Part 5/9:
However, the landscape soon shifted. Boosters started to offer players rich NIL deals not for their marketability but as incentives aligned with their football performance. This culminated in the rise of “collectives” – organized groups that pool together resources to financially support athletes in exchange for their allegiance. These entities have rapidly become the backbone of NIL payouts, with estimates suggesting that around 80% of NIL earnings for athletes now come from collective sources.