🏅 Former Gold Medalists are Envious of NIL

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Hey there,

Today’s edition is packed out: Gold medalists, Colorado players not named Sanders, and some wild developments in the Florida high school NIL saga. We’ve got it all coming up right now — just keep scrolling!

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KICK-OFF

Former Gold Medalist Talks NIL for Swimmers

In 2012, American swimmer Missy Franklin won four gold medals at the London Olympics. At the time, she was a student-athlete at Cal. Franklin decided to remain in college for another two years after her magnificent 2012 performance… but because NIL wasn’t allowed yet, she lost out on an estimated $2 to $5 million in sponsorship dollars. 

“I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit envious,” Franklin said of the new NIL rules, “That was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make in my life was, ‘Do I turn professional and actually monetize the work that I've put in my entire life, or do I swim in college?’” 

Over a decade later, NIL allows college swimmers like Emma Weyant to capitalize on the million-dollar opportunities that will present themselves in the Olympics. (More)

The OTHER Colorado Defensive Back

The Sanders brothers aren’t the only Colorado players capitalizing on their NIL. Defensive back Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig was able to buy his mother a car with his NIL earnings, which he called “The biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Silmon-Craig’s NIL journey has been more or less overlooked because of his teammates. Originally part of Deion Sanders’ legendary Jackson State defense, he followed Coach Prime to Colorado alongside Travis Hunter. Coach Prime had glowing words for Silmon-Craig last fall:

While he may not be as highly valued as Travis Hunter, Silmon-Craig’s 215K social media followers give him a massive audience to monetize. From the looks of it, he seems to be doing that quite well. (More)

Clemson Coaches Love Dabo’s NIL Approach

Clemson has been one of the most interesting teams to monitor during the NIL era. Historically, head football coach Dabo Swinney has been one of the policy’s most vocal opponents – a stance that has negatively affected Clemson’s recruiting over the past few years. 

One faction that isn’t upset with Clemson’s NIL reluctance? Clemson’s coaching staff.

"I've got a lot of friends around," said defensive ends coach Chris Rumph “And there's not a lot of people that are doing [NIL] the way that Coach Swinney is doing it… I have some buddies from some other places, and they're miserable. Making a whole lotta money with a whole lot of miserable.” (More)

Teaming up with

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DOWN TO BUSINESS

American Conference is Considering a Salary Floor

Forget a salary cap – the American Athletic Conference (AAC) is considering a salary floor, requiring its schools to commit a certain amount of money to ensure the entire conference remains competitive.

“I do think it’s important that we set a floor, so all our institutions are investing at a minimum level,” said AAC Commissioner Tim Pernetti, “It’s important just to create more competitive balance.” 

Really, this is no different than what the Power conferences are attempting to do – create parity. With schools like Memphis investing heavily into NIL, small spenders could get priced out of contention unless they up their NIL game. A salary floor would force them to do precisely that. (More)

• Playfly CEO thinks that the “most profound change” with college sports has yet to come… but that it will be here within three years.

COLLECTIVE 101

Florida Bans High School Collectives

About a month after the state voted to allow NIL at the high school level, the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) is passing new bylaws to prohibit collectives from forming. 

The new rules provide language to both define what NIL collectives do, and then prohibit such entities from fundraising through school-sanctioned channels.

The bylaws were passed quickly as tensions rise around NIL in Florida high schools. There was always a concern that private schools could out-spend public schools with NIL – this new measure aims to level the playing field. (More)

• Ryan Day says NIL has evened out the recruitment landscape: “Well, you would like three five-star recruits. That’s not always gonna be the case anymore because of the way things are… You have to find the right value.”

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Evan Stewart

• School: University of Oregon

• Position: Wide receiver

• Sport: Football

• Class: Junior 

• Accolades: 

• SEC All-Freshman Team

• The Athletic Freshman All-America

• ESPN Freshman All-America

• FWAA Freshman All-America

• NIL: Evan’s talent has opened doors for NIL deals with companies like Texas Aggies United, EA Sports, and Coach.

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NIL BLITZ

♦️ Pitt is relying on its culture – not NIL – to make it to the top of college football

♦️ Southern Miss AD is unsure what revenue sharing will look like at the school: “I think it’s too early”

♦️ Marketers are opening up a new landscape for college athletes to get money

♦️ While NIL plays a part, Oregon’s success isn’t solely an NIL phenomenon

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