How NIL Changes Incentives for College Basketball

Abstract

This paper studies how the NCAA's Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy introduced in 2021, has changed the incentive in college basketball. The analysis emphasizes how NIL creates financial incentives for domestic athletes but gives international students a disadvantage due to F1 Visa restricting them from profiting off their name. Using data from the 2015-2024 NBA drafts, the analysis shows a decrease in international students attending NCAA school post NIL, considering the disincentivize is due to the restriction of benefits. A regression analysis is made across the four Major NCAA conferences, and it shows a variety of impacts on team performance, with Women and Men schools in conferences like the Big-12 and Pac-12 responding differently to the NIL policy. The results show that NIL not only changes incentives, but it also motivates recruiting strategies, and competitive balance. Addressing these differences is important to make sure of a more general and balanced NCAA league.