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Today’s a big day — NIL Wire just crossed over 20,000 subscribers — in only 4 MONTHS! Thanks for sticking with us and joining twenty thousand others in catching all of the latest NIL news. As long as you’re around, we’ll keep dishing out the latest NIL news directly to your inbox — completely for free.

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

KICK-OFF

UConn’s Pink Jerseys Benefit Cancer Research

Thanks to NIL, UConn women’s basketball is transforming their massive brand into money for cancer research. The Huskies partnered with Campus Ink to create “Pink Edition” jerseys to be sold on their NIL store website:

The pink jerseys will be worn in the Huskies February 4^th battle against St. Johns as part of honoring the legacy of Kay Yow, N.C. State’s legendary coach who was lost to breast cancer in 2009 after a decades long fight. A portion of the proceeds will go straight to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. (More)

The Partisan Divide on NIL Thickens

Despite lip service about coming to bipartisan agreements, the 11^th Congressional hearing on NIL didn’t accomplish much. In fact, the hearing may have clarified the partisan lines on college athlete compensation more than ever — Democrats generally supporting employment models while Republicans generally oppose them.

Discussions quickly progressed past NIL and into more general athlete compensation topics, with politicians on both sides offering solutions and counter-solutions to the “Wild West” that many believe college athletics has become.

Some want NIL reform, while others want far more. In classic Congressional fashion, lawmakers find themselves in a stalemate. (More)

Charlie’s Peacemaking Chops

They may not agree with him, but stakeholders around the country insist that Charlie Baker is one of the best suited men to guide the NCAA through perhaps its most uncertain period ever. College sports power brokers point to current NCAA President’s ability to listen to both sides of an issue, stretching all the way back to his politically divided childhood and carrying through his career.

“In both of those roles as governor and health care CEO he was in very complex environments and worked to solve some pretty hard, what seemed to be intractable, problems,” said Baylor President Linda Livingstone, who heads the NCAA Board of Governors.

To this point, Baker’s solutions have left many unsatisfied. However, as the NCAA dives deeper into political battles in Congress, the former governor’s ability to stand in the middle of a problem could be his greatest asset — or perhaps his downfall. (More)

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Caitlin Clark’s Tumble

Ohio State’s women’s basketball team scored 100 points in its massive upset over Iowa. But the drama didn’t stop there — as fans stormed the court, one person collided with Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark, which led to her being helped off the court.

Clark, who currently holds the 31st highest NIL valuation in all of college sports, insisted after the game that the wind was just knocked out of her. That’s good news — if she were seriously injured, she could have very easily lost out on thousands in NIL deals.

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DOWN TO BUSINESS

How Jim Tressel Sees College vs. Pro Sports

Despite cries that college sports are becoming professionalized, former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel isn’t worrying too much about changes to the college sports landscape.

“When people say, ‘It’s going to be like the NFL.’ Well, no, the NFL has salary caps and rules… College football is a long way from an organization as intricate as the NFL.”

He continued with his personal reasoning by invoking NIL: “How are you going to get those universities to find a way to have a professional model, a for-profit model with the fact that the courts have ruled 9-0 that students can make money on their name, image and likeness?” (More)

NCAA Football Game Coming this Summer

EA Sports’ wildly popular NCAA Football game (discontinued in 2013) will likely hit stores this summer, although we aren’t exactly sure of the exact release date yet. Their original plan to release the game fell through last summer when the Brandr Group filed a lawsuit to stop EA from negotiating with players – That lawsuit was dropped in November.

Now, there’s an open runway for the game’s return. There’s still some hiccups to be solved, however, like how USC QB Caleb Williams thinks star players should make more money for their NIL than other athletes. (More)

COLLECTIVE 101

The Collective Association Wants a Say

The Collective Association, a trade association comprised of over thirty-five NIL collectives across the country, is not happy about being left out of the Congressional Hearing on NIL that took place last week. They released a letter making a public case for why they should be involved in negotiations of this sort. 

The letter gives legislative suggestions as well as a detailed history of the organization’s role. Seeing as they’ve been stonewalled on getting many lawmakers’ attention thus far, however, it seems a bit unlikely they will get the opportunity they desire – especially as the partisan fault lines shift.

Volleyball NIL Tampering

Portal tampering allegations aren’t restricted to college football. Creighton volleyball’s Kirsten Bernthal Booth took to Twitter/X to share her thoughts on how NIL has affected the college volleyball landscape – claiming that her sport is one of the worst for tampering:

The thread is worth reading, as she explains a few of the strategies she’s seen happen to get around tampering guidelines. In a departure from similar diatribes, however, her impassioned plea is directed toward coaches and players instead of a governing body to implement change. (More)

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Hunter Dickinson

Meet Hunter Dickinson, the Kansas Jayhawk big man whose on-court success is matched by a remarkable NIL Valuation of $847K, securing him the 27th spot among college sports' highest valuations. 

Transferring from Michigan to KU, Dickinson is not only a force in the game but also a business powerhouse. He's bagged lucrative NIL deals with renowned brands like Minsky's, CVS, Adidas Basketball, Postgame Official, and the Mass St. Collective, elevating his off-court success.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Do scholarship limits even matter with NIL?

♦️ Alabama AD uses Saban quote to talk about NIL

♦️ Former Duke AD calls NCAA “toxic”

♦️ Louisville students take an NIL career day in Indianapolis

♦️ Kansas promotes NIL head from within

♦️ Georgetown NIL store officially open

♦️ Iowa State is trying frozen pizzas that benefit NIL

BATTER UP

Todays Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Will Missouri's NIL journalism initiative attract new applicants to the journalism program?

• Yes - 69%

• No - 31%