{"id":731,"date":"2021-03-17T09:07:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T13:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/?p=731"},"modified":"2021-03-24T18:23:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T22:23:32","slug":"by-more-than-2-1-american-public-says-student-athletes-should-be-allowed-to-profit-from-use-of-name-image-likeness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/2021\/03\/17\/by-more-than-2-1-american-public-says-student-athletes-should-be-allowed-to-profit-from-use-of-name-image-likeness\/","title":{"rendered":"By More than 2-1, American Public Says Student Athletes Should Be Allowed to Profit from Use of Name\/Image\/Likeness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In Dramatic Shift, Public Thinks All Student Athletes in Revenue Producing Sports Should Be Compensated Beyond Scholarships<\/em><\/p>\n

South Orange NJ, March 16, 2021\u00a0\u2013\u00a0By more than a 2-to-1 margin, Americans believe that student athletes should be allowed to profit from the use of their name, image or likeness (NIL), according to a national poll conducted March 13-15 by the Seton Hall Sports Poll. This result is consistent with the poll\u2019s findings from 2019.<\/p>\n

Fifty-six percent of the general population favored compensation, with 25 percent opposed and 19 percent undecided.\u00a0 Under NCAA rules, such compensation has never been permitted among colleges in the US.<\/p>\n

The trend is relatively steady from when the question was first asked in an October 2019 Seton Hall Sports Poll<\/a>, where slightly less than a 2-to-1 margin favored NIL compensation for student athletes. In that poll, however, the number in favor of compensation was larger (60 percent) ) but so was the number opposed (32 percent compared to just 25 percent in this most recent poll). In 2019 the number of undecided was just eight percent; in 2021 the undecided on the issue totaled 19 percent.<\/p>\n

The margin of error for this week\u2019s poll is 3.2 percent; in 2019 it was 3.8 percent. A total of 1,538 people participated in the current poll, geographically spread across the country.<\/p>\n

Sports Fans in Favor, 10 pt. Net Shift Up<\/strong>
\nAmong those who consider themselves to be \u201cavid fans,\u201d 74 percent favored NIL compensation, and only 16 percent did not.\u00a0 Among all those who describe themselves as \u201csports fans,\u201d the margin was 64-26 percent in favor of compensation. Those who said they were not fans at all still favored compensation for use of name, image and likeness by 46-25 percent.
\n<\/p>\n

The results among sports fans was consistent with the poll\u2019s findings in 2019, where 60 percent of those who followed sports were in favor of NIL compensation and 32 percent were not. The current results for sports fans show a small increase of those in favor (4 pts.) as well as a larger decline (6 pts.) in those opposed, equaling a 10 point favorable shift in total since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the differences in the margin of error between the two polls, the relative novelty of the question and the similarities in the results, it\u2019s fair to say that the two polls show a consistency of thought on the issue \u2013 with the general public favoring NIL compensation by at least a 2-to-1 margin if not more,\u201d said Seton Hall Professor of Marketing and Poll Methodologist Daniel Ladik. \u201cThat\u2019s a sizable margin in polling, And for sport fans, it\u2019s even greater.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who Decides?<\/strong>
\nAsked \u201cwho should decide\u201d the question of NIL compensation for student athletes, 44 percent said a \u201ccourt of law,\u201d and 25 percent said the NCAA. This result is a dramatic shift from 2019 when 59 percent said it should be the NCAA. Thirty percent said they did not know or had no opinion on the question in the current poll.<\/p>\n

Should All Student Athletes in Revenue Generating Sports Be Financially Compensated? \u00a0A Dramatic Shift in Favor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Respondents were also asked whether student athletes should be financially compensated beyond scholarships and a cost of attendance stipend for participating in revenue-producing sports such as basketball and football.\u00a0 Here there is a far more dramatic trend: only 31 percent said \u201cno,\u201d compared to 60 percent in 2017 and 71 percent when the question was asked in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike NIL, overall compensation for student athletes is not a novel question and the answer is even clearer,\u201d said\u00a0Professor Charles Grantham, Director of the Center for Sport Management within the Stillman School of Business, which oversees the Seton Hall Sports Poll.\u00a0 \u201cOpposition to these athletes sharing in the bounty of this multi-billion dollar business that we refer to as \u2018amateur athletics\u2019 has fallen away dramatically over the last decade.\u201d Grantham, the former executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, further observed \u201cOne has to believe that as this \u2018amateur\u2019 business model has grown exponentially lucrative, so has the perception of exploitation. We remedied this in the pro model through revenue sharing with the athletes. It would seem as though the public, and especially sports fans, are looking for a viable and equitable solution for student athletes. Revenue sharing could do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the current poll, 49 percent said yes they should receive compensation, with \u201cavid fans\u201d saying yes by a 68-26 percent margin, \u201csports fans\u201d yes by a 58-31 percent margin, and \u201ccasual fans\u201d saying yes by a 53-33 percent margin.\u00a0 Non-fans were closer \u2013 the yes margin was 37-33 percent, with 30 percent saying they did not know or had no opinion.<\/p>\n

#\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #<\/p>\n

Questions and charted breakdowns below.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE POLL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov\u2019s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents.\u00a0This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell\u2019s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between.<\/p>\n

Media:<\/em>\u00a0 Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
\nmichael.ricciardelli@shu.edu<\/a>,\u00a0908-447-3034; Marty Appel,\u00a0AppelPR@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

This SHSP was conducted March 13th<\/sup> though March 15th<\/sup> and includes responses from 1,538 US adults with a margin of error of 3.2%. The sample mirrors the US Census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region. <\/em><\/p>\n

Q1.<\/strong> Which, if any, of the following statements best describes you?<\/p>\n