🏅 Pitbull just bought a college football stadium

Teaming up with

Hey there,

We’ve got a packed edition for you today, starting with Florida International’s newest stadium sponsorship – it’s genuinely one of the most hilarious stories we’ve ever covered.

We’ve also got discussion on whether walk-ons should be getting House damages payments. Oh – and Colorado football players are getting their social media tags printed onto the back of their jerseys? It’s all coming up right now!

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

KICK-OFF

Mr. Worldwide Goes International

In an effort to diversify revenue streams, some schools have considered giving corporations the ability to purchase the naming rights to their stadium. Well, Florida International University just found a sponsor, but it’s no corporation: 

Yes, you read that correctly. Pitbull – the musical artist otherwise known as “Mr. Worldwide,” just bought the naming rights to FIU’s stadium for the next five years. He’ll be doling out north of a million dollars a year to the school, which will likely ease their ability to pay back House settlement damages.

My best guess at the strategy here is linking Florida “International” University to the internationally famous “Mr. Worldwide.” Why on earth Pitbull decided this was a necessary marketing strategy, I’m not sure. (More)

Colorado Practice Jerseys Add to Hype Machine

As they tend to do, the Colorado Buffaloes football team went viral when videos emerged of their practice jerseys late last month. Instead of housing their names on the back of their jerseys, Coach Prime decided to display the players’ social media handles, presumably to increase their brand exposure:

“Everybody wants to be noticed,” Coach Deion Sanders said about the decision, “Everybody wants to be followed, everybody wants to be that person, so why not help them.”

Offensive coordinator Sean Lewis was equally supportive of the idea, saying “It’s awesome…Give the guys an opportunity to build their brand and I think it’s an outstanding job by [Coach Prime] to think outside the box.” (More)

Preseason Practices Provide NIL Boost

Some big-name programs are giving their NIL war chest a boost by monetizing their preseason practices. Ohio State and Nebraska are the latest to charge an admission fee, while Alabama is only charging for post-practice autograph opportunities.

The prices on these practices vary by school. Ohio State’s get-in price is $50, whereas Nebraska is only charging $25. The Huskers are expecting about 3,000 fans for their practice today – some quick math tells us that’s about $75K they’re netting in NIL funds. 

“The concept is really interesting," said Temple University’s Thilo Kunkel, who researches NIL impacts, “It's basically top schools with brand value that can leverage that to generate extra funds. Even those top schools are facing the need to generate additional money because NIL compensation… is becoming more and more competitive.” (More)

Teaming up with

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DOWN TO BUSINESS

Walk-Ons Won’t Get House Damages Money

Walk-ons aren’t receiving a nickel of damages from the House settlement, which has Colorado long snapper Camden Dempsey questioning whether the terms are fair. Citing famous walk-ons like Baker Mayfield and Stetson Bennett, Dempsey voiced his frustrations on Twitter/X:

“Why is the settlement limited to scholarship players only?” he said, “Walk-ons are an integral component of college football, and this settlement seems to suggest that they are a different class of player, and that their NIL is worthless.”

Sports Attorney Mit Winter seems to agree. In response to his tweet, Winter said the following:

• Texas QB and current Heisman favorite Quinn Ewers just starred in a cheesy, yet entertaining commercial for HULU. He enters the season with the 5th-highest NIL valuation in college football.

COLLECTIVE 101

Rivalry Golf Matchups Set to Drive NIL Up 📈 

In partnership with WME Sports, Underdog Fantasy just announced two Ryder Cup-style tournaments this fall. The golf showdowns, which are scheduled to tee off in October, will capitalize on rivalry matchups to drive NIL dollars for four schools’ collectives.

The school lineup is pretty stacked. Texas will face its bitter rival, Oklahoma, in the Dallas area. Michigan will then face Ohio State in a still-to-be-determined location.

While details are still somewhat slim, we do know that some former college legends will be participating – Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, to name a couple. The events figure to be pretty lucrative, and I understand why – what’s better than beating your rival? (More)

• USC just closed down one collective, further consolidating its NIL efforts into the school’s official collective, House of Victory.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Dillion Gabriel

• School: University of Oregon 

• Sport: Football 

• Position: Quarterback

• Class: Senior

•  Accolades: 

• ll-Big 12 first team (unanimous)

•  Manning Award finalist

•  Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist

•  Maxwell Award semifinalist

• NIL: Off the field, Gabriel has landed NIL deals with Gold Shop, and I’m Inspired.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ The House settlement is going to add thousands of potential lacrosse scholarships… but will schools be able to keep their teams afloat?

♦️ LSU freshman signs an NIL deal with Christian organization “I Am Second”

♦️ The University of Memphis is sending basketball players to a golf tournament for NIL purposes

♦️ Mark Stoops isn’t making his job easier by trashing Kentucky’s NIL program

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

An NIL Bar & Grill: Good idea, or a flop?

• Yes, it’s a great way for a collective to diversify their revenue streams - 49.5%

• No, have you seen the profit margins on restaurants? - 50.50%