OUR VOICES : Is there A Ceiling to What College and Professional Athletes Make These Days?

BY: James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D.

Do you remember the iconic singer Luther Vandross who sang the song, Never Too Much. The essence of the song was about love and having an abundance of it for someone. It is a great song and still popular today.

That title could be used for the monetary gains happening now in both college and professional sports. At all turns, money is flowing with no end in sight.

First, college athletics with the creation of NIL agreements have made college athletes stay in school longer. This is my opinion, and I believe it’s shared by a lot of people.

In years gone by, the college scholarship was the goal for would be athletes. If you could receive a scholarship that would lessen the financial burden on parents and grandparents.

Of course, colleges and coaches were making huge sums of money, not student-athletes. All of this has changed now.

According to reports, Arch Manning, the Texas quarterback has the largest NIL deal. It is valued at $6.8 million dollars. He has deals with EA Sports, Red Bull and Uber. By any stretch, that is a lot of cash.

Last year, Shedeur Sanders, then quarterback for Colorado had an NIL value of $5.1 million dollars. He is now a rookie quarterback with the Cleveland Browns.

Livvy Dunne, a former gymnast at LSU has been making millions of dollars on deals with Crocs, Vuori and Invisalign. Angel Reese, formerly a basketball player at LSU has major NIL agreements. In fact, her NIL money is more than her contract with the Chicago Sky, a WNBA team.

NIL critics believe there is an athletic crisis when it comes to paying student-athletes. Well, the fact of the matter is that it may be true, but these companies are willing to pay them.

When you think of Name, Image and Likeness agreements, you will usually think only of Division I athletes. However, there are Division II and Division III student-athletes who are taking advantage of this windfall.

Some of them that have made deals include Jack Betts (football, Amherst College), Connor Printz (basketball, Claremont McKenna College), Kaylee Murphy (former basketball player, UC Santa Cruz), Jada Byers (football, Virginia Union) and Jayden Beloti (basketball, Elizabeth City State University). Virginia Union University and Elizabeth City State University are HBCUs.

The NIL policy began in July 2021. Records show that Deion Sanders was the first NIL athlete. He received professional baseball earnings from the New York Yankees while he was still playing football at Florida State University.

Since 2021, hundreds of student-athletes have inked NIL deals. The landscape looks quite green for future deals. High school student-athletes are now becoming more assertive as they try to make some money too.

Professional sports contracts are even more lucrative. Reports are confirmed that Juan Soto of baseball’s New York Mets signed a 15-year $765 million dollar contract in December 2024. That figure surpasses the $700 dollar contract that another baseball player, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers signed earlier. Basketball player Jayson Tatum signed a $315 million dollar contract with the Boston Celtics.

Enjoy your favorite college and professional players. They have a high entertainment value.

Dr. James B. Ewers, Jr. is a long-time educator who hails from Winston Salem, N.C. Ewers is a life member of the NAACP and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.