🏅 Uh Oh, Shilo

Teaming up with

Hey there,

Welcome back to your regularly scheduled NIL Wire news updates. In today’s edition we’ve got updates on the increasingly dramatic Shilo Sanders lawsuit. We’re also looking at how the Olympics boosted NIL markets swimmers. Oh, and the NIL Store just revealed their #1 seller for July, and it’s not a football player. All of this, and more, coming right up!

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Oh, and do us a big favor by checking out our sponsor today, Rhoback. They’re the ones that make this newsletter possible, so give them a look!

Okay — Let’s get you into the news!

— Cole, Justin and Collin

The Big 3

Shilo Sanders’ Legal “Impasse”

Colorado DB Shilo Sanders’ bankruptcy case, which stems from a multimillion-dollar assault charge by his former high school’s janitor, just reached an “impasse” according to the court appointed trustee.

In essence, the court seems unconvinced that Sanders has actually disclosed all of his wealth, including necessary details about his NIL contracts. If they’re right, he could be hiding assets that should be included in the bankruptcy estate.

What’s this mean? Well, nothing... yet. But it’s pretty safe to say that Shilo will be downplaying his glamorous lifestyle this season in an effort to convince the court he’s not as wealthy as they think he is. (More)

Olympic-Sized Ripples in the Swimming World

The Olympics are officially over, but we’re still evaluating the impact they’ve had on the NIL market. Because of the massive exposure Olympic medals bring, winning on the biggest stage has never been more lucrative for college athletes.

Take swimmers, for example. SI’s Noah Henderson points out that Gretchen Walsh increased her Instagram following from about 53K to over 103K over the course of the Olympics. Using her follower count alongside engagement-rate data, we can estimate that her NIL price for an Instagram sponsorship has increased from about $1.5K per post to nearly $3.6K.

The Olympics have been an NIL cash cow for certain sports, like swimming, which generally don’t get as much attention when more popular sports are on during the schoolyear. (More)

July’s Highest NIL Store Earner is a Surprise…

Move over, Olympics: The NIL Store’s highest earner for July was Braden Smith, a junior guard for Purdue’s basketball team. Smith is the only basketball player to make the list – the other nine athletes were football players.

A preseason pick for Big Ten player of the year, Smith joins his former teammate Zach Edey as the only Purdue player to take the #1 monthly spot for 2024. It’s probably because in the offseason, moments like this stick in our minds:

The NIL store was dominated by basketball sales during the Spring. I’d be surprised if that trend continued much longer as people gear up for college football. (More)

Teaming up with

Rhoback has quickly established themselves as the go-to activewear brand for college athletes. Having exclusive partnerships with some of the faces of college football in Quinn Ewers, Jalen Milroe, and Caleb Downs, it’s easy to see why college athletes across the country can’t take their Rhoback hoodies, tees, and shorts off.

With the largest NIL apparel program in the country, college athletes across all divisions have access to become a Rhoback U athlete. If you are a college athlete or know a college athlete, check out this link to apply.

Finally, Rhoback just released their licensed game-day collection with schools such as Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, among others. They are custom designing Polos, Hoodies, and Q-Zips specific to each school in an attempt to bring a new level of creativity to the market.

Check out Rhoback’s custom designed game-day collection and use code “NILWIRE” at checkout for 20% off your first purchase.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Caleb Downs

• School: Ohio State 

• Position: Defensive Back

• Sport: Football 

• Class: Junior

• Accolades: 

• First Freshman to lead Alabama in tackles with 107 stops 

• All-American Honors

• 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year

• NIL: Caleb has used his influence to secure NIL deals with brands like Adapt Athlete, Players’ Tribune, EA Sports College Football 25, and Goat Fuel.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ New ‘Bama coach Kalen DeBoer is hosting a season kickoff dinner and auction to benefit the school’s NIL efforts

♦️ Tennessee’s Bruce McCoy re-ups with Moonshine Mountain Cookie

♦️ Washington just opened their practices and scrimmages to the public for NIL money

♦️ Colorado State hooper signs an NIL deal with Chicago-based Clyde’s Donuts

♦️ The Collective Association just partnered with TeamUp to provide student-athletes with financial education tools

♦️ Legendary Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington is taking his alma mater’s NIL game up a notch

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