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🏅 Dan Hurley. Los Angeles. Rev-Share?

June 08, 2024

Hey there,

How much money is a college athlete really worth paying? That’s the riddle collectives — and schools, once Rev-Share is introduced — will be trying to calculate. Keep reading to see whether brand value outweighs talent.

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KICK-OFF

Dan Hurley Driven to L.A. because of Rev-Share?

Just days after the New Haven Register took readers behind the scenes of UConn’s future Rev-Share operation, reports surfaced that the Los Angeles Lakers are pursuing Dan Hurley for their head coaching position. As of my writing this, nothing’s a done deal… but the timing is interesting.

“Honestly, we would never spend up to the cap,” UConn Athletic Director David Benedict said of the current revenue share proposal, “We don’t generate enough money to spend up to the cap. Part of this will be driven by the market, like everything else.”

Rev-Share bills aside, the House settlement will likely require UConn to pay back around $500K per year for the next decade, further stressing the school’s financial resources. With all of that in mind, it’s reasonable to see why Hurley – who has been vocal about how exhausting coaching has become within college basketball – would leave for Los Angeles next season. (More)

Could the House Settlement Get Rejected?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been telling you all about the House v. NCAA settlement – the winners, losers, and potential outcomes of the court agreement. But nothing’s a done deal quite yet – in fact, there’s even a chance District Judge Claudia Wilken rejects the settlement outright.

According to David Drummond, who served as Google’s chief legal officer for 18 years, the settlement’s biggest flaw might be that too much would change under the new terms. Judge Wilken might reject the settlement because of how forward-thinking and radically different it imagines the future of college sports to be.

The House cases are the only ones on Judge Wilken’s plate right now, so we can expect a decision by as early as July. (More)

The American Conference is at Risk

If the House settlement does go through, there’s been some concern that it may financially hamstring schools and conferences that have little to do with the case. The American Athletic Conference is one such entity.

“We thought [the settlement] was necessary, we understand the threat of bankruptcy," said Mike Aresco, the AAC’s commissioner, “But what we didn't appreciate is we really didn't get involved in discussions early on, and yet we were responsible for a part of it.”

Each AAC school is set to pay about $500K per year in damages for the next decade. With much less money coming through their doors than Power Five schools, expect these smaller schools to bear the largest relative burden compared to more profitable schools. (More)

Teaming up with

The N.I.L. Playbook, developed by NXT Level Holdings, is a comprehensive guide designed for college and high school student-athletes looking to learn more about their new opportunities.

The book is useful to coaches, administrators, parents, alumni and NIL industry pros to help navigate the rapidly evolving landscape in college and high school athletics.

The Playbook covers everything. Topics include: how to utilize social media to build your personal brand, how to seize potential N.I.L. partnerships, and what to look for in contracts — not to mention tons of other resources and strategies that student-athletes can use to enhance their profile and monetize their Name, Image and Likeness.

BEST PRACTICES

How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Player?

Before the House settlement details were released, collectives were asking themselves the most effective way to deploy their NIL funds. Now, with revenue sharing, schools will be tasked with the very same questions – questions like, what’s too much to spend on a singular player?

That’s a tough question. For basketball, Eric Crawford has a few criteria: “The player better be pretty special. Or very high profile. Or represent something to the fan base that will make the return on that money add up to more than the actual investment. There are those kinds of players.”

When we talk about why schools spend any money at all on sports, the reasons usually revolve around building school spirit and maximizing brand recognition. As far as return on investment goes, perhaps those reasons will trump straight talent in many future circumstances. (More)

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Would Direct Payments be Public Records?

Deseret News was in the news multiple times last Fall as they fought, and ultimately lost, a legal battle concerning NIL contract transparency in Utah. Now, post-House, they’re asking a similar question: If schools are directly paying student-athletes, would those transactions and contracts be publicly available? The answer is, well, complicated.

Essentially, how the payments are structured matters most. Many states have laws about contract transparency with government employees, so if a school is paying an athlete, there’s a reasonable case to be made that those figures should be public knowledge.

On the other hand, if the payment is structured like an NIL deal, states like Utah have already found legal pathways to skirt student-athlete contract disclosures. (More)

COLLECTIVE 101

Marketing Agency Snags Mizzou Collective Head

Two Circles, a marketing agency that’s worked closely within the NIL world, just hired Missouri’s collective head to build out the company’s NIL and college sports vertical. Nick Garner will look to bring his marketing chops from Columbia to campuses all around the country.

“What we did [with Mizzou’s collective] is shift really into that agency model, which became effective,” Garner said of his time as executive director of the Every True Tiger Foundation, “That’s really the foundational piece of what we spent creating, over the past year at Mizzou, developing that marketing agency model.” 

Thanks to his ability to effectively market the collective (and some favorable state legislation passed last fall), Missouri’s NIL operation became one of the most innovative in the country under Garner. That’s a huge get for Two Circles. (More)

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Ben Miller

  • School: University of Duke

  • Position: Third Baseman 

  • Sport: Baseball 

  • Class: Graduate Student 

  • Accolades: 

  • All-ACC First Team Third Baseman (2024)

  • Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist (2024)

  • Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List (2024)

  • Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Midseason Watch List (2024)

  • Perfect Game Second Team Midseason All-American (2024)

  • NIL: Ben has used his mustache and platform to land NIL deals with brands like Hey Dude and Duke's NIL Store.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Tiger Woods’ son set to make big NIL money now that Florida allows high school NIL

♦️ Southern Miss’ head coach is willing to become a meme for the sake of NIL

♦️ An Arizona youth sports facility is awarding three $10,000 scholarships to female collegiate athletes as part of “Girls First” campaign

♦️ Leaf Trading Cards signs three high school football players to NIL partnerships

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“What we did [with Mizzou’s collective] is shift really into that agency model, which became effective.”

Nick Garner on how Missouri’s NIL program became successful