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🏅 Arch Manning's Change of Heart

Teaming up with

Hey there,

Today we’re talking about high rollers… In fact, the first two stories today are about two of the highest-valued athletes in the country. We’ve also got updates on Title IX and NIL — specifically the publicity requirement that one professor thinks is being overlooked right now. It’s all coming up right now!

While we have you, you should really check out our sponsor today, Kailo.

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We’d love to hear feedback on anything and everything about our newsletter. Hit reply or email us at [email protected]. Now let’s go to the news!

— Cole, Justin and Collin

KICK-OFF

“Not Dunne Yet”

One of the most important figures in the NIL world, Livvy Dunne, has announced that she will be returning to LSU for a fifth year. The gymnastics superstar released a video, which detailed her love for LSU before announcing that she’s “not Dunne yet”:

Dunne’s relationship with LSU has been of mutual benefit. This year, LSU won its first-ever national championship in gymnastics. That’s great news for elevating Dunne’s already massive brand.

Dunne, on the other hand, is perhaps LSU’s best recruiting pitch. She’s currently worth nearly $4 million in NIL – trailing only Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders in On3’s NIL valuation charts. Dunne’s brand fuels LSU’s NIL infrastructure, while LSU’s gymnastics dominance propels Dunne’s brand even higher. That’s a win-win. (More)

Arch Manning’s Change of Heart

To date, over 14,000 players have agreed to NIL contracts to be featured in the new College Football 25 video game. That figure excluded one very important person – until now. Texas QB Arch Manning announced that he’ll be featured in the game via a new ad for EA.

Manning, who had previously declined to appear in the game because he wasn’t “the guy” in Austin, seems to have experienced a change of heart. This is a late development, as the game is set to be released in about a week.

Manning’s NIL valuation currently sits at $2.8 million, which puts him one spot lower than our headline-winning lady, Livvy Dunne. (More)

A Conference Salary Cap could get Murky…

During a recent interview, AAC commissioner Tom Pernetti discussed the possibility of a conference-wide salary cap to limit some schools’ pricing out others. The idea – which was given as a more offhand suggestion than an outright plan of action – would attempt to create parity by restricting the supply of potential rev-share/NIL funds. 

The problem is that, without a collective bargaining agreement between the players and governing organizations, the conference could be seen as artificially restricting the market – AKA, price fixing.

Because student-athletes aren’t technically employees (yet), the conference could probably get away with it for the time being. But soon enough, the AAC could open themselves to antitrust litigation. If student-athletes are seen as employees in the future, they may argue that the AAC was price fixing by restricting the potential earnings of players within the conference. (More)

Teaming up with

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WHAT’S TRENDING

Ups and Downs

  • Utah State will opt into rev-sharing, but they’re at a disadvantage. The athletic department brought in just over $50M in revenue last year – that’s less than half of a mid-tier Power 5 school like West Virginia 📉

  • Eastside Golf just signed 2025’s #1 ranked junior golfer Kihei Akina to their NIL roster. The company, founded by Morehouse golf alumni, is trying to reshape the golf landscape’s lack of diversity 📈

  • Arkansas QB commit Taylen Green was just given a truck as part of an NIL deal, and he hasn’t even taken a snap for the team yet. Consider this an Arkansas-style counter to the Longhorn Lamborghinis we saw a few weeks ago. 📈

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Are NIL Markets Shrinking due to Title IX Violation?

When discussing Title IX and NIL, we often focus on the financial outcomes — like where the school is actually spending money. But, according to Dr. Shannon Scovel of the University of Tennessee, the policy also demands equity in terms of publicity.

“This is something as simple as cheerleaders,” she explained, “If they only cheer for the men’s football team and no women’s teams, that’s a potential violation. There’s more flyers promoting the men’s football team than the women’s basketball game – that’s a potential Title IX violation.”

These violations flow downstream. When schools don’t promote women’s sports as much, sports journalists cover them far less. When sports journalists cover them far less, their potential NIL market becomes smaller. (More)

COLLECTIVE 101

Arkansas Needs to Win. Soon.

Yes, Arkansas just hired one of the best coaches in college basketball. And yes, they have big-money donors who are eager to contribute to the school’s athletic success. Why then, are some Arkansas fans worried about the school’s athletic future?

In a word, realignment. Take Stanford as an example: Since the early 2010s, the school has consistently underperformed in revenue-generating athletics. When the Pac-12 disbanded, they were able to find a home in the ACC… but things aren’t exactly looking up.

Arkansas could be in store for a similar fate – at least according to columnist Kaushik Sampath. Assuming conference realignment happens again soon, the Razorbacks need to have some sports identity to keep them in a good conference. If Calipari can’t turn NIL money into wins, the Razorbacks could be left out of an eventual conference shakeup. (More)

  • Louisville’s Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman urges fans to “get over traditions and the way we grew up and [accept] the ways of society now and of college athletics.”

  • Nebraska just named an official NIL collective, 1890 Nebraska, to be the school’s partner. Post-House settlement, expect pieces of the collective to be taken in-house.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Haley & Hanna Cavinder

  • School: University of Miami

  • Position: Guard 

  • Sport: Basketball

  • Class: Graduate Student  

  • Accolades: 

    Hanna 

  •  2023 All-ACC Academic Team

  • All-Mountain West Team (2020, 2021)

  • 2020 Mountain West All-Freshman Team

    Haley 

  • 2023 All-ACC Second Team

  • 2023 All-ACC Academic Team

  • 2022-23 ACC Newcomer Watch List

  • NIL: Under Armour has signed a three-year exclusive apparel and footwear deal with Hailey and Hanna, marking their first exclusive partnership.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ SDSU is hosting an NIL-fueled college football video game release party

♦️ Florida State QB signs a multi-year, exclusive deal with Leaf Trading Cards 

♦️ Colorado-turned-Florida footballer signs on with his new school’s collective

♦️ Hawaii signs on with Teamworks Influencer for NIL help

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Whose brand has benefitted most from their partnership: LSU, or Livvy Dunne?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Will Messi be worth $50 million per year over the next two years if he brings the MLS title to Inter Miami?

  • Yes - 32%

  • No - 68%

❝

“We’ll either advance and adapt or we will die”

Louisville AD Bryan Maggard