NIL Hits $4.5 Billion With No Rulebook—Ex-Steinberg CEO Sounds Alarm

College athletes will collect $4.5 billion in the 2026–27 academic year, yet the marketplace that pays them still runs without rules, according to David Meltzer, former CEO of Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, the agency that inspired the film Jerry Maguire.

Meltzer, who also cofounded Sports 1 Marketing with Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, told Fortune that NIL—name, image, and likeness compensation—lacks both a framework and trustworthy advocates. He speaks from experience. In the early days of NIL, three large universities asked him to serve as general manager of their collectives. He declined all three offers because there was so little regulation, transparency, or protection for students.

Those problems remain unresolved, he said.

Why does Meltzer call NIL 'the Wild West'?

College athletes have been allowed to sell their name, image, and likeness since July 2021. They can sell those rights to brands, collectives, donors, and their own followers. Since the House v. NCAA settlement took effect in 2025, schools can also pay them directly. NIL platform Opendorse now estimates athletes will receive $4.5 billion in 2026–27, counting both revenue sharing and third-party deals.

Meltzer keeps his verdict blunt: "(NIL) is the Wild, Wild West. There are so many variables—the collectives and agents that are uncertified and parents who are involved in a younger child's life, they're often high schoolers going into college (and) a lot of parents are the problem today because they actually are negotiating and keeping the money."

He said he understands why some parents feel entitled after years of sacrifice and big bills for private lessons, clinics, and travel sports. Whatever the motivation, he argued, families need more help from schools. "The most difficult mistake is athletes trusting their parents, who definitely don't know what they don't know…I would concentrate on parent education. That's the only constant that is going to start creating some sort of framework to protect and promote the best interests of the student athlete."

What fix does he propose?

Meltzer wants a free-market solution: athletes should hire an advocate before they hire an agent, paying the advocate out of future NIL or sponsorship revenue. The role would mirror a patient advocate in health care, who helps people understand their options and choose the best care.

"They could hire an advocate who has experience helping choose the right agent, facilitate all the different marketing PR, branding, all the opportunities because those relationships with the brands are essential," he said. "Advocates are the facilitator and aggregator of the right people and can explain everything and not allow anybody to manipulate one part of the equation."

Who is filling the gap now?

Law schools have started to step in. Brooklyn Law School launched a Sports Law Clinic this year offering free legal services to athletes. UC Berkeley Law's Berkeley NIL Initiative helps Cal athletes, particularly those in non-revenue sports, review and negotiate their own contracts.

Meltzer wants colleges to go further—regulating agents directly or through their collectives. "Each university could accept certain agents to represent different players or they could have each school, in order for a player to accept NIL (payments), they would have to go through a (NIL) orientation," he said.

Oversight remains far weaker than in professional sports. Pro agents are certified by players' unions under collective bargaining agreements. College athletes are not university employees and have no union, so their agents answer only to a patchwork of state laws that vary widely in scope and enforcement. The Federal Trade Commission has begun asking schools about agents' compliance with federal law.

Are guardrails coming from Congress?

Regulation is moving on two tracks. On Oct. 28, the Big Ten approved a rule capping school involvement in athlete pay at roughly $49 million per school, including up to $27.5 million in school-arranged third-party NIL deals plus direct revenue sharing. The conference said the cap approximates the economic framework of the Protect College Sports Act, which the Senate passed 77–22 on Sept. 28.

The bipartisan bill, led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), would set national rules for NIL deals, athlete pay, and recruiting. It would also limit athletes' ability to transfer freely, rein in predatory agents, and require schools to maintain women's and Olympic sports. Its fate in the House is uncertain; the chamber isn't scheduled to return from recess until Nov. 9.

Meltzer doubts the bill will fix much. "They don't know enough about (college sports). Even if they did, there's too much unknown today. The impact that's going to have is going to be very minimal, if anything passes. Nonetheless, I'm a big fan of creating policy that doesn't work to (eventually) get the policy that does."

What is Meltzer's broader lesson?

His latest book, Don't Do Business with Dicks: How to Ditch Toxicity and Align Yourself with Positive Influences, published in February, argues for choosing the right partners. The title grabs attention, he said; the subtitle carries the lesson.

"Show me who you associate with: partners, friends, business people and I'll show you your future. Make sure you surround yourself with the right people and the right ideas."

With a $4.5 billion market, a $49 million per-school cap in the Big Ten, and a federal bill stalled until at least November, the gap between money and oversight keeps widening—and Meltzer's advocate model may get its test before Congress writes the first national rulebook.