NIL Deals Effect On March Madness

Where is the Madness

What do you think of when someone mentions the phrase “March Madness”?

Do you think of someone running down the road naked while a swarm of bees chases him because he thought about only wearing honey today..

Or do you think about all the nail biter NCAA college basketball tournament games you’ve watched as a kid. And the brackets that everyone fills out and are confident in, until there brackets bust after the first game---mine included.

NCAA March Madness logo featuring bold text and bracket illustrations, highlighting the excitement of the annual college basketball tournament.

For me it's about the tournament and the brackets ,and not the madness the honey man suffers from. But there’s something that no one is talking about. What happened to the giants of NCAA basketball? They’ve slowly started to blend in with the rest of the crowd. 

Sure, there are still plenty of the usual powerhouse schools making waves in college basketball, but let's be real—some of the big teams from the past just aren't making headlines like they used to. Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina and Syracuse have either dropped to the middle of the bracket rankings or vanished entirely.

A vibrant collage showcasing a variety of iconic college basketball logos, representing teams from universities such as Duke, Ohio State, Michigan, and Arizona.

This is due to the effect of NIL deals and the transfer portal. Those deals have turned the Goliaths' of college basketball into attainable victories. By spreading out the talent pool we've deprived the fans of a true "Cinderella Story".

Gone are the days of newspaper shock, due to an unbelievable upset. And here to stay are players for hire, open to play for the bidder, not necessarily the school. It's interesting watching every team have a fighting chance, but without the guaranteed dominance from the usual giants, cinderella stories just don’t feel the same. 

Another thing to consider is, how does this effect fans decisions on filling out brackets? At first, you would think that this would make brackets easier to predict. While in reality leveling the field causes schools to blend together in rankings. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it's and undeniable shift in NCAA competition and March Madness.

March On Without Madness

Aside from losing March Madness, there are some good things to come out of this:

1. A level playing field gives every team a better chance to succeed. Thus giving students a better educational opportunity.

2. The American dream is embodied in every player by being able to make some money to change both their family’s and there own lives.

3. This rapid changing of players keeps coaches skills razor sharp, and ready for a new student athlete each and every NCAA basketball season.

Although I loved the way the tournament was, and how defined the favorites were, maybe it's time to have March without the madness. Having Cinderella schools being able to participate in an offseason with an NIL allotment sounds better.

We are far from hitting the sweat spot on this whole NIL deal chapter in American sports, but we are much closer to creating a fair environment for both our schools and athletes.

In closing, while nothing wrong has happened, I can’t help but miss the the way it felt when little cinderella stories would take down the giants. Is this a NIL deal or no deal, what do you think?

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