Maui, Bengals, and NIL

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Hey there,

Tuesday is upon us, which means we’re serving you all the NIL news from this weekend. In today’s newsletter, we’re looking into why there’s still so many non-profit collectives, a Bengals RB who has taken the NIL Law world by storm, and a powerful story about two brothers using NIL to help a whole Island. It’s all coming up now.

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

KICK-OFF

Brothers Back Maui with NIL

When fires swept throughout Maui, the Akina brothers couldn’t simply stand by. The two brothers now live in Utah – with the oldest, Keanu, golfing at BYU and the youngest, Kihei committed to do the same thing – but the family had deep roots on the island, so they decided to mobilize their NIL to help.

By reaching out to a church on the island, the Akina brothers were able to connect with the residents and pay for some of the damages by raising money with their NIL. The brothers were even able to gift 165 shirts to young boys in the area. (More)

The Collective Association Elects Leadership

At their inaugural Orlando summit late last week, The Collective Association (TCA) elected their official leadership team. Despite an NCAA investigation being levied against Tennessee, the organization opted for Tennessee-affiliated collective head Hunter Baddour to serve as chairman.

Notably, the leadership team is comprised of primarily SEC schools, with high-ranking officials from Ole Miss, Georgia, and South Carolina – not to mention another Tennessee-affiliated figure, Mackenzie Mulvey, serving as treasurer.

The only non-SEC school elected to leadership was Florida State, who’s football program was just hit with NIL-related recruiting sanctions less than a month ago. (More)

Clemson Baseball wants $1M in NIL

Clemson baseball coach Erik Bakich is pleading Tiger fans for $1M in NIL donations, saying it’s “imperative” to cover each player on the team’s cost of living.

“Right now, that [living cost] is being paid by our (players’) families to the school,” he said, adding that most of his players are simply using their NIL money to pay for their cost of attendance.

The team only has 11.7 scholarships to split between the 40-person roster – meaning that there’s always a price to pay… no full rides. His point is that NIL isn’t being used for extravagance within Clemson’s baseball program, as many would suggest. It’s being used to help each kid go to school for as little as possible. (More)

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK

An Unlikely Alliance

Now that the Big 10 and SEC have vowed to fix college football together, we can all rest easy… right? This funny clip suggests otherwise. Don’t worry SEC and Big 10 fans, we still love y’all 😉.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Bengals Player is becoming an NIL Law Guru

Bengals running back and former Texas A&M Aggie Trayveon Williams is making waves for his academic contributions related to NIL — he’s co-teaching a class on sports law with professor Alex Sinatra at A&M’s law school.

He’s been busy writing, too. Williams recently co-authored a paper with Sinatra called College Athletics and NIL: Perspectives from a Practitioner and an Athlete, which discusses various legal challenges with NIL by taking an athlete’s point of view on the topic. When asked about the Harvard-published paper, he kept the whole venture in perspective. 

“I just want to thank my co-professor Alex for being such an honorable teammate… To be a co-author on this Harvard paper and to have it published, it’s a great feeling and I am extremely blessed.” (More)

• Four-star receiver Mikey Matthews just signed a one-of-a-kind deferred compensation NIL deal based around cash value life insurance. The Cal commit could make up to $1M by the end of this deal, which has potential to pay him out for the rest of his life. 

• In North Carolina, high school athletes that attend private schools can now make NIL deals thanks to a new resolution from their governing body, the NCISAA. Public school students, however, remain barred from making similar deals after lawmakers blocked the change in May of last year.

COLLECTIVE 101

Why are there still non-profit NIL Collectives?

In June of 2023, the IRS issued a memo describing how NIL collectives should not be classified as non-profits. Initially, that memo sent ripples through college sports – most famously, it caused Texas A&M’s non-profit collective to fold. But since then, nothing has really changed. Why?

According to accounting professor Bridget Stromberg, “The IRS would issue a memo to attempt to change behaviors, or to signal how they plan to enforce a particular policy…but there aren’t immediate penalties for not complying with the memo’s recommendations or assertions.”

Now, that doesn’t mean penalties couldn’t come down the line. Stromberg insisted “it is more common for the IRS to sue a single organization, rather than an entire class of taxpayers.” Many are predicting a day of reckoning coming soon for non-profit collectives, who will likely be left on an island by the schools they serve. (More)

• The University of Florida has moved on from Marcus Castro-Walker, who served as the school’s director of NIL and player engagement. Castro-Walker is a key figure in the current NCAA investigation involving potential recruitment violations in 2022.  

• BYU head basketball coach Mark Pope was blunt when asked about how his job has changed since 2021. “The most important thing we do is probably raising NIL money,” he said, adding “That’s just the job that’s been created for us in the last couple of years… It probably should take up the most time, and it probably does.”

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Ashley Jones

Despite losing her arm in an ATV accident at 14, Ashley Jones didn't let her circumstances hinder her passion for cross country running. Her perseverance led her to compete at the highest level, all while not receiving any NIL money.

Now, the Tennessee Volunteer has signed a significant deal with running brand On. Ashley shared in an interview how her story can inspire and give hope to others, emphasizing that everyone's life has purpose and meaning.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard signs on with The Dairy Alliance

♦️ Albany golfer forfeits high school eligibility to sign with sports management company

♦️ New Balance signs two more elite runners

♦️ Ohio State QB Julian Sayin inks a deal with Panini America for trading card

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Should NIL recruitment rules be changed?

• No, they’re imperfect but relatively fine - 47%

• Yes, NIL recruitment rules should be stricter - 39%

• No, NIL recruitment rules should be looser - 14%