🏅Travis Hunter is Colorado's Biggest NIL Collective Donor

Hey there,

Well, that slate of games was… disappointing. The first-round matchups of the College Football Playoff weren’t particularly close, but despite the scoreboard, there was still plenty of drama regardless.

Everyone seemed to be firing off hot takes about who should have been included – yeah, even Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin – which meant that, even though the games were all basically blowouts, college football was still worth paying attention to last weekend.

And it’s also worth paying attention to right now! We’ve got a Christmas Eve edition of NIL Wire today. First, a pretty shocking revelation about how Travis Hunter’s relationship with Colorado’s NIL collective. Then, we’re looking at how Brian Kelly is trying to legally rally NIL support with his own money. Oh, and an update on exactly how much money the House plaintiff lawyers are seeking in their landmark settlement win. It’s all coming up right now – let’s get into it!

— Cole, Justin and Collin

The Big 3

Travis Hunter is one of Colorado NIL’s Biggest Donors…?

Colorado’s Travis Hunter may hold the 2^nd highest NIL valuation in the country, but that’s not because of what the school is paying him. According to Deion Sanders Jr., Hunter refuses any money from the school’s NIL collective – and even actively contributes to the fund himself. 

“You know he receives no NIL from the collective, and he's one of the biggest donors to the collective?” Sanders Jr., the team’s video coordinator, said, “He's paying a lot of other people's NIL on this team.” 

The 2024 Heisman winner is currently worth about $5.7 million in NIL, but that’s due exclusively to the brand deals he’s been able to score with national companies to rep their products. Hunter is expected to go early in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. (More)

Big Paydays are Coming for House v. NCAA Lawyers

We just learned how much money the Plaintiff’s lawyers want from House v. NCAA litigation, and the ask is pretty astounding. According to initial reporting the motion they filed in court last week, they’re seeking $484 million. Another report goes as high as $515 million.

These aren’t random figures. According to the Sportico’s reporting, here’s how it all breaks down: “20% of the NIL settlement fund, 10% of the additional compensation fund, an injunction relief award of $20 million paid by the defendants, and a little over $9 million for ‘out-of-pocket litigation expenses.’” 

According to the lawyers themselves, their request was “significantly less” than the usual 25% benchmark that’s used in class action cases where the lawsuits were filed. (More)

Brian Kelly is (Kinda) Giving NIL Money to LSU

College coaches are not allowed to donate directly to NIL collectives, but that’s not stopping them from getting creative in trying. Take Brian Kelly of LSU, who just announced a “Million Dollar Match” promotion which is meant to directly spur LSU’s NIL war chest. 

Here’s how it works: For every dollar that someone gives to LSU’s NIL collective, Brian Kelly is going to give that same amount to the school’s Tiger Athletic Foundation’s AD’s Excellence Fund. It’s an indirect way of contributing his own money to the school’s NIL efforts – and even he admits it’s a workaround.

“While we are not permitted to financially support our NIL efforts directly,” he explained, “Paqui and I can certainly match this tremendous fanbase’s generosity by investing in the future of LSU Athletics through the Tiger Athletic Foundation.” (More)

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ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Braden Smith

• School: Purdue 

• Sport: Basketball

• Position: Guard

• Class: Junior

• Accolades: 

• First-team All-Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-America accolades.

• Named one of five finalists for the Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard.

• He averaged 12.0 points, 7.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game while playing a school-record 1,327 minutes and starting all 39 games.

• NIL: He ranks 62nd among all college basketball players in terms of NIL contracts and is the highest-ranked Purdue basketball player for NIL valuation. Smith's NIL deals include partnerships with companies like HEYDUDE Shoes, Trueblood Real Estate, and Westfield Basketball. In July 2024, he was the highest earner at the NIL Store. While exact figures are not disclosed, models suggest his yearly earnings from these deals could be in the six-figure range. Smith's NIL valuation recently saw a significant boost, growing by 328K to reach $1.1 million

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NIL BLITZ

♦️ Netflix is releasing an SEC football docuseries for the 2024 season

♦️ College baseball coaches are concerned about how the new, post-House roster rules could stunt their sport’s growth

♦️ Hollister is expanding their NIL strategy to even more new schools

♦️ Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo signs an NIL deal with Red Bull

♦️ Kentucky’s Mark Pope thinks college basketball teams should play 40-game schedules

♦️ Dan Mullen was drawn to UNLV job because of their increased NIL budget

♦️ Alabama’s Mark Sears surprises teammates with NIL puffer jackets before their trip to North Dakota

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Is Pavia's court win on JUCO eligibility a good thing for college sports?

• Good: The NCAA's rules on this issue were outdated anyway - 46%

• Bad: Is eligibility itself going to be gone next? - 54%