🏅 Paige Bueckers gets her own Nike Shoe

Hey there,

Paige Bueckers’ newest NIL deals have her primed to become the new queen of NIL. Don’t let that overshadow the fact that walk-ons may become a thing of the past, though. Oh, and did we mention that Shedeur Sanders just launched his own podcast to build his brand? It’s all coming up right here, right now.

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KICK-OFF

Paige Bueckers… the new Queen of NIL

As part of her NIL partnership with the company, Nike just announced that Paige Bueckers will receive an exclusive player-edition of the Nike G.T. Hustle 3. It’s not exactly a signature shoe, but it’s about the closest thing we’ve seen in college hoops – male or female.

In years past, Nike’s been reluctant to invest in women’s basketball. Former UConn great Breanna Stewart never got a signature shoe with the company, which led to her eventual departure for Puma in 2021. It seems like Nike doesn’t want to lose out again.

Bueckers is arguably the biggest name returning to college basketball. She currently holds the 19^th-highest NIL valuation in the country, regardless of sport. (More)

QB Declines 7-Figure Offer, Stays in Hometown

Trent Seaborn, a 16-year-old high school QB from Alabama, just turned down a seven-figure NIL deal. His reasoning? He loves his hometown, and NIL isn’t allowed in Alabama high schools yet.

“I told him there’s a trading card company that wants to give you a seven-figure NIL” Trent’s father, Jason, said, “I prodded at him, asking him what he thought because we’d have to move out of state. He didn’t bite, just kind of shrugged his shoulders.”

Apparently, Trent’s high school team meant too much. It’s not like this is his only chance for an NIL deal, either – he’s already received offers from schools like Florida State, Alabama, Oregon, and LSU. There’s a whole lot of money in his future. (More)

NCAA Launches “NIL Assist” Platform

The NCAA’s “NIL Assist” platform launched on Thursday in partnership with Teamworks. The platform will serve as a hub for tons of NIL activities – connecting athletes to potential NIL partnerships, facilitating deal disclosures, and more.

Amidst the fears and tensions springing from the House Settlement, the platform’s officials are trying to calm everyone’s nerves about what the platform actually does.

“This isn’t an enforcement mechanism for eligibility,” said Teamworks VP Kevin Barefoot, “It is not intended to set what the fair market is, and does not solve all challenges…It is a small and solid step forward.” (More)

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DOWN TO BUSINESS

College Football 25 hits Half-a-Billion in Sales

The reviews are in: The College Football 25 video game has been a massive financial success. About two weeks into the game’s release, it’s accrued over $500 million in sales – blowing away criticisms about potentially tight financial margins.

Earlier this year there were questions about whether signing nearly every college football player in the country to an NIL deal would actually be profitable. According to one Redditer, EA likely spent nearly $8 million on NIL deals alone – and that’s not counting the other costs associated with creating the game.

Half a billion dollars ensures that EA will continue producing the game. In fact, it may have garnered enough interest to push them into the college basketball business, too. (More)

• Paige Bueckers's Nike shoe deal isn’t her only recent NIL success story. She just inked a deal with Unrivaled, a women’s 3 x 3 league in which she’ll receive partial equity.

COLLECTIVE 101

The Future of Walk-Ons is in Flux

With impending changes to college football’s scholarship limits and roster sizes, the future of walk-ons has never been less clear. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was “saddened” when he heard the news:

“The crazy thing is, there's not many coaches that want 105 scholarships," he said, “We want to keep our walk-ons. It's hard to manage that many guys. When you have that many guys on scholarship… Kids that just want to be a part of it, that want to come help you practice in practice – it saddens me that that is probably going away.” 

It’s worth noting, however, that many would-be walk-ons will now become scholarship players. Because every single player can technically now receive a scholarship, the number of potential scholarships increases from 85 to 105. (More)

• In preparation for the inaugural season with their new conference, Colorado’s “Stampede to the Big 12” campaign is seeking to raise $250,000 for NIL.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Nijaree Canady

• School: University of Texas Tech 

• Position: Pitcher 

• Sport: Softball 

• Class: Sophomore

 Accolades: 

• USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year (2024)

• NFCA First Team All-American (2024)

• NFCA All-Region First Team (2024)

• NFCA First Team Academic All-American (2024)

• NIL: NiJaree Canady has just inked a jaw-dropping NIL deal worth over $1 million to play for Texas Tech. She also has deals with MLB PlayBall Weekend, Long McArthur Ford, Ringor, and St. Jude Research Hospital. 

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Mak Whitham – Nike’s 14-year-old NIL signing – just became a professional soccer player

♦️ Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is launching a podcast

♦️ Nebraska’s AD is going all in on NIL: “It’s all about winning”

♦️ Florida head Billy Napier coach isn’t fazed by his chief of staff getting poached by Georgia

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Is the $1M Nijaree Canady price tag the new normal for NIL in college softball, or a one-off circumstance?

• The new normal - 42%

• It’s a one-time thing - 58%