Arizona State football player arrested for stealing a teammate’s watch and attempting to pawn it

You cannot make this up!

The debate over the effects of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals in college football has taken a new turn with recent events involving Arizona State University cornerback Laterrance Welch. The former LSU transfer, who played a pivotal role in ASU’s Big 12 title run, found himself at the center of controversy after being arrested on Dec. 2 on charges of theft and trafficking stolen property. According to the Scottsdale Police Department, Welch reportedly stole a teammate’s watch and attempted to pawn it at a local jewelry store.

According to reports, the watch was valued at 30 thousand dollars and was reportedly stolen a week before his arrest.

Welch entered the transfer portal on Monday, a week after his arrest. He reportedly was dismissed from the team after the Nov. 30 game against the University of Arizona for a rules violation.

Welch’s dismissal from the team due to a prior rules violation further underscores a growing concern among critics of NIL—has the influx of money and focus on individual branding derailed the core values of college athletics?

The commercialization of amateur sports has fostered a high-stakes environment where players juggle the demands of brand management alongside athletic performance. Critics argue that this dynamic creates pressures that detract from their development as students and teammates, potentially leading to lapses in judgment like those allegedly demonstrated by Welch.

While Welch’s legal troubles will play out in court, his situation is a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls of the NIL era—a system that, without proper guardrails, may ultimately do more harm than good to the fabric of college sports.