🏅Stanford just hired an “NIL Emperor”

Hey there,

Are you ready for some conference championships? We are too. But first, let’s get you a nice dose of NIL news, shall we? In today’s edition, we’re telling you about the familiar face Stanford just hired to head their football team’s roster construction. Also, Tulsa’s ex-head coach apparently promised the whole team NIL money… and they got none. Oh, and the IRS just waged war on nonprofit NIL collectives.

Drama, I know! Let’s get you into it.

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

The Big 3

Stanford’s New NIL Emperor

Retired NFL quarterback Andrew Luck is returning to his alma mater, Stanford, to serve in a general manager position over the football program. His authority, at least according to SI’s Noah Henderson, seems unprecedented in college sports.

“Luck’s role appears to grant him autonomy over the football program,” Henderson explained, “Describing his role as simply a GM is a complete misnomer. Luck has not been tapped into this role as just a GM; he is about to become the Emperor of Stanford Football.”

On the whole, Stanford has proven somewhat ineffective in properly utilizing NIL. Perhaps the Cardinal’s new emperor will be able to change that. (More)

Ex-Tulsa Coach Promised Phantom NIL Money

The University of Tulsa just fired their head football coach, Kevin Wilson, at the end of November. Now stories are coming out from players about NIL money that was promised to them, and never actually came.

“They were using this money as leverage, and then it just kept getting pushed back, pushed back, pushed back, and now the season’s over and no one ever got anything,” explained quarterback Cooper Legas. Legas’ mother even said Cooper picked Tulsa in large part because of the NIL package they promised him.

All the while, Kevin Wilson was outspoken to the media about the school’s lack of NIL funds. I don’t think anyone took what he said about having “no [NIL] money – zero” literally though. (More)

The IRS isn’t Playing with Tax Exempt Collectives

The IRS just sent out a letter detailing some of their agency’s goals for 2025. At the top of their list? Cracking down on tax-exempt NIL collectives.

Nonprofit NIL collectives have been a controversial subject for some time now. In 2023, the IRS sent out a memo that eventually led Texas A&M to shut down their nonprofit NIL arm, the 12^th Man+ NIL Fund.

But, of course, many nonprofit NIL collectives did not shut down after that memo. It seems like, in 2025, their priorities will narrow on this issue more directly, which will likely lead to more collectives being shut down. (More)

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ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Madisen Skinner

• School: Texas 

• Position: OH

• Sport: Volleyball

• Class: Senior

  Accolades: 

  • NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player

  • VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year

  • AVCA First Team All-American

  • AVCA Southwest Region Player of the Year and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year…

  • First Team All-Big 12.

  NIL: Skinner is H-E-B's first-ever NIL partner, presenting a $10,000 donation to Brighter Bites to fight childhood hunger.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ The median NIL deal for a college swimmer last year? Less than $200 dollars. 

♦️ Texas QB Quinn Ewers launches his own NIL jerky 

♦️ With NIL, the fan-team relationship is different than before. Here’s why.

♦️ Wisconsin intends to maintain walk-ons amidst roster cuts

♦️ Why don’t NIL collectives help cheerleaders get brand deals? 

♦️ The Maui Invitational basketball tournament may not be financially feasible in the near future

♦️ NIL price-tags for QBs continues to soar. Is a market correction on the horizon?

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Will Nebraska's roster turnover be a good or bad thing for their program next season?

• Good thing - they'll be better next season - 48.8%

• Bad thing - continuity matters - 51.2%