🏅 The NCAA's legal future is at stake right now

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Hey there,

I hope your weekend was well spent. I sure know mine was — for the first time in months, I got back out on the blacktop and played pickup hoops. Of course, I was so out of shape that I could only play three games… and I needed to go to a spa the next day. But three games is better than zero, right? It’s all about progress.

Speaking of progress, we’ve been progressing (see what I did there) on our Wednesday interview series, and this week’s a great one. We’ve got former Virginia Tech football star and current San Diego State NIL Coordinator Brenden Hill lined up tomorrow. You won’t want to miss it.

While you’re here, you should really check out our sponsor today, Birdie Golf. Improve your golf game just in time for summer.

— Cole, Justin and Collin

KICK-OFF

“In-House” NIL Could Get Players in Bowl Games

For anyone able to read between the lines, NIL coming “in-house” is an increasingly likely prospect. The combination of recent lawsuits – one of which essentially bars the NCAA from enforcing any NIL-related recruiting violations – has created the perfect conditions for collectives to be absorbed into athletic departments. But could this mean fewer bowl-season opt-outs? One insider thinks so:

Carparelli’s point is that once someone signs a legally binding contract to play football for a school, they’ll have to fulfill that contract or else risk breaching the agreement. As a college football fan, that’s a win for just about everyone. (More)

What’s NIL Market Value for Swimmers?

Because NIL deals are done in private, pinpointing an athlete’s market value remains a very difficult task; and with a less-viewed sport like swimming, the task becomes even more difficult. That’s why Swimswam.com used Opendorse’s NIL marketplace to provide a general idea of what swimmers are charging for NIL services.

At the high end, we have Leon Marchland, who was the country’s best swimmer last year. He charges at least $700 for NIL work, which rises into the thousands for an autograph or video shoutout. Some athletes charge even more than Marchland, like Youngstown State’s Phillip Miller, whose price for a social media post hovers around the $5K mark. 

But that’s the high end. Generally, even $100 NIL price tags are a bit pricey in the swimming world – Most swimmers are charging anywhere from fifteen to thirty dollars when monetizing their NIL. (More)

How Time-Slots Effect Women’s Basketball NIL

By just about any metric, women’s college basketball is coming off of its most successful season ever. The 2023-2024 campaign brought women’s hoops to the forefront of the college sports world. Now, the only question is how the sport plans on maintaining the momentum, which would create a platform for their NIL stars’ success.

One huge change we could see coming next season is women’s basketball receiving more favorable TV time slots. So much of viewership boils down to accessibility, but women’s college basketball has always taken a backseat to the men’s game in that category. Even without a favorable timeslot, however, the women’s basketball final brought in more viewers than the men’s this year.

More favorable time slots mean more viewers, which in turn means more brand value. USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb said it best: “Let’s continue to put the marketing dollars in and the good time slots. Keep giving women’s basketball a chance and it will excel.” (More)

Teaming up with

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Greg Gard Can’t Blame Players for Transferring

The transfer portal hasn’t exactly been kind to Wisconsin basketball… This Spring they lost two superstars — Chucky Hepburn and AJ Storr — to schools with more NIL money. For many coaches, that could have led to resentment, but not Greg Gard. According to him, the blame can’t lie with the players making a business decision.

Click the video below to see how Gard views the current state of college basketball’s NIL/Portal season, and let us know your thoughts on his perspective by replying to this email.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

The NCAA’s Legal Future is at Stake

As the House v. NCAA lawsuit rages on, whispers about a potential class-action settlement have only grown louder. That settlement could result in the NCAA paying out billions in damages – but they’d still need future legal protection if they decided to go that route. 

There are two ways the NCAA could cover themselves, legally, in the future. The first (and frankly less likely) path would be to finally receive the antitrust exemption they’ve been asking Congress for – that hasn’t been successful for years, so there’s no reason to expect Congress to change their tune now.

The second way the NCAA could protect itself from further antitrust suits would be to work toward a collectively bargained college football system. This could mean a salary cap in college sports, negotiated by college athletes themselves. (More)

• Athletes may be missing out on money by “commanding their own number.” When an athlete names an NIL price tag in the portal, their market value is often fact-checked by coaches with relationships at other schools.

• Could partial scholarships be over? That’s what Matt Brown asks in his latest piece, which discusses the effect of House v. NCAA on roster size and scholarship counts.

COLLECTIVE 101

Collective Coordination is Key

Ohio State is a case study on why schools and collectives need to be in lockstep. In a recent article for The Athletic, Cameron Teague Robinson did a deep-dive on precisely how the coordination works in Columbus, but since you probably don’t have a subscription, here’s a rundown given by Mit Winters:

This is connected to what we talked about earlier in this edition — the potential for NIL operations to come in-house. Schools themselves, the NCAA, and even state legislatures are preparing for that transition. School/collective coordination is one of the keys to a school’s NIL success. (More)

• Wide receiver Malachi Corley could have gone anywhere to make more on his NIL, but decided to stay at Western Kentucky. His reasoning? At WKU, “People wanted to see you grow as a human being and as a person, more so than just a football player.”

• Don’t sleep on Cal-Berkeley. The school’s collective just raised more than $1.6M in NIL money over the course of a month, and they’re looking to add much more as Spring comes to a close.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Jada Walker

Meet Jada Walker, the Baylor Women's Basketball player who has earned the prestigious title of 2024 Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Throughout her debut season, Jada showcased her unparalleled skills on the court, starting all 34 games. From dominating in free throw percentage to stealing the spotlight with her defense, Jada proved herself as a true leader of the Bears. But her impact extends far beyond the hardwood, as she leverages her platform to secure numerous NIL deals with top brands like Athlete Threads, Murry Ave, Draco Slides, and Authentic. 

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Former LSU teammates join forces for Apple Cash NIL deal

♦️ Kirby Smart says NIL has not changed how he recruits QBs

♦️ UCM teams up with Influxer for NIL

♦️ West Virginia teams up with UScellular for NIL campaign

BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Was the Stanford collective's hire of a former tech executive as their NIL head a good decision?

• No, he doesn’t know the college sports world — they needed someone from within the industry - 49%

• Yes, he has top-tier business experience and other schools should follow suit - 51%

This is a close one! Respond to this email to let us know your reasoning one way or another. Was Stanford on to something here, or no?