Analyst Jay Bilas gives his 2 cents on the benefits of NIL for smaller college programs: “Talent is spread out more than ever”

Since the introduction of NIL, the landscape of college sports has shifted dramatically. While much of the conversation has focused on the windfall for star athletes at powerhouse programs, ESPN analyst and former Duke basketball player Jay Bilas opened up about the impact of NIL on smaller college programs.

He discussed the topic on his Instagram on Tuesday.

"NIL is, I think, beneficial for everybody," Bilas said. "What it does is allow smaller schools access to better talent than they would have had otherwise."

Bilas backed up his take with an example.

"Ten years ago, no player being recruited by the University of Kansas, Wichita Stateowould not have a shot at any of those guys," Bilas added. "Now, Wichita State might be able to offer Kansas' fourth best recruit enough money to be Wichita State's best recruit. They may be able to get a player like that. That's possible now. It was not possible before."

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Bilas compared how the system has changed from a scholarship-only structure in which players would cluster at Power programs to how things are now with NIL.

"Talent is spread out more than ever," Bilas said.

Bilas compared postseason basketball over the past two years. Two seasons ago, Florida Atlantic and San Diego State made the Final Four and people were concerned that Power programs would no longer be as dominant in college basketball.

This season, all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, creating a narrative that the time of mid-major Cinderella stories was over. Bilas argued that one data point doesn't make a trend and that NIL is beneficial in college basketball.

"I think NIL actually helps spread talent out more, rather than concentrating it," Bilas said.

NCAA Basketball: Kentucky at Florida - Source: Imagn

History of NIL in college sports

NIL has been a long time coming. As early as 2009, college athletes were involved in class action lawsuits and petitions hoping to gain compensation from commercial opportunities using their name, image, and likeness.

In 2015, federal district and appellate courts ruled that the NCAA’s amateurism rules were an unlawful restraint of trade. The NCAA increased the grant-in-aid limit to the full cost of attending school and allowed up to $5,000 per year in additional compensation.

Things escalated from there. California became the first state to pass NIL legislation in 2019, and by 2020, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics passed regulations allowing NIL compensation for student athletes.

NIL has changed the game in college sports, and whether it has been a positive or negative change has become a highly debated topic.