Logo
Login
Join Now
ABOUT
GAMES
CLASSROOM
NIL WIRE
LIBRARY
LIBRARY

Library

For Industry Professionals

Branch Library

For Fans and Students

GUIDES
GUIDES

College Sports Business 101

Learn how the industry works

Working in College Sports

What you need to be tracking

The Jersey Patch Market

What the market is saying

How the Salary Cap Works

And what is NIL Go

How CB Schedules are Made

It’s complicated…

University Administrators

What you need to know

SPORTS DATA
SPORTS DATA

Football

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Baseball

Women’s Soccer

Women’s Volleyball

Golf

Search
Behold, a cautious Hot Take: I think "NIL" is basically dead

May 22, 2026

•

5 min read

Behold, a cautious Hot Take: I think "NIL" is basically dead

Athletes will still sign marketing deals. But I suspect the market is shifting enough that the NIL Industrial Complex will need to evolve, contract, or something more drastic

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Here are (almost) all of the public school football operating budgets for FY25

Here are (almost) all of the public school football operating budgets for FY25

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
What should the NCAA do about Brendan Sorsby? I asked a gambling writer:

What should the NCAA do about Brendan Sorsby? I asked a gambling writer:

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Here's what a 24-team College Football Playoff would have looked like...in 1905

Here's what a 24-team College Football Playoff would have looked like...in 1905

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

FEATURED

Boots on the ground for the first UTRGV football game ... ever

Boots on the ground for the first UTRGV football game ... ever

What I learned from a 66-0 beatdown was about more than just football

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Introducing Extra Points Classroom

Introducing Extra Points Classroom

Here's the best way to bring Extra Points to your class

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Four things we learned from sponsoring our first bowl game

Four things we learned from sponsoring our first bowl game

The 2024 Extra Points Bowl is in the books. Here are a few of my immediate takeaways

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

The College Sports Industry Data You Need!

Extra Points Library is a growing collection of 5,000 documents from over 200 college athletic departments, organized to save your time and money

Get Access Today
arrow-up-right

REALIGNMENT

Inside the West Coast Conference's Expansion and Rebrand

Inside the West Coast Conference's Expansion and Rebrand

How the WCC went from "about 43" expansion candidates to their new identity

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Inside West Florida's plan to reclassify to D1

Inside West Florida's plan to reclassify to D1

What emails and interviews can tell us about UWF's strategy, which nearly looked very different.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Why UCSB joined the WCC, and what comes next

Why UCSB joined the WCC, and what comes next

Is the WCC stopping at 12? What happens to the Big West? Here's what I learned

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Mailbag! EACFB27 updates, conference realignment, budget notes and more

Mailbag! EACFB27 updates, conference realignment, budget notes and more

A few questions while I'm on the road for a bit

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
The Fine Print and the Final Days: What the WAC–Utah Valley Lawsuit Teaches Us About Realignment

The Fine Print and the Final Days: What the WAC–Utah Valley Lawsuit Teaches Us About Realignment

From West Texas A&M going Division I to even the idea of a Texas-only conference, the legal documents reveal some interesting nuggets about the only constant in athletics ... change!

Matt Brown
KC Smurthwaite
Matt Brown, +1
How St. Thomas has grown from D-III to the doorstep of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

How St. Thomas has grown from D-III to the doorstep of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

On what needed to be built, taught and grown before moving to the biggest of dances

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

FOIA FUN

Inside West Florida's plan to reclassify to D1

Inside West Florida's plan to reclassify to D1

What emails and interviews can tell us about UWF's strategy, which nearly looked very different.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Here's what buy-game guarantees look like...across five different sports

Here's what buy-game guarantees look like...across five different sports

From football to softball, your scheduling questions, answered:

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
How college basketball schedules ACTUALLY get made:

How college basketball schedules ACTUALLY get made:

It isn't exactly like you think:

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Here is a list of everybody Miami (OH) TRIED to schedule in men's basketball this season

Here is a list of everybody Miami (OH) TRIED to schedule in men's basketball this season

Don't blame the Redhawks for not having enough big names on their schedule. They tried to add plenty of them...and I've got the proof.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Oh hey lets look at some FY25 Big Ten athletic budget numbers

Oh hey lets look at some FY25 Big Ten athletic budget numbers

Who spent, and earned, the most? Let's check the spreadsheets.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Everybody should care about the death of the WaPo sports section

Everybody should care about the death of the WaPo sports section

It's a difficult landscape out there for sports media, and this week it got even worse. Plus: Updates on flag football and lots of links!

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

LATEST

The latest "must have" in the arms race to grow college sports revenue? Real estate

The latest "must have" in the arms race to grow college sports revenue? Real estate

Everybody wants to be the Atlanta Braves.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Four misconceptions about the realities of college athlete collective bargining

Four misconceptions about the realities of college athlete collective bargining

From "why would athletes do this" to "is this legal?" and more:

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Here are some ideas on how schools can better treat gambling addiction

Here are some ideas on how schools can better treat gambling addiction

The problem isn't going away. One expert has some suggestions on how to reframe the program.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Inside the West Coast Conference's Expansion and Rebrand

Inside the West Coast Conference's Expansion and Rebrand

How the WCC went from "about 43" expansion candidates to their new identity

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Sure looks like most schools don't want the Big 12 Private Capital money

Sure looks like most schools don't want the Big 12 Private Capital money

Plus: When schools need to cut spending...what gets cut first?

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
So which colleges actually generated their revenue?

So which colleges actually generated their revenue?

I know what the revenue numbers say on the NCAA reports. Here's who *generated* the most, instead of relying on student fees

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Research: Did college sports influence how schools calculated Cost of Attendence?

Research: Did college sports influence how schools calculated Cost of Attendence?

Greg Chick, of NILnomics, shares what he learned from his doctoral thesis

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
What the Duke/Amazon/ESPN/B1G story means, and doesn't mean

What the Duke/Amazon/ESPN/B1G story means, and doesn't mean

Is Amazon's three-game basketball package with Duke the start of a new trend? An exotic one-off? A proxy battle between broadcast giants? Something else?

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
So what's the Big 12 gonna do with this new money?

So what's the Big 12 gonna do with this new money?

Here's what the Big 12 Private Capital deal means and doesn't mean. Also, is Vegas the best spot for the expanded First Four games? And a Glassdoor for sports...

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
How should we be thinking about sports gambling now?

How should we be thinking about sports gambling now?

As another scandal threatens to blow up the 2026 FB season before it starts...should we contemplate a reset?

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Inside West Florida's plan to reclassify to D1

Inside West Florida's plan to reclassify to D1

What emails and interviews can tell us about UWF's strategy, which nearly looked very different.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
The complicated math behind Arkansas' decision to drop tennis

The complicated math behind Arkansas' decision to drop tennis

Is this a one-off? A sign of things to come? Proof of messy accounting? Yes. Let's look at the math:

Matt Brown
Matt Brown
Load more
arrow-down

Learn how college sports really works. Extra Points covers the business, policy and off-the-field stories changing college sports.

Resources

Classroom

Extra Points Library

Features

NIL Wire

Account

Accessibility

Social