🏅 Is Colorado football's NIL reputation fool's gold?

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Does Colorado’s NIL reputation outweigh its ability to pay players? Which states don’t allow NIL at the high school level? How is Arkansas’ NIL collective getting mega-creative for fundraising? All these questions and more are being answered now. Just keep reading!

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KICK-OFF

Can Colorado Keep up with Rev-Share?

Last year, Colorado’s football team became the poster child of NIL thanks to its flashy trio of Shedeur Sander, Shilo Sanders, and Travis Hunter – all top-valued players. Now, however, there’s a legitimate concern the Buffaloes may not be able to afford to pay players competitively within the Rev-share model. 

It’s important to know why Colorado seemed so successful in NIL last year. The school’s brand was tied up almost entirely in their head coach, Deion Sanders. His own sons, as well as his hand-picked prodigy cornerback, were able to secure NIL deals with brands, but the school’s collective continued to flounder – meaning very few Buffs players actually got paid.

Now with a Rev-share model in place, the school would be paying players directly. That system will value stability across the team, instead of resources being concentrated between three players. (More)

Which States Don’t Allow High School NIL?

Thanks to a new amendment from the state’s high school athletic association, talent-rich Florida just became the 36^th state to allow NIL at the high school level. But which fourteen states are still holding out on NIL?

It’s a list chock full of potential earners: Alabama, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Texas.

When we consider how many college athletes these states produce, there’s a lot of money left on the table. Think about my home state of Texas: If taxpayers are willing to pony up $80M for a new stadium, they’d likely spend a bit more to get talented players in the door. (More)

Jaden Rashada Lawsuit Sets Timeline

A rough timeline has been established for the lawsuit between Jaden Rashada, a former four-star football recruit, and Billy Napier, the coach of the Florida Gators. Rashada alleges the Gators lied in order to flip his commitment to Florida, and then eventually reneged on a $13M NIL agreement he had in place with the collective.

Now, just because a rough timeline is set does not mean we should expect anything anytime soon. Various deadlines, such as the cutoff for discovery requests, are set for December of this year. This lawsuit will likely bleed well into 2025 before we have a verdict.

“I am comfortable with my actions,” Napier said a few weeks ago about the lawsuit, “I'm thankful for the university's support. We're gonna keep it at that and kind of let the process take its course.” (More)

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WHAT’S TRENDING

Ups and Downs

• UConn’s Alex Karaban launched custom “I’m Back” NIL merch after withdrawing from the NBA draft. Combined with Hurley’s return, things are looking bright in Storrs 📈

• Opendorse and Nebraska announce an interesting partnership: Holistic Athlete. The educational resource will focus on financial literacy for student-athletes 📈

• If Olympic runners aren’t getting national shoe deals, they’re losing money doing the sport. The boom-or-bust model does not bode well for aspiring track athletes’ NIL earning potential 📉

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Learfield Doubles Down on NIL Software

Learfield just took a big step in the NIL dealmaking arena when they announced a 12,000+ brand database would be integrated within the company’s Compass NIL platform. The service aims to easily connect athletes with potential sponsorship deals.

Until now, Learfield’s Compass NIL software has operated as an opt-in system for various deals, like the college football video game. Now, the company wants to rival other industry players with its own dealmaking platform. 

“We’ve been, if not the most active organization in NIL since it started, certainly one of the most active businesses in NIL,” said Learfield CEO Cole Gahagan, “I don’t think it’s an overstatement for me to say that this is probably the biggest, most meaningful step that we’ve taken in the NIL era.” (More)

• The NCAA is hoping that a House settlement plan will stop discussions about student-athlete employment for good. If not, they’re going to be lobbying Congress hard to grant antitrust exemptions.

• LGBTQ+ student-athletes are cashing in on NIL during Pride Month, as national brands commit numerous resources toward supporting social causes nationwide.  

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COLLECTIVE 101

Arkansas’ Collective Gets Creative for Donations

Arkansas’ collective just announced a unique partnership with ECHO, a credit card processing company, to bring more money into the school’s NIL fund. Here’s how the partnership works:

When a business signs up for this promotion, half of the processing fees it generates will be donated directly to Arkansas’ Edge NIL collective. Half is a lot of money, which could add up to thousands over the course of only a few days or weeks. 

I’m a big fan of this move. These “passive” donation initiatives create steady flows of NIL money over longer periods of time, which in turn wean NIL collectives off of big-donor dependency. (More)

• If you were worried about whether Kentucky’s donations have taken a hit since losing John Calipari, don’t. The Wildcats’ collective has raised $650K since hiring Mark Pope.

• The Gamecocks’ collective is raising NIL money in the most South Carolina way possible: with a wing-eating competition later this month. $50 admittance will also include meet-and-greets with players and signed memorabilia.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Skyla Shulte

• School: Michigan State University 

• Position: Vault, Beam, Floor, All-Around 

• Sport: Gymnastics 

• Class: Senior 

• Accolades: 

• Vault - 9.925 (vs. Bowling Green/LIU, 3/5/23)

•  Bars - 9.950 (2x, most recent at Eastern Michigan w/ LIU, 3/3/23)

• Beam - 9.950 (7x, most recent vs. Central Michigan, Fisk, Greenville, 3/9/24)

•  Floor - 9.975 (2x, most most recent vs. Central Michigan, Fisk, Greenville, 3/9/24)

•  All-Around - 39.675 (vs. Western Michigan, 3/5/22)

• NIL: Skyla’s wide range of NIL deals includes teaming up with the WWE to represent Michigan State's NIL Store and Playa Bowls. 

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NIL BLITZ

♦️ Adidas signs seven elite high school football recruits to NIL deals as part of their Adizero 7 Class

♦️ Under Armor’s CEO will earn a massive payday if the stock reaches $13. Should he invest in NIL? 

♦️ The #1 QB in the country isn’t thinking about money until he’s in the NFL

♦️ Minnesota athletic director hints scholarship numbers will likely be affected by new rules

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Texas' Lamborghini recruiting tactics... All fun, or bad for college sports?

• It’s no big deal - 39%

• It’s not good for college sports - 61%