NIL in action – McKenzie Milton and FSU teammates celebrate their new rights in Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – McKenzie Milton and five teammates from the state of Florida walked into Miller’s Ale House, sat at a long table, ordered some food, and eagerly greeted the first fan, who during their first paid event with name, image and era of resemblance .

During the hour and a half session, they signed helmets and posed for photos, including with a woman wearing a Florida Gators face mask, which sparked good-natured teasing among the players.

Several UCF fans, dizzying with excitement, went to see Milton, who moved to Florida in January after a five-year career with the Knights. One confided in her that she cried when he was transferred. Another asked if she could get a hug and made sure she got multiple photos. A young soccer player wearing his Seminoles kit asked the players to sign his shoes.

Nothing about the event hinted at an impending “Wild, Wild West” as some coaches and administrators have described this new NIL era in college athletics. With little to no guidance from the NCAA on how to use name, image, and likeness, and different laws in states across the country that can be interpreted on each campus that went into effect July 1, the narrative got more focused the impending doom and worry about how exactly it would all turn out.

If anything, the scene on a quiet Thursday night at a popular sports bar and restaurant in a college-obsessed town suggests that the hustle and bustle that led into the day had more to do with all of the unknowns that come with unprecedented change , and less with what reality would be like in a NIL world – players smile, laugh, snap photos and sign autographs.

Across the country, players from all sports joined the NIL platforms, signed advertising deals, set up fundraising pages and booked events. But they also carried on with their off-season, meetings and team activities, and college athletics carried on without falling apart.

“It’s an exciting time in college sports,” Milton told ESPN. “I know there may be some hesitation on the mind of some people, but in the long run it will be a good thing.”

Florida State quarterback McKenzie Milton has been an advocate of naming, image and image rights since his time at UCF. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sport

While it will take more than a few days to live in a NIL world to get us closer to answering some of the bigger questions about the college athlete marketplace and resolving many gray areas in state legislation and NCAA guidelines, are the Florida State actors in Thursday’s event, a lot thought about whether that day would ever come. Cam McDonald pointed out that Thursday felt like a national holiday as the athletes could finally celebrate what had taken years to make.

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“I’ve been focusing on personal branding since high school,” said McDonald, a Florida tight end. “I didn’t know that I would benefit from it while studying, but being able to spread the fruits of my labor and finally get my personal logo out means the world to me.” . “

We haven’t heard enough from the players about what NIL means to them because they were at the mercy of the administrators, NCAA, and Congress trying to figure out what to do. Naysayers have stepped into the vacuum of player voices, predicting that teams would break down because some players could earn more than others in a locker room; Players would lose focus on their sport while working on marketing and branding; they would not know how to navigate finances and taxes on new income; and they didn’t deserve the opportunity because they were already paid for with scholarships.

“It’s not just about the money,” said Devontay Love-Taylor, Florida State’s offensive lineman. “Ultimately, our main goal is to win football games. When it comes to fall camp, I won’t be doing NIL stuff. I just focus on that while it’s live, but once football comes, I’m 100% football.”

McDonald disapproved of those who made negative comments about NIL, saying, “The people who say these things about us are people who generally pigeonhole the athletes. They say all they can really do is play football. I’m not going to say that I insulted this because I just let it slide off my shoulder. [To the] To people who say that, I just say, ‘Do you really know us as individuals? Do you know that we can do more than just football? ‘ With NIL, we have the ability to broadcast that, so I’m taking this news with caution because these people don’t really know what they’re talking about anyway. “

In fact, countless gamers with talent outside of college – from musicians to artists to entrepreneurs and apparel designers – have been unable to harness that talent, unlike the general student population on their campus. That is why the change is so significant. For some, it may just be about making as much money as possible in college. But for others it is simply the opportunity to make this money, because the opportunity never existed before.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for people with other passions to show that we’re more than just soccer players,” said Love-Taylor. “If you’re passionate about games, you can stretch out and do something that has to do with games. Clothing, food, you can just spread out and do other things than being a soccer player.”

In the recent past there have been countless examples of actors who have either been unable to monetize their external business interests or have been declared ineligible. In a quiet moment before Thursday, Milton pondered the case of his former teammate, UCF kicker Donald De La Haye.

In 2017, De La Haye was declared ineligible for making money from popular YouTube videos showing his experiences as a student athlete at UCF, and the public outcry that followed was one of the defining moments that led to the present day. Seeing De La Haye clearly had an impact on Milton, who became one of the more staunch supporters of state NIL legislation in Florida. It also had an impact on his former UCF teammates. During a press conference in Orlando Thursday, UCF defensive lineman Kalia Davis said he was watching De La Haye’s YouTube channel as a recruit. They landed side by side with their lockers.

On Thursday, Davis started monetizing his Twitch streaming account as it is now within the rules. Davis said football remains his top priority, but he plays in his spare time so he might as well make money from it. Davis called De La Haye a “great inspiration”. De La Haye still has his 3.4 million followers YouTube channel Deestroying and posted a video on July 1st celebrating the decision that starts with three simple words: “We did it!” This video has over 125,000 views.

“He really crawled so we could walk so yells at him,” said Davis. “We’ll take the torch away from him.”

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