Purdue and Name, Image, Likeness: 'We want to make sure we do it the right way'

INDIANAPOLIS – As the first anniversary of Name, Image and Likeness approaches in about a month, the concept isn’t going away despite the upheaval it’s created around college athletics.

And Purdue is fine with NIL as long as it’s used in the manner it was intended and doesn't serve as a recruiting tool to lure prospects and transfers to the school’s athletic programs.

“NIL is not going away; that is going to be part of our landscape going forward and we’re perfectly OK with that,” Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski told the Journal & Courier. “We believe in it. We support it.

“We want to craft a structure and a program at Purdue that provides a tremendous opportunity for our athletes but it’s keeping in the spirit of what it’s meant to be. It allows them an opportunity for whatever commercial value they can present to the marketplace and they need to be compensated for that and compensated fairly.”

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However, what the program and structure look like at Purdue hasn’t been finalized.

Bobinski said the athletic department isn’t in the “collective world yet, but there are real-time conversations happening by Purdue folks who are interested in exploring what that might look like.”

Donor-driven collectives, which are supposed to be independent of the school, are the rage in the NIL world. The collectives pool funds from boosters and businesses to help facilitate NIL deals for athletes, including autograph signings, appearances, etc. 

One issue is the collectives – and not all of them – are providing inducements to high school recruits or transfers to lure them to a school. That is illegal according to the NCAA, but the organization hasn’t enforced its rules since NIL started on July 1, 2021.

Bobinski said Purdue isn’t going to play the game that way.

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“We want to make sure we do it the right way and in a way it feels great to the people who participate, but also provides legitimate and stable opportunities for our athletes,” he said.

NIL is part of recruiting now and it’s a subject that comes up during conversations. None of Purdue’s coaches can avoid it but Jeff Brohm and Matt Painter are more involved because of the high-profile sports they coach and the players they’re trying to recruit.

Painter had targeted Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack as a transfer prospect, but the graduate of Lawrence Central accepted an $800,000 two-year NIL deal and will attend Miami (Fla.).

Most NIL deals aren’t publicized but Pack’s was promoted on social media by one of the school’s boosters, John Ruiz, who signed the point guard to promote his LifeWallett app and other products. 

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“We want to be as fair as we can and make sure we provide all of our guys to have opportunities to be able to profit off their name, image and likeness,” Brohm said. “But we don’t want to do anything crazy, and I know that’s going on right now.

“There are some teams that are taking advantage of it and that’s just the way it is. I don’t think we’re going to get to that for sure because I do think it’s important to have team chemistry to make sure you’re doing things for the right reasons.”

Brohm said that playing by the rules was emphasized at the Big Ten spring meetings in Arizona earlier this month. Brohm added plenty of confusion remains regarding the type of conversations coaches can have with prospects.

“What can you say? What can’t you say?” Brohm said. “At our Big Ten meetings two weeks ago, a lot of discussion was about that from the athletic directors – ‘you’d better be careful how you phrase things and what you’re doing, and you want to do it the right way.’ They said the enforcement is going to start to happen more and let’s make sure we play by the rules”

Once the collectives are in place, Bobinski and his staff will provide as much direction, structure, and guidance as possible. They'll educate the collectives and pass along information while staying within the current rules.

“We can’t direct. We can’t deal make. Those are things at Purdue we’re not going to do, not that others may or may not be doing it. We’re not doing it. That’s not what this is supposed to be about,” Bobinski said.

“We’ll say, ‘Here’s how we think it should work. Here’s how it shouldn’t look.’ Some of the potential pitfalls we want to avoid and find ways to make it as productive and an asset as we can make it.”

Brohm is worried the current situation will fracture a locker room of more than 100 players, creating issues among teammates because part of it is just human nature. How to avoid those circumstances probably becomes the top priority for coaches.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re smart and the players doing things right on your football team, currently on and off the field, are able to profit off of that in whatever way they can,” Brohm said

“We need to be fair and honest and truthful. That’s going to do things that are going to make your team better and do right by all the guys on your team.” 

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc