The future of sports forever changed with the introduction of NIL. The policy, which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness, allows younger athletes, mainly students, the ability to make a profit off of their own name through endorsement deals from brands and companies before they turn pro. This greatly shifted the career path of modern athletes from certain athletes in the past.
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Some of those guys didn’t play for profit at that age. They were playing to escape something much worse.
This topic was brought up in the recent episode of Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Podcast. Co-host Adam Lefkoe brought up how “the next generation of basketball players haven’t had to get it out the mud.” Lefkoe implied that NIL has taken away the grit of ballers who were potentially playing to “escape a situation,” similar to the tough journeys that players like Shaq, Dwyane Wade, or Kevin Durant had to go through in their lives.
Shaq agreed with the phrase and predicted that NIL could potentially do more harm than good in the long run. The Diesel’s main point was that immediately rewarding a young player with millions takes the edge off, an edge he believes is necessary to climb the height of greatness.
“NIL I think is definitely gonna hurt people,” Shaq said. “For people that have nothing, when you get something, it takes the pressure off. But that something should be the final prize. The final prize should be the NBA.”
“You give people like us who have nothing, sometimes it takes the edge off. You need that edge to keep climbing and climbing. “
For better or worse, the NIL has given the athletes of today a chance to earn a living for their family as early as 17 years old. While this may have ruined the integrity of college sports, it certainly created sustainability for those who may have indeed been looking to escape a bad situation.
Breaking down Shaq’s NIL thoughts
Shaq has a point. The hunger from KD, Wade, or even Shaq himself came from that desire to escape a potential life of crime, drugs or poverty. That life-or-death mentality led them to achieve the greatness that they reached.
On the other hand, there were plenty of superb hoopers from Shaq’s era and onward that grew up in privileged environments and still aimed for greatness, including his old teammate, the late great Kobe Bryant. Kobe wasn’t running from the same “situation” that Shaq was, but no one would dare question the Black Mamba’s edge.
Steph Curry is another example. The future Hall of Famer grew up in a basketball household, raised by his father, former Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry. He could have just as easily coasted in the NBA. Instead he changed the game forever.
