complains about NIL “handouts,” tell them to stop staring at the million-dollar football player and start paying attention to the volleyball walk-on making coffee shop posts just to have a little spending money.

Those are the athletes NIL was designed to help — the ones who give everything to their sport and finally have a chance to give something back to themselves.

The Honest Truth

NIL isn’t ruining college sports.
It’s revealing the work athletes already do — and adding another layer of responsibility most fans will never see.

Because behind every post, handshake, and brand tag is an athlete who’s learning how to manage time, expectations, and opportunity.
And that’s not lazy. That’s leadership.

Want to learn how to do NIL the right way?
Start with the 2-Hour Agent Course  — your crash course in contracts, compliance, and confidence.
Then take it further with the NIL Business Builder  to learn how to turn brand partnerships into long-term opportunity.

Because NIL isn’t free money — it’s earned.