Name, image, and likeness (NIL) has changed the game when it comes to collegiate athletics in the United States. Flashback: June 21, 2021: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously that student-athletes couldn’t have their monetary benefits curtailed with bias, so long as those monies pertained to education.
In so doing, NIL policies came into play throughout the nation and dealt a blow to the NCAA. Among other things, this meant that the young men and women who are attending college on an athletic scholarships were and are able to sign endorsement deals, have their likenesses appear on clothing, and, in the case of football players, have their names officially appear in EA Sports College Football 25.
Justice Kavanaugh Makes Salient Points with Opinion
When offering his opinion on the unanimous ruling that June day three years ago, Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh said:
“Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate. And under ordinary principles of antitrust law, it is not evident why college sports should be any different. The NCAA is not above the law.”
Since then, NIL has become as much of a part of college sports in America as debating whether or not the Gonzaga University men’s basketball program will make a deep run in March Madness every year.
NIL Reaches MMA
The concept of NIL will reach MMA. Thursday, Michigan-based Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC), who previously had a media rights deal with the NBC Sports Group, revealed in a press release that it will soon begin an NIL division. Nothing like this has been seen in MMA until now.
XFC will recruit MMA hopefuls currently attending colleges on wrestling scholarships, doing so with a pair of names familiar to fans of the sport, former UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo and Jeremy Stephens, currently a member of the BKFC active roster, as well as The Florida Wrestling Room.
Xtreme One President Defendis Weighs in on NIL Division
The promotion has collaborated with Combat Creators to make the XFC NIL division possible. Xtreme One Entertainment President Chris Defendis is thrilled about the new endeavor.
“XFC has devised a new NIL division to engage a masterclass of mixed martial artists with an emerging league of apprentices that are currently honing their professional MMA skill sets within collegiate wrestling programs across the country,” Defendis began. “We look forward to hosting some of our newly signed NIL athletes at XFC 51 in Milwaukee as we start this first phase of prospect development.”
XFC 51 streams live Friday via pay-per-view on Triller for $25 (USD).
Top D-1 Programs Involved With Collaboration
With the announcement of the XFC NIL division, several wrestlers from Division I schools joined the collaboration, including three from the same school in the Big Ten Conference. Greg Kervilet, a senior at Penn State University in State College, along with teammates Zack Ryder, a sophomore, and Beau Bartlett, a senior, have joined just months after the Nittany Lions captured the NCAA Division I National Championship by 100 points over Cornell University in Kansas City.
The Big XII Conference is also represented here. Oklahoma State University alumnus Daton Fix, who wrestled for the Cowboys between 2018 and 2024 with an Olympic redshirt in 2020 and posted a 21-1 record in his senior season, is the fourth D-1 wrestler involved in the XFC NIL division.
The @OfficialXFC has signed five collegiate wrestlers to NIL deals and named ex-UFC stars @HenryCejudo and @LiLHeathenMMA to ambassadorship deals It has a PPV on Sept. 27 in Milwaukee #XFC51 https://t.co/Q4aw5jWTSH
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) September 20, 2024
It’s also expanded to Division II of the NCAA, with University of Wisconsin-Parkside redshirt junior Cayden Henschel joining the collaboration. Henschel will be in attendance for XFC 51 on Friday alongside Cejudo and Stephens.
Cejudo on NIL Division
Throughout his MMA career, Henry Cejudo has emerged victorious from 80 percent of his fights. His latest venture is an even bigger win.
“I’m pleased to align the integrity of my NIL with the XFC to champion the success of athletes in collegiate wrestling,” Cejudo mentioned, “whether as Olympic hopefuls or as the future contenders in professional MMA.”
Final Thoughts
The NCAA’s top sports as far as revenue is concerned are gridiron football and men’s basketball. You can turn on your television every fall weekend (or a Tuesday or Wednesday night if you’re a fan of a MAC program, or if you’re hungry for some pigskin) and be treated to four quarters of action on the field.
From November to April, if you’re craving slam dunks, you can watch any number of basketball games until the nets are cut down at the Final Four. It’s those sports that allow other athletic events to take place across campuses. While college wrestling meets are being shown on television and streamed on direct-to-consumer products, the sport doesn’t provide much of an opportunity for its competitors to be compensated with NIL monies.
With the advent of the XFC NIL division, the game is changed once again.
