🏅 A New #1 Basketball Deal

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Hey there,

We’ve got a great edition for y’all today. First of all, there’s a new highest-paid college basketball player in the country, whose netting about $2M to play for his new school. Then there’s WWE, which is investing in NIL to find the next John Cena. We’re just scraping the surface – keep reading to get caught up on all of the latest NIL news!

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

KICK-OFF

A New #1 NIL Hooper

Coleman Hawkins, the stud forward who’s been dominating the Big 10 the past few years at Illinois, just made history with his transfer to Kansas State. Hawkins will reportedly receive the largest NIL contract in college basketball history, clocking in at around $2 million, to play for the Wildcats next season. 

There’s an interesting wrinkle here. Apparently, the deal was not done through the school’s collective. Instead, a group of private donors put together the offer to entice Hawkins.

While we don’t have exact figures, all of the reports indicate that this deal outpaces the one Great Osobor signed about one month ago. The NIL market for big-time basketball players is only growing, prompting many players to stay in school longer. (More)

WWE’s 2024 NIL Class Announced

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been active in the NIL world since the very beginning, utilizing NIL contracts to recruit student-athletes into the wrestling entertainment business. The company just announced its 2024 NIL class, which includes students from all over the country:

Their basic strategy is to utilize NIL as an inroad to scouting talent at the college ranks. If the talent shows promise, WWE will provide them with resources (acting lessons, athletic training, and more) to eventually be able to perform on the big stage. 

An interesting inclusion in the group? Jaiden Fields, from Georgia. She’s the sister of former Ohio State superstar Justin Fields. (More)

The History of Worker’s Comp in College Sports

If student-athletes are getting paid to play sports at their school, many are considering whether they should be eligible to receive worker’s compensation. Worker’s comp is generally reserved for “employees,”… but, as you know if you’ve been following the recent news, “employment” is becoming an increasingly tricky term for college athletics. 

Funny enough, there is precedent for worker’s comp in college sports. In the 1950s, the Supreme Court of Colorado sided with a University of Denver football player who filed a claim after injuring his back.

“Higher education in this day is a business, and a big one,” Justice Francis Knauss reasoned, “A student employed by the University to discharge certain duties, not a part of his education program, is no different than the employee who is taking no course of instruction so far as the [Colorado] Workmen’s Compensation Act is concerned.” (More)

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WHAT’S TRENDING

Ups and Downs

• Georgia’s punter is pitching his NIL services while he’s home in Australia – the only place he’s allowed to make money off of NIL. Hopefully he has some takers. 📉 

• Two of Oregon’s superstar track commits just signed NIL deals with HOKA as soon as they were legally able to. Oregon has historic ties to Nike, but individual athletes are attracting investment from other companies thanks to NIL 📈 

• South Carolina’s softball coach intends to utilize NIL to build a powerhouse in Columbia… but she knows that’s going to come at a cost: “As far as NIL goes, we’re going to need a lot of support.” 📈

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Sports Investor Thinks Women’s Track is Lucrative

Alexis Ohanian isn’t just Serena Williams’ husband. The Reddit co-founder uses his internet savvy to keep a pulse on the sports investment world, biting at lucrative opportunities when they appear. According to him, one just popped up: women’s track.

“There’s such an energetic fanbase that’s so engaged online,” Ohanian said, “This is the heat that I’m drawn toward. You can’t fake that. If you have this vibrant community online that has its memes and its culture and its in-jokes … you can build a ton.”

Ohanian compared women’s track to the Women’s World Cup. The sport gets tons of attention every four years… but how can the market expand between those four years? Maybe college championships, with NIL payouts. (More)

• Shilo Sanders just received a partial dismissal of his $11M lawsuit from a federal judge – a positive development for the reeling Colorado superstar.

• Nebraska’s Governor just signed an NIL bill into law that will allow schools to legally and directly compensate players, but still distinguish them from employees.

COLLECTIVE 101

Mississippi State Hires In-House Brand Strategist

SEC schools have seemed more willing than most to embrace the business side of NIL. It should come as no surprise, then, that schools like Mississippi State are investing resources into in-house branding experts like Brandon Lee. 

The former assistant athletic director for Missouri, Lee will join Mississippi State’s staff as the “Associate AD for Student-Athlete Brand Strategy and Innovation” – in other words, he’ll be helping athletes market themselves for NIL opportunities.

Athletic departments may be facing budget cuts, but that doesn’t mean they’re not spending money. Now, more than ever, they need help navigating the business side of college sports, which is why we’ve seen an explosion of in-house marketing and business roles. (More)

• Tennessee’s collective is raising NIL money by directing fans to get Jello shots at the College World Series.

• Arizona’s head women’s basketball coach says that only about 20% of recruits’ families don’t talk about money when she meets with them. That means 80% of recruiting trips involve financial negotiations.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Caleb Downs

• School: Ohio State 

• Position: Defensive Back

• Sport: Football 

• Class: Junior

• Accolades: 

• First Freshman to lead Alabama in tackles with 107 stops 

• All-American Honors

• 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year

• NIL: Caleb has used his influence to secure NIL deals with brands like Adapt Athlete, Players’ Tribune, EA Sports College Football 25, and Goat Fuel.

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NIL BLITZ

♦️ Amidst losing two of its biggest brands, the Big 12 is trying to close the revenue gap with other power conferences

♦️ Duquesne’s coach calls himself a “throwback” because he values relationships more than NIL

♦️ Florida baseball player becomes the first to college baseballer sign with Topps 

♦️ USC announces they will adopt a Rev-share model if the House settlement goes through

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Will Messi be worth $50 million per year over the next two years if he brings the MLS title to Inter Miami?

• Yes - 32%

• No - 68%