“There used to be an aspect of resilience, it’s removing the resilience” - Rich Paul breaks down why NIL is hurting men’s but helping women’s college athletes

In the world of college sports, name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals have completely taken over the game. College athletes are now allowed to get paid like professional athletes, and this has totally changed how the industry operates.

For the most part, NIL deals are considered positive for college sports, but there are some downsides, too. Rich Paul believes those downsides are much more present for men’s athletes than for women’s athletes, who he claims have benefited greatly from this unfolding.

Paul gives his two cents on the NIL boom

Paul is the founder of Klutch Sports Group, which is an agency that represents several big-name athletes, including his longtime friend LeBron James. Paul’s work with college athletes has been directly impacted by NIL, so he knows all the pros and cons of the new initiative.

With all this money available for these athletes to make, it’s completely changed how they operate during their time in college. Paul thinks that it has actually made things harder for men’s athletes while allowing women’s athletes to properly get compensated for their skills.

“I think NIL is kind of hurting the growth of the athlete in several aspects,” the Klutch Sports founder said on All The Smoke . “I think it’s good for our women’s game for sure because we haven’t gotten that part right to where they can make substantial money…These guys should get something, there’s no question about it. But there used to be an aspect of resilience, it’s removing the resilience, and there’s a trade off. There’s options for the lack thereof having to overcome something.”

NIL is a double-edged sword

This is the dilemma with NIL in the world of college sports. Yes, it’s great that these college athletes are getting paid, but they also have a lot more power than they once did. Now, they are transferring at any sign of adversity in search of more money or playing time.

Paul sees this as an issue for men’s athletes because, assuming they go pro, they are going to get paid one way or another. With women, though, that’s not necessarily a guarantee, so chasing that bag in college makes a lot more sense than it does for men’s athletes.

Of course, it’s worth noting that not everyone is going to go pro, but Klutch Sports CEO seems to be implying that these athletes could inadvertently be making their quest to go pro more difficult by avoiding any sort of adversity. At some point, you have to face adversity in order to become a star.

It’s an interesting argument from Paul, especially amid the rise of the WNBA and women’s college sports as a whole. NIL has been huge in the world of college sports, but these comments show that some changes may be needed in to tidy it up a bit.

Related: “They’re talented, but they don’t know how to play the game” - Rich Paul explains one problem that could hurt the NBA in the future