College Football Coverage Pulled For DirecTV Users, NCAA Considering Major Rule Changes,+ ICYMI | Newsletter #268

Sep 05, 2024

Today’s Thursday newsletter includes highlights from this week, important news from last week, and what to watch for.

Keep up to date on all of our newsletters and content by checking out past Optimum Sports Consulting Newsletters, and following us on Twitter!

Recapping Major News This Week:

Carrier dispute between DirecTV and Disney has left millions of DirecTV subscribers unable to watch several major sporting events shown under the Disney umbrella.
Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirectTV 10 minutes before the start of the LSU-USC season opener that aired on ABC, and 30 minutes into the heavily anticipated fourth round tennis matchup between American Frances Tiafoe and Alexei Popyrin of Australia.
Disney recently released a comment stating that "DirecTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we head into the final week of the US Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season” and that they “urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming."
DirecTV users will not have access to college football games and programming that airs on ABC, ESPN, the SECNetwork, and the ACCNetwork until the DirecTV-Disney dispute is resolved.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

The NCAA’s Division I Council is set to consider multiple rule proposals that, if adopted, would remove additional barriers against athlete compensation that the NCAA has defended in past antitrust litigations and Congressional testimonies.
The four major changes they are considering are (1) eliminating the National Letter of Intent, (2) permitting athletes to earn prize money before college, (3) expanding the scope of permissible activities of agents for advising college athletes and recruits without forfeiting eligibility, and (4) a change to redshirt eligibility that would give athletes a chance of having five years of collegiate eligibility instead of four.
Many of these rule changes are related to several recent lawsuits against the NCAA such as a) Brantmeier v. NCAA—a federal case that began this year and argues that the NCAA and its member schools and conferences have illegally conspired to price fix what tennis players can earn; b) Clayton v. NCAA, which concerned a 26-year-old college basketball player winning an injunction against the NCAA to play in his eighth season and for his fourth university; and c) antitrust claims against the NCAA for “boycotting” Canadian Hockey League players.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

Conference and NCAA leaders trying to establish new system to manage revenue sharing - LINK
New event in Las Vegas set to offer players up to $2 million in NIL deals. - LINK
Oklahoma State Head Coach, Mike Gundy, to fight NCAA ruling that placing a NIL-linked QR code sticker on a helmet is not allowed - LINK
Auburn football players are using NIL dollars to keep kids out of foster care - LINK
UCF Collective selling t-shirts trolling Florida Head Coach Billy Napier - LINK
Davis Warren's road from Cancer to Michigan starting QB - LINK

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle and projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, signed a deal with New Balance.
While specifics are not yet known, the deal is said to be “significant”. New Balance has a major presence in Flagg’s home state of Maine which may have played a part in his decision to sign with New Balance over other major brands.
Star Quarterback and top NFL prospect, Shadeur Sanders, is the first college football player to ink an NIL deal with Nike. Sander’s Father and Head Coach, Deion Sanders, also has an endorsement deal with the sports apparel giant.
Sanders' deal with Nike and Flagg’s deal with New Balance are reportedly for footwear and apparel.
CLICK HERE and HERE to learn more.

A preliminary hearing is currently set for later today before Judge Claudia Wilken regarding the House v. NCAA case and proposed settlement. Currently, the settlement is still a long way from approval. If approved by Judge Wilken today, the plaintiffs lawyers will get 90 days to gather class names from universities and issue them notices of the settlement. Then there is another 90-day period for those members to individually object to the settlement.
Furthermore, the settlement may still need codification from Congress to grant the NCAA and conferences authority to police outside, third-party NIL payments; and, it offers little in the way of a solution to the question of when or if athletes are deemed employees.
In the meantime, many within the industry have expressed their disapproval over the settlement, believing that it does not have the best interests of student athletes and college athletics as a whole. If the settlement is ultimately rejected, both sides will have the opportunity to either renegotiate a settlement to address the concerns of Judge Wilken, or proceed to trial.

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