EA Sports College Football 25, California's NIL Transparency Bill, Ruling In Tennessee Lawsuit + ICYMI & More | NIL Newsletter #218
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sports professionals.
Major News
EA Sports Offers $600 NIL Deals To Be In College Football 25
EA Sports has sent NIL offers worth $600 each to more than 11,000 athletes. The deal will also include a copy of the game for all players who sign up to have their likeness included.
Offers were sent to all 85 scholarship players in each of the 134 FBS programs, making it the largest NIL deal to date in total value.
Each athlete's money can fluctuate over time, with $600 as the base compensation. Athletes will be eligible to renew annually provided they stay on the scholarship roster of an FBS program.
EA Sports will also be offering “ambassador” contracts to players who promote the game on their social media platforms, awarding higher sums to more well-known athletes.
Senator Nancy Skinner's Proposal to Pull Back the Veil on NIL
California Senator Skinner (D-Berkeley) introduced SB 906 to the Senate floor. The bill would require collectives and entities that conduct NIL deals to provide basic information to the college or university the athlete attends.
Under SB 906, the collective or entity would need to report the amount of compensation and the value of the item or service provided to the athlete.
If Skinner’s proposal is adopted, NIL agencies will need to disclose the value of their support for each sport and by gender.
The information provided will not include athletes' names or other identifiers, but will be publicly available from the college or university.
District Judge Issues A Preliminary Injunction Against The NCAA
Under U.S. District Judge Clifton L. Corker’s ruling, student-athletes are allowed to negotiate NIL deals with third parties before committing to a particular school.
The NCAA is prohibited from enforcing rules that unfairly restrict how an athlete uses their name, image, and likeness during the recruiting cycle.
NCAA restrictions were considered a violation of the Sherman Act and would harm the States and the welfare of their athletes.
Judge Corker emphasizes that the NCAA should establish clear rules in the interest of student-athletes rather than retroactively enforcing their NIL guidelines.
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
Jordan Burks (G-Kentucky) donated apparel from an NIL deal with Crossover Culture to Discovery Middle School in Madison, Alabama
Burks also gifted his Kentucky teammates with blue ostrich leather bags from his NIL deal with Prime Society.
ICYMI
East Tennessee State Univerity (ETSU) athletics launches new NIL collective “Bucs for Good”. LINK
Caitlin Clark becomes Fanatics’ top-selling NIL athlete. LINK
Charles Barkley says there is something fundamentally wrong with how the NIL system works. LINK
Mitchell Bat Company inks NIL deal with Missouri Softball. LINK
Students from the three service academies (Army, Navy, and Air Force) are prohibited from accepting NIL deals with EA sports, but their likenesses will still likely be included in the game. LINK
Have you checked out OSC’s website?
Head to www.OptimumSportsConsulting.com to find important resources and features relating to all things NIL. These resources include State by State Resources for Admins, Agents, and Athletes, including our initial “OSC Summaries” for over a dozen states coming soon.
More to come too, including links to helpful state information- agency laws and information about school policies, as well as seminar/congressional notes, worksheets, and much more!