That is exactly what will hurt the NIL of the 2nd level players. The top level will make big bucks wherever they go and then move off to the NBA after a year. That 2nd level that needs a couple years in college will be hurt because the fans are losing their investment in the sport. The one and done’s hurt BBall, but the transfer portal paired with NIL being the Wild West of effectively unrestricted free agency is what will kill the fandom for all but the top few schools.
Iowa, and CC, have caused skyrocketing attendance for women’s games. But attendance is up at other schools lately too. In large part because of familiar faces that are pro-level talented but still in college, most of whom stayed at their schools. LSU is the big experiment this year of how the transfer portal and NIL could be detrimental to the women’s game. It hasn’t gone well for HVL but seemingly has for Morrow this year and did well for Reese previously. The tourney will determine if the team is better or worse for it with multiple established stars coming into a team that already had stars on it.
