NCAA cancels National Letter of Intent program effective immediately

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The NCAA Division I Council voted on Wednesday to eliminate the National Letter of Intent (NLI) program effective immediately.

Established in 1964, NLI (not the more common "NIL", which stands for "name, image and likeness") has acted as the formal agreement between athletes and schools for more than 60 years.

The move leaves many asking, “What now?”

"Athletes will still sign some type of financial/scholarship agreement with the college or university that they are going to attend," says Rio Rancho High School Athletics Director Sal Gonzales. "This gives schools the opportunity to continue to celebrate their achievements with 'signing ceremonies' at our schools."

According to a news release from the NCAA, NLI’s core functions will likely shift to a contract-related, revenue-sharing model.

Gonzales says the move may seem big but shouldn't have too large of an effect on the way things are done at the high school level.

"It will not affect our jobs as athletic directors," he said.

According to ESPN staff writer Eli Lederman, “The Division I Council's move to nix the NLI program comes as the NCAA and college athletics prepare for sweeping change via the impending House settlement, which is set to grant roughly $2.8 billion in damages to former and current college athletes and pave the way for college programs to begin paying their athletes more than $20 million annually as soon as next fall.”

The vote on that settlement is set for April 7, 2025.

Policy has been moving in this direction for some time. Before the vote came up, the NCAA was already releasing statements about the future of the NLI program.

In a September report, the NCAA Division I council said, "incorporating the benefits of the NLI program into institutional aid agreements is intended to add clarity and efficiency to the commitment process for all prospective student-athletes, including four-year college prospective student-athletes."

The policy shift comes with high hopes concerning the power of athletes to determine their own futures.

"I hope that the new system allows for some leeway for student athletes to change their college choice," says Gonzales. "I hope there are not punitive measures if a student changes schools after signing an agreement."

Last year, the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which oversees the NLI program, greatly loosened the restrictions around athlete transfers, even going so far as to allow athlete to pull out of NLI agreements without penalty “under certain circumstances.”

This new policy will grant athletes even greater autonomy. According to the NCAA, after an athlete enters the “transfer portal” they are allowed to sign with a new school. Once that letter is signed, other schools will be “prohibited from recruiting communications.”

This is just the latest in a series of high-profile shifts in NCAA structure, policy and function since the June 2021 landmark Supreme Court decision in the case of NCAA vs. Alston. Commonly referred to as the “NIL deal”, the decision opened the door to pay college athletes, and the landscape has been in flux ever since.

So, is the NCAA's latest move a good thing or a bad thing? It depends on who you ask, but Gonzales says, for the students, it's a good thing.

"I'm always going to side with the student-athlete's position," he says. "Choosing a college/university at 17 or 18 years old is difficult. Students can change their minds or get new offers with improved performance."