🏅Deps. of Education and Justice Weigh in on College Rev-Sharing

Hey there,

Holy cow, what a busy weekend it’s been in college sports. Even if the National Championship hadn’t happened last night (Congrats, Ohio State fans), we’d still have an absolutely loaded edition of NIL Wire for you today – backed mostly by some massive developments in the legal area of college sports.

First, the Department of Education just released a memo saying that rev-share agreements must follow Title IX rules. Then The Department of Justice is asking Judge Wilken to cut the salary cap out of the House Settlement. Lastly, some key figures – like Johnny Manziel – attended Athletes.org’s first players-only meeting ever on Saturday. It’s a lot to catch up on… so let’s try to do it now.

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

The Big 3

Department of Education: Title IX applies to Rev-Share

The Department of Education just made a massive announcement: Once the House Settlement is officially implemented, revenue sharing must follow Title IX rules. In other words, gender equality must extend to how much money student-athletes are getting from their schools. 

“When a school provides athletic financial assistance in forms other than scholarships or grants, including compensation for the use of a student-athlete’s NIL, such assistance also must be made proportionately available to male and female athletes,” the DoE’s memo said.

There’s so many questions going on with this, so we’ll try to get a full All-Access explainer out to you soon about it. One thing to watch out for, however, is whether or not Donald Trump – aided by pressure from Ted Cruz – might try to reverse course on this matter by replacing officials at the Department of Education. (More)

Department of Justice: Eliminate House “Salary Cap”

Hold your horses on the House Settlement at all though – the Department of Justice just sent a statement of interest into the agreement. Their concern? The NCAA is still fixing athlete compensation. 

What’s going on here is that the DOJ wants Judge Wilken to cut the roughly $20 million “salary cap” out of the House Settlement. Because the number wasn’t collectively bargained, the DOJ sees it as an arbitrary price fix on how much student-athletes can make.

We’ve been saying that for a while now – without some sort of collectively bargained agreement in place, many legal expert believe the NCAA can’t legally put an earnings barrier in place. The DOJ isn’t the first to wage this critique – and they likely won’t be the last. (More)

Athletes.org Hosts First Players-Only Meeting

Athletes.org – which is trying to establish itself as the Players Association for college athletes – just held their first ever players only meeting on Saturday. Amongst those attending was Texas A&M legend Johnny Manziel, and Grant House – the guy behind the House v. NCAA case.

“Without independent, formal representation separate from schools or their affiliates, athletes will inevitably remain in a vulnerable position, perpetuating the cycle of inequity and paving the way for continued litigation,” athletes from the House case wrote to the court in December, imploring Judge Wilken to recognize the Players Association. 

The meeting covered a lot – student-athlete employment status, the transfer portal, and more. It’s no coincidence that the meeting took place in Atlanta, either – just a few miles away from the National Championship game. (More)

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ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Alyssa Ustby

School: University of North Carolina (UNC)

Sport: Basketball

Position: Guard/Forward

Class: Graduate Student (5th year)

Accolades:

• Three-time All-ACC selection

• First player in UNC women's basketball history to record a triple-double (January 4, 2024)

• Second-team All-ACC honors in 2023-24 season

• First-team All-ACC honors in 2022-23 season

• Career-high 25 points against Wake Forest on February 18, 2024

NIL: Ustby has become a prominent figure in the NIL era, securing partnerships with Good Molecules, American Eagle, Core Hydration, Hey Dude and Ritz Crackers.

Ustby is also part of a unique NIL deal with the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services to promote chocolate milk as a sports recovery drink.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Matthew Sluka – the center of UNLV’s NIL controversy last fall – is transferring to James Madison

♦️ A debate is raging about how much NIL agent fees should cost

♦️ Nate Ament is allowing fans to influence his college commitment decision by crowdfunding on Fanstake

♦️ The National College Players Association has withdrawn their unfair labor practice charge against USC, the NCAA and Pac-12

♦️ The University of Georgia’s Olympian sprinter Aaliyah Butler just signed an NIL deal with Nike

♦️ AIC head coach Eric Lang is organizing a college hockey transfer showcase

♦️ Michigan’s Jordan Marshall likes to go fast – and now he has a Porsche to do it

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Should teams be able to fine their players for bad grades?

• No, academics shouldn’t affect NIL - 24%

• Yes, it’s part of the job - 53%

• Yes, but only for skipping class. If a player is trying hard they can’t be penalized - 23%