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October 10th, 2023

October 10th, 2023

Hey sports fan,

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got updates on everything you need to know about NIL from this past weekend. Is regulation coming? What about legal issues? Where does LeBron James’ middle son fit into all of this? It’s all coming right up, just keep scrolling.

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

Regulation Down the Road

The Division I council just voted unanimously on proposals that would add certain protections on NIL as soon as the next calendar year. Among these protections would be the standardization of NIL contracts, an NIL service provider registry, and reporting various details about NIL contracts.

This is a huge deal in terms of oversight. NCAA officials have been clamoring for Congressional help for months now, but it’s fallen on deaf ears. It seems like finally the NCAA has decided to take matters into their own hands.

These proposals could go through in January of 2024, meaning the college sports governing body would receive cold, hard data on every major NIL deal that’s agreed upon within college sports. Considering how lawless the NIL space has seemed to this point, that would help NCAA officials in creating a more transparent marketplace. (More)

Lou Lashes Out

Lou Holtz is a college football legend. The 86-year-old coach is perhaps best known for his illustrious run at Notre Dame, and then completely reignited his brand as one of the premiere college football analysts for the last thirty years or so. Well, coach Holtz has opinions on NIL, and he’s not sugarcoating them.

“I think a player should be paid if he works at McDonalds, but not to play college football,” Holtz said during an interview, “I think it’s [NIL] going to ruin college football.”

Holtz isn’t the first college football legend to criticize NIL, and he certainly won’t be the last. At the same time, it’s worth taking note when some of college sports’ biggest stars speak in such definitive terms. (More)

The Greater Good

Xavier Baseball stud Jayden Smith just signed a five-figure NIL deal with Mathnasium, which should be news on its own. The wildest part though? The deal was brokered through The Icon 1901, an HBCU-exclusive collective.

On the whole, HBCU’s have taken a different approach to NIL recently, and this effort is no different. Instead of supporting a singular entity, the Icon 1901 distributes funding across a range of HBCU schools, benefitting the entire network instead of just one school. It’s a unique model that puts the greater good of HBCUs in general ahead of one particular school. (More)

Legal Advice

Have you ever wondered what lawyers think about NIL? Considering their opinions carry a lot of weight in how NIL operates legally, maybe we should care a little bit more than we have. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly just ran an article that essentially explains the legal history of NIL through the eyes of lawyers from across the country.

As events like Dartmouth’s unionization effort become more common, the legal realm becomes the primary battleground for how NIL might look a few years from now. Until Capitol Hill passes legislation however, the entire legal landscape remains murky around NIL. (More)

NIL’s Sleeper Sports

When you think of NIL, you’re probably thinking about college football and basketball. Well, that might not be a given pretty soon here. James Kimball of NOVO Sports Group says that his firm sees a lot of potential in two often overlooked sports.

“There are two particular sports that I see thus far in the NIL era, and this is generally speaking, as being under-serviced by the industry and as a whole underemphasized by brands,” he explained in an interview, “Novo Sport Group is sport agnostic…but in terms of emphasis, baseball and golf.”

His reasoning is pure business, and it’s pretty interesting. (More)

Nevada’s NIL Gamble

The University of Nevada wants to become a basketball superpower, and with a little help from the Grand Sierra Resort, they may become just that. The resort has proposed building a $400M arena as part of their $1B entertainment district, which is where the Wolf Pack basketball team would take up residence.

NIL plays a big role in this development, too. If Nevada is playing games on the Grand Sierra’s court, the resort has vested interest in fielding a good product to bring people in – that’s why they’re planning on “hefty” donations to Nevada’s NIL collective each year. (More)

UMass Collective talks to NCAA Commissioner

Charlie Baker sat down for an interview with University of Massachusetts’ Midnight Ride Collective to talk about his transition from Governor to NCAA president, recent conference realignment efforts, and more.

When asked about what he thinks of the future of college sports, he stressed that he’s focused on “doing the most for our student athletes,” citing the development of the NCAA’s health insurance program and efforts to keep graduation rates high.

Baker’s been a vocal critic of NIL in the past, so as employee-designation murmurs rumble, his comments feel like an effort to re-center the college sports conversations around the athlete as a student. (More)

Middle Child

LeBron James is a brand in and of himself. Despite having zero logged court time yet, his eldest son Bronny James holds the highest NIL valuation in all of college sports based on his name alone. Now it seems like Bryce, the middle child of the James clan, is cashing in too. Nike just released an ad featuring Bryce and his AAU team rocking LeBron’s new shoes:

nikebasketball
View more on Instagram

Only a junior in high school, Bryce already holds the #1 high school NIL valuation in the nation at $1.2M. Some have suggested that he could be even better than his brother – Ohio State recently offered him a scholarship, a tempting offer that could boost his value well into the multi-million range. (More)