Full Ride

Full Ride is the definitive book on Name, Image, and Likeness in American sports.

Written by Candace Goodman, this work traces the full architecture of NIL from its hidden origins to its modern reality. It examines how college athletics actually function, who built the system, who benefited from it, who paid the cost, and what responsibility now rests with the first generation allowed to participate freely.

This is not a motivational book.
It is not a recruiting guide.
It is not a debate piece.

It is a record.

Full Ride covers the history of the NCAA and amateurism, the legal forces that dismantled the old model, the financial mechanics behind NIL deals, and the psychological pressure placed on athletes, families, and teams once money entered the locker room. It details how NIL money is structured, paid, taxed, negotiated, and protected. It explains collectives, agencies, universities, media, and government from their own vantage points, without bias or accusation.

The book includes an unprecedented examination of the greatest college athletes of the pre-NIL era, documenting the value they generated and the compensation they never received. It then shifts forward, equipping today’s athletes and parents with practical knowledge on contracts, legal strategy, financial planning, team dynamics, transfers, and long-term legacy.

Full Ride is designed to be used by athletes, parents, coaches, educators, agents, administrators, and institutions. It is written for readers age 12 and up, without sacrificing depth, rigor, or seriousness.

This book exists as a companion to the Full Ride NIL Simulator, providing the historical, legal, financial, and cultural detail that cannot live inside a game.

If NIL is the moment sports changed, Full Ride is the document that explains how and why.