Nick Dunlap's Historic Victory Proves NIL Is Broken

Last weekend, 20-year-old Nick Dunlap won the American Express PGA TOUR event in La Quinta, California. The University of Alabama sophomore beat out major champions like Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Zach Johnson, and Wyndham Clark, becoming the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in over 30 years.

It was the perfect weekend. Dunlap moved up a record 4,000-plus spots in the official world golf rankings, from 4,129 to 68th. He secured himself PGA TOUR membership through the 2026 season, and the college sophomore will now be eligible to play in all 2024 signature events, including this year’s Masters and PGA Championship.

But there was a catch. Despite Dunlap turning professional just four days later, he was an amateur when the tournament started, so he wasn’t allowed to take home the $1.5 million first-place prize. Instead, that money went to second-place finisher Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

This is a long-standing rule. Dunlap knew it going into the tournament, and it’s not like there aren’t other benefits, like the aforementioned PGA TOUR membership card.

Still, Dunlap’s historic victory highlights everything wrong with NIL.

Boosters are donating hundreds of millions of dollars to the top football programs in the country. Ohio State has already spent $10 million in NIL money on player retention, transfer portal additions, and early enrollees for its 2024 football team, including a $50,000-plus donation from former Buckeyes quarterback CJ Stroud.

We have 18-year-old kids driving Lamborghinis to National Signing Day. Football and basketball teams are flying private to games. They play on weekends in sold-out venues, and saying schoolwork has become an afterthought would be generous.