Charles Barkley Bashes NIL's Impact On College Sports On '60 Minutes'

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Can NIL uphold a healthy amount of parity in college sports, or will competition collapse if teams with the most money absorb all of the talent?

One ex-NBA player that has adamantly challenged NIL's impact on college sports is Charles Barkley. As part of his "60 Minutes" episode that aired Sunday, Barkley spoke on the effects Name, Image and Likeness. He speculated that NIL will choke out smaller programs, making a limited number of schools relevant moving forward rather than opening the field.

Barkley Says NIL Ruined College Sports

Barkley argued that when big-named schools with the most NIL money reel in the bulk of top prospects, parity In college sports will crumble.

"It's a travesty and a disgrace. I'm so mad now how we can mess up something that's so beautiful," Barkley said.

He added, "In the next three to five years, we're going to have 25 schools that's going to dominate the sports because they can afford players, and these schools who can't afford or won't pay players are going to be irrelevant."

(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

The one exception to Barkley's claim comes right on the heels of an Elite Eight weekend where a number of lesser-known men's basketball programs advanced to the Final Four. Teams like No. 9 Florida Atlantic and San Diego State were able to overcome more marquee MBB programs.

San Diego State HC Brian Dutcher

SDSU Head coach Brian Dutcher after defeating the Creighton Bluejays in the Elite Eight (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Then again, NIL's full effects haven't been fully realized, barely reaching two years since its unanimous approval from the Supreme Court in 2021.

During a college basketball segment on CBS last week, Barkley criticized politicians' role in supporting NIL without the counsel of folks around college sports to highlight the negatives of these deals.

(Photo by Gerry Hanan/Getty Images for SXSW)

Barkley also criticized NCAA President Charlie Baker for allowing politicians to dictate the guidelines for NIL.

“Did he say we’re going to ask the politicians to help us? See, that pisses me off already,” Barkley added. “Our politicians are awful people.”

Barkley always calls it like it is, and his claim is that money always talks.

Hard to debate that.