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With NIL policies set to come into effect on July 1, there is a whole new world opening up to college athletes who will now be able to make money off of their name, image and likeness. Wisconsin Badgers starting quarterback Graham Mertz is wasting no time trying to get his name out there.
On Monday afternoon, he tweeted a short video clip set to the dulcet tones of “I Got 5 On It” from the Oakland based rap duo Luniz. The song choice is undoubtedly an homage to Mertz’s jersey number and, well, is also just an excellent choice because it rules.
Coming soon... pic.twitter.com/XDhapgrRrr
— Graham Mertz (@GrahamMertz5) June 28, 2021
At the end of the video is Mertz’s new logo, which you can see in the header picture above. On a red background there is a white shape that looks like a “G” and an “M” connected together while the tips of the “M” also kinda look like badger ears? I don’t know, I’m not a professional logo designer.
While Wisconsin isn’t one of the 20 states to have passed NIL legislation yet, the NCAA is working on an interim plan which, according to The Athletic ($), would allow “atheltes in all states will be able to monetize their names, images and likenesses starting on July 1 regardless of which state they are in.”
Here's the whole proposal if you're interested. Basically, NCAA won't punish anyone for collecting NIL money unless it's clear the payment is a recruiting inducement or in exchange for athletic performance. This is expected to be adopted in the next few days. pic.twitter.com/d8kVjx7sRH
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) June 26, 2021
The Division 1 Council is meeting on Monday to discuss all of this and they are likely to make the interim plan official sometime this week. It will definitely be interesting to see how all of this plays out.