Adidas Signs NIL Deal with High School Sophomore Girl -- <h1>IVY LEAGUE SPORTS BOARD</h1>

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Subject: Adidas Signs NIL Deal with High School Sophomore Girl

Author:
An Observer

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Date Posted: 14:59:39 11/15/24 Fri

Adidas just announced that it has signed an NIL deal with a sixteen-year-old girl who is a sophomore on her high school basketball team.

I have been against NIL deals consistently since we first heard that acronym. The counterarguments to my opinion, often voiced on this message board, center on the appropriateness of the individual's ability (right?) to capitalize on his or her talent and hard work.

I am generally very supportive of an economy and a society that, as much as possible, is a meritocracy. We want to encourage every individual to work hard, knowing that there is a reward at the end of their own personal rainbow.

But to me, NILs are a unique exception to that broader principle. Why?

Because paying college, high school and inevitably, junior high school kids -- and I literally mean "kids" -- for their athletic talents will have all sorts of secondary and tertiary effects on high school and junior high school education, youth sports and the experience of being an American teenager.

All of those secondary and tertiary effects are negative.

This is bad for American society.

Those who support NILs say it's great that a small number of young people -- an infinitesimally tiny proportion of our population -- benefit, but we should not focus on that tiny part of our society. We should focus on our entire society.

It's the classic tension between individual rights versus the collective benefit of doing what is best for the larger society.

I even wonder what will be the long-term impact on those who get paid as college and high school players, but then return quickly to "regular" lives. Will the long-term impact be positive or negative?

If your long-term destiny is to work in a corporate cubicle or on a factory assembly line, is it good for YOU to earn $100,000 as an 19-year-old, changing everything about your life as a teenager? To me, it's unclear. $100,000 isn't life-changing money in the sense of financial retirement, but it's life-changing money in terms of what it means to be an American teenager.

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[> Subject: Re: Adidas Signs NIL Deal with High School Sophomore Girl

Author:
Greenhorn
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Date Posted: 23:28:48 11/15/24 Fri

Agree with your general sentiments. Money in high school sports is horribly corrosive.

I will point out though that the girl in question, Special K, is ultra special. She scored 35 points a game as a freshman against a highly competitive schedule. Her squad likely will be the best in the nation next year. Also, this deal was worth quite a bit more than $100,000 (almost an order of magnitude more). How does she earn that if she hurts herself and can't play again or can't play at the same level?

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