Beyond the Bottom Line: Virtue Ethics in College Sports Marketing

College athletes have more opportunities to profit from their name, image, and likeness than ever before, but at what cost? As NIL transforms college sports, marketing professionals must navigate difficult ethical questions surrounding fairness, athlete welfare, and the future of amateur athletics.

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College athletics marketing professionals play a critical role in promoting athletic programs while balancing the interests of universities, student-athletes, and corporate sponsors. This paper examines the ethical challenges created by Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities and athlete compensation, arguing that virtue ethics provides a framework for prioritizing fairness, integrity, and student-athlete well-being in college sports marketing.

College athletics marketing associates develop and implement promotional strategies to increase ticket sales, enhance game attendance, and improve the overall fan and student-athlete experience. They oversee marketing, promotions, and game day events for their assigned sports. Associates also assist with marketing operations, manage autograph memorabilia, support special events, and ensure compliance with NCAA and university policies. Managing the bridge among student-athletes, the university, and corporate brands is also a responsibility they hold (Intercollegiate).

An ethical dilemma that could arise in the role can be the exploitation of student-athletes. When navigating NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), they must ensure that promotional campaigns not only comply with NCAA regulations but also don’t affect a student-athlete's academic focus or well-being. Brands sponsor student athletes for their social media followings and their authentic connections with fans, alumni, and children who look up to them. In the current world of college athletics, players commit to a program, their coaches, and their teammates only to leave the following season. This makes long-term planning and building trust almost impossible. Opposing teams will also contact players who are committed elsewhere, “poaching” them from their teams. This creates an unfair competitive advantage for schools with more money and larger booster pools. This gives larger schools a major advantage beyond player skills and coaching. Money now determines the outcome (Stegmann). Sponsors greatly influence recruiting due to the shift toward a more competitive player market. The traditional scholarship, which is awarded equally among teammates, has been replaced by a system in which one’s popularity with fans determines one's pay through brand deals (Fortunato).

Another major ethical concern in college athletics marketing is the lack of employee rights for student-athletes. Student-athletes are not considered employees despite making significant contributions to revenue. Because of this, they are not protected like normal employees, which means they don’t have the rights for collective bargaining, workplace protection, and guaranteed compensation (NCAA). While NIL has provided student-athletes with opportunities to earn money, schools and athletic departments still have a majority control over athlete visibility and opportunities. Decisions about playing time, media exposure, and campaigns directly affect an athlete's opportunity to make money, which creates a concern around fairness and equal treatment of athletes (NCAA).

Using virtue ethics, college athletic programs should approach these ethical dilemmas by demonstrating good character and ensuring the well-being of students over financial gain. Virtue ethics focuses on becoming a morally good person by practicing justice, wisdom, courage, and moderation. By using these every day, they become a habit that cultivates good character. This means that instead of following a set of laws, being a good person is a lifelong habit (The Vatican). Virtue ethics also practices finding the “Golden Mean.” This means finding the balance between too little and too much. It is different for every situation, and doing the right thing depends on the person, the time, and the reasoning.  

When applying virtue ethics to NIL and sports marketing, it means rather than asking if a campaign follows NCAA rules, it considers how their decisions affect the long-term success and well-being of their athletes. When addressing concerns about NIL and athlete exploitation, a marketing associate should practice integrity and fairness to ensure that promotional opportunities do not negatively impact an athlete's academic performance, mental health, or athletic development. They should see their athletes as students first instead of viewing them as solely marketing tools. A virtuous professional should also be honest with student-athletes about sponsorship opportunities and avoid partnerships that could put too much pressure on them and create unrealistic expectations. Justice is especially important when it comes to unequal opportunities that are created by NIL. Despite marketing professionals not being able to eliminate the differences in the marketability of athletes, they can work to provide equitable opportunities, ensuring that athletes receive some kind of support. By showing fairness and impartiality, they can help to reduce the idea that only star athletes deserve opportunities and visibility.

When it comes to the lack of employee rights for student-athletes, virtue ethics would say marketing associates should advocate for the best interests of athletes whenever possible. At the end of the day, marketers' decisions affect athletes’ financial opportunities, education, and welfare. The rules for promotional opportunities and NIL should be transparent to ensure athletes understand their rights, responsibilities, and any agreements they sign. By acting with integrity and ensuring that the needs of student-athletes are aligned with the goals of the university. This will not only build trust but also foster a more ethical athletic environment.

Virtue ethics shows that the best solution is not to simply follow policies but to create a good character. A marketing professional who always acts with honesty, fairness, wisdom, and compassion will be best equipped to navigate the challenges created by NIL, recruiting, and athlete compensation while maintaining the integrity and tradition of college athletics.

Works Cited

"Associate for Athletics Marketing." Intercollegiate Athletics, Intercollegiate, https://intercollegiate.co/job_posts/associate-for-athletics-marketing-123981. Accessed 11 June 2026.

Fortunato, John A. "The Ethics of Name, Image, and Likeness Compensation in College Athletics." Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, vol. 18, no. 1, 2025, pp. 1–15, https://journals.ku.edu/jis/article/view/22186/21171. Accessed 11 June 2026.

Stegmann, Bill. "Business Ethics and the NIL Problem in College Sports." Columbia Daily Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026, https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/business/2026/03/13/business-ethics-college-sports-nil-problem/89107535007/. Accessed 11 June 2026.

National Collegiate Athletic Association. "Name, Image and Likeness." NCAA, 2024, https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/2/3/name-image-likeness.aspx. Accessed 11 June 2026.

"Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Human Virtues." The Holy See, Vatican, https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_three/section_one/chapter_one/article_7/i_the_human_virtues.html. Accessed 11 June 2026.