NIL: Staying in School Is the New Going Pro

For a hundred years, the ambitious version of a college athletic career ended the same way: leave early, chase the draft, get paid. Staying in school was the consolation prize. As of October 2026, that logic has flipped, and the numbers behind the flip are remarkable.

Figures as reported by Yahoo Sports and the Associated Press; final counts can shift slightly as classes are certified.

National reporting has also described late-round picks who effectively took a pay cut to turn pro, because their college compensation under the House settlement, where schools opting in may share roughly $20.5 million per school with athletes, plus third-party NIL deals, exceeded what a late rookie contract would pay. Among quarterbacks in the 2026 class, early entries nearly vanished. The verdict from the athletes themselves is loud: staying is the new going.

Why are college athletes staying in school longer?

Because the math changed. Under the House settlement approved in June 2025, schools that opt in may share revenue directly with athletes, and third-party NIL deals run alongside those payments. A productive college player at a well-funded program can now out-earn the bottom of an NFL draft class, with another year of development, film, and degree progress thrown in. Players now tend to declare early only when a top-100 selection looks likely. The rest stay, and get paid to stay.

What does a longer college career mean for an athlete's finances?

Here is the part that matters whether your athlete plays football, wrestles, or runs track. In our first Football & Finances piece, we built the plan around a hard truth: the average NFL career runs about 3.3 years, per the NFL Players Association, so for many athletes the college NIL check may be the largest paycheck of their playing career. That thesis still holds. What has changed is the shape of the window. It is getting longer on the front end.

An athlete who once had a two-year earning burst might now have four or five college earning years. That is more months of income to manage, more contracts to read, more people asking for a piece, and more time for good habits to compound. A longer window rewards the families who treat it like a career, with the same three moves we always coach: a plan for every dollar before it arrives, a team with a designated person empowered to say no, and the discipline to check out anyone who asks to touch the money. Our test for that last one is simple, and we named it the CRD Test for vetting anyone who wants to manage an athlete's money.

Does NIL money change when athlete families should start financial planning?

It deepens the case for starting early. More earning years generally mean more years of self-employment-style NIL income, and one awareness sentence belongs here: NIL income is taxable and usually requires quarterly payments, so put a qualified tax professional on the roster early. Beyond that, a longer window means savings habits get more time to work. A hypothetical, labeled as such: an athlete who sets aside money during four college earning years instead of two simply has twice as many contributions working for the same number of decades afterward; this illustration is hypothetical and not a projection of any actual investment. The window also gives families time to build the full game plan calmly instead of in a scramble, which is exactly what our NIL financial planning practice for Central Pennsylvania athlete families was built for.

The Central Pennsylvania angle

This is not a far-away phenomenon. Penn State operates among the larger revenue-share programs in the country, PIAA has allowed Pennsylvania high school athletes to earn NIL money since December 2022 with restrictions, and Mid-Penn Conference programs send athletes to Division I rosters every year. The decision to stay or go, and the money that rides on it, is being made at kitchen tables in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York counties right now. NIL rules continue to evolve; everything here is current as of October 2026.

Tucker Nicholas is a Private Wealth Advisor at PAC Financial in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. If your family is inside one of these windows, or hopes to be, the best time to build the plan is before the first big check clears. Call (717) 564-6400, ext. 181. The first conversation is about your athlete's goals, not products, and it applies to every sport.

Public figures and organizations mentioned are not clients of or affiliated with PAC Financial and have not endorsed the firm; details are drawn from public reporting. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as specific investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation. Tax treatment of NIL income is general; consult a qualified tax professional regarding your circumstances. Hypothetical illustrations do not represent any actual investment or outcome. Securities and advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. PAC Financial and Osaic Wealth are separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Osaic Wealth. Check the background of your financial professional on FINRA's BrokerCheck. Tucker P. Nicholas is registered in PA, CO, and DE. PAC Financial, 5291 Devonshire Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112, (717) 564-6400.