🏅 Children's books, Paige Bueckers' dominance, and NIL

Hey there,

Let’s cut right to the chase — there’s a lot to catch up on. NIL-powered children’s books, the biggest NIL Store sellers from August (both schools and individual players) and an unlikely supporter of the House settlement. Oh, and the Pac 12 just added four more schools to the conference. See what I mean? Let’s get into it!

Questions? Concerns? Give us a shout at [email protected] to get in touch with us.

— Cole, Justin and Collin

The Big 3

An NIL-Powered… Children’s Book?

Two student-athlete siblings at Purdue have found success in utilizing their NIL… to produce children’s books. Raven Colvin (who plays volleyball for the school) and her brother Myles (who plays basketball) have released three books to date, all of which have proven to be a hit.

The first two books recount the stories of each athlete’s lives, with the third tying their stories together with their father’s – a Purdue football player during the 80’s. They’ve used artificial intelligence to render cartoon versions of their faces.

Each book is available on Amazon for 15.99, but they’re going fast. “It's been a really great, positive reaction," Myles said, “The first day, we sold out of everything. Not to say I didn't think this would do well, but I didn't know it was going to do that well.” (More)

The NIL Store’s August Sales 🚨 

The NIL Store just released their top-selling schools of August, and the Big 10 still has a firm grip on the top two positions. Purdue and Illinois came in at #1 and #2 respectively, with my own alma mater, the Baylor Bears, shooting into the #3 spot. 

They also released the top-selling jerseys of the month, which featured UConn basketball superstar Paige Bueckers’ home jersey as the #1 seller, and her away jersey as the #2 seller for August. Bueckers continues to dominate the NIL store market for both men’s and women’s sales.

Some more surprises for total school sales included South Dakota coming in at #4, Eastern Michigan landing at #5, and Western Kentucky settling in the #7 position. The 8-10 best sellers were all Power conference schools, however. (More)

Athletes.org wants the House Settlement to Work

Athletes.org – the college athletes player’s association founded by Jim Cavale – released a statement last week in favor of the House Settlement. You can read the whole thing here:

So… why did they release this? Well, after Judge Wilken told attorneys to rework the deal earlier this month, the settlement’s actual adoption suddenly became at-risk. While the settlement doesn’t fix every problem, Athletes.org sees it as a valuable step toward a better system.

“The next step, after the settlement is approved, is for individual schools to work with AO to hear the voice of their athletes,” the organization said in its statement, while adding that the “only sustainable future” involves negotiating with the player’s association to form some sort of collectively bargained agreement. (More)

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ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Cooper Flagg

• School: Duke University 

• Position: Guard/Forward 

• Sport: Basketball 

• Class: Freshman

• Accolades: 

• A five-star prospect out of Montverde Academy (Florida) and rated as the top player in the 2024 class by both 247Sports and ESPN - originally a member of the 2025 class before reclassifying.

• Second Duke signee all-time with a 1.0000 rating from 247Sports, joining RJ Barrett.

• Named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year and McDonald's All-American as a senior.

• NIL: The Presumable #1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft recently signed an endorsement deal with New Balance.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ USA Today’s Matt Hayes: “It's not men vs. women, it's the NCAA vs. the free market.”

♦️ Michigan and Texas collectives teamed up for an NIL-powered shirt that benefits both schools

♦️ Senatorial candidate Jon Tester says he has no idea about the NIL deals being offered to support his campaign

♦️ The Pac 12 announces that four schools will be added by 2026

♦️ Mike Gundy says he pursued his linebacker in the portal because “He was very inexpensive.” 

♦️ USC names a general manager for their women’s basketball team 

♦️ Florida State is 0-2 despite ponying up about $12 million in NIL for their team

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Did Michigan lose a large part of its NIL brand when Jim Harbaugh left?

• Yes, his presence brought publicity along with the winning - 52%

• No, the school brand has always been most important - 48%