Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, has become the dominant storyline of the summer in college football.
Now that college athletes can profit off of their NIL rights, players are announcing deals and everyone in the media seems to have an opinion.
But while NIL was part of Northwestern's presentation to all of them on their visits, the Class of 2022 commitments we talked to said, to a man, that it didn't have much, if any, impact on their decisions to become Wildcats.
Defensive lineman Austin Firestone, who just committed to the Wildcats last week, put it this way.
"I think it's a great opportunity, and I'll definitely take advantage of it if given the chance," said Firestone, who just picked the Wildcats last week. "However, it did not play a big role in my decision."
That seemed to be the consensus among the seven future Wildcats who responded to our inquiry. They were satisfied with Northwestern's approach to NIL and are excited about their opportunity to potentially make some money in the future. But it didn't have any impact on their decision to commit to the Wildcat program.
Offensive lineman Nick Herzog said he liked Northwestern's NIL presentation during his recruiting process.
"Northwestern did a great job of addressing it, mentioning that it’s uncharted waters but if handled the right way could possibly benefit student-athletes greatly," said Herzog, who was the first uncommitted official visitor to pull the trigger for NU, on June 10. "They went over how they would help us do it, as well as what some of their current athletes have already started doing."
Those current Wildcats attempting to cash in include transfer quarterback Ryan Hilinski, who is available for a one-on-one Cameo video call for $33, and defensive back Tyler Haskins, who has partnered with his former trainer to form a sports fitness training company.
The program's presentation emphasized their partnership with the INFLCR branding app, according to linebacker commitment Braydon Brus. INFLCR -- or Influencer, as it's known -- has signed more than 1,000 teams and 40,000 active athletes, according to its website. Brus said that Northwestern also stressed "how their proximity to Chicago will help a lot with all of that other stuff."
Herzog appreciated that Northwestern, unlike most other schools, was focused more on process than potential profits.
"Few schools addressed the matter, and when they did it was about how much money you could make, not about how they were going to help you do it," he said.
Brus added that most of the schools he talked to brought NIL up as a topic during his recruiting process but that it didn't impact his decision to become a Wildcat on June 15, shortly after his official visit.
"To be honest it didn’t really influence my decision," said the three-star Californian. "I chose Northwestern for their amazing academics and football program. I'm there to be an example of Christ, play ball, and get an awesome degree. That’s what my priorities are going to be."
Cornerback Evan Smith, who verbally pledged Northwestern on July 3, said that NIL opportunities were just icing on the cake. He was looking for the school that offered the best combination of academics and athletics.
"First I wanted to see what school fit me right first, and that ended up being (Northwestern)," he said. "And to top it off, it fit well with the NIL."
Offensive lineman Deuce McGuire and tight end Chris Petrucci both committed to the Wildcats in April. That was well before the state of Illinois passed legislation permitting college athletes to profit from their NIL in late June, and the NCAA officially declared that athletes could make money for things such as endorsements, signings and social media content on July 1.
McGuire appreciated that Northwestern was on top of NIL so that he doesn't have to worry about it.
"They’re making it as simple as possible so we can focus on football and let the NIL take care of itself," he said.
Both McGuire and Petrucci are from the Chicago suburbs and realize the potential earning power of the third-largest city in America that lies just south of the Evanston border.
"Choosing Northwestern is definitely a plus side in terms of NIL since you have access to the city of Chicago," said Petrucci.
NIL is a brave new world for college athletes, and no one is sure which way it is going to go. In a year, when these new recruits arrive on campus, they'll have a much better idea of how it works and what kind of deals they can expect to make.
But these are football players, at the end of the day. For now, they're more focused on what they do on the field, rather than off of it.
"It really wasn’t that big of a deal," said safety Trevon Howard, a three-star safety who committed to NU on June 25. "I’m worried more about performing."
