Ben Roethlisberger isn’t completely anti-NIL. But he sees the pitfalls to enriching college’s best athletes. With lines between amateur and professional forever blurred by recent court rulings permitting college players to get paid, Roethlisberger shared his thoughts – and concerns.
“I think the NIL is taking the love of the game away,” Roethlisberger said on the Sports Spectrum podcast hosted by former NFL running back Matt Forte. “So when guys come to the league, as I’m looking at this player, Player A and Player B, I might go with Player B that maybe isn’t as good but as the heart and desire and love of the game over Player A who might be a little better but they don’t feel like a love of the game.”
NIL conversations are new, but Roethlisberger’s point is not. In fact, that sentiment is one reason why the NFL scuffled for its first decades. Fans preferred the “purity” of the college game to the professional environment, and it took 30 years for that feeling to shift.
In many ways, college and pros are the same. Highly touted OT recruit Felix Ojo signed a three-year, $5.1 million fully guaranteed deal to commit to Texas Tech. The type of language used when an NFL free agent or drafted rookie signs.
Roethlisberger acknowledged the positive NIL money can bring, citing Steelers first-round pick DL Derrick Harmon using NIL money while in school to buy his late mother a wheelchair-accessible van. But that didn’t soothe his big-picture concerns of the impact it will have on the college game and trickle-up effect to the NFL level.
“I’m not saying NIL is the main issue,” he said, “but it’s taken, to me, the love of the game away for certain players.”
For NFL teams, NIL can have its benefits. No longer are players entering the league and receiving big paydays for the first time. Teams have a better understanding of how players use their money, wisely or poorly. And players are more financially literate in how to spend their paychecks. Players should be paid but the initial years of the NIL model show there should be guardrails in place to protect players and teams from a Wild West of unlimited funds being passed around and power programs hoarding top talent.
Of course, the reality is before NIL, top college athletes were getting paid. Back then, it just occurred under the table. The main difference now is transparency and that hollows out Roethlisberger’s point of contention.
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