Eligibility Update, More Utah Trucks, Chip Kelly, + ICYMI & More | NIL Newsletter #206
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Major News
States, Battle Prevail—Athletes To Play
On Wednesday, Judge Bailey entered a Temporary Restraining Order against the NCAA, enjoining enforcement of their multi-time transfer eligibility rules.
The TRO was meant to last two weeks, with a hearing scheduled for December 27th to rule on the preliminary injunction. Instead, on Friday, the parties (NCAA and the states) filed a joint motion to convert the TRO into a preliminary injunction.
Under the preliminary injunction, multi-time transfers are immediately eligible.
RaeQuan Battle, who testified during the TRO hearing, missed West Virginia’s Saturday game with an illness, but West Virginia guard Noah Farrakhan, another two-time transfer, scored fifteen points in his debut.
A trial to determine the case on the merits is not expected until after the NCAA’s spring season.
Utah-Focused Collective Expands Car Deals
Two months ago, the Utah-focused Crimson Collective announced that they would lease a Ram truck for every scholarship football player at Utah.
Last week, the Crimson Collective expanded their offerings. All eligible athletes, scholarship and walk-on, on the Utah gymnastics and Men’s and Women’s basketball teams will receive a new car lease.
Athletes have the choice between a 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 2024 Ram 1500. Leases and insurance will be entirely paid for by the collective, and the deal is estimated to be worth nearly $2 million.
Chip Kelly Urges Breakaway
Chip Kelly, UCLA’s coach, proposed a new way of governing college football, outside the purview of the NCAA.
“I think we need to have a conference commissioner, and I think football should be separate from the other sports,” Kelly said. “Just the fact that our school is leaving to go to the Big Ten in football, our softball team should be playing Arizona in softball.”
Kelly’s proposal includes 2, 64-team conferences, the “Power Five” and the “Group of Five.” In doing so, Kelly is leaning into the increased national footprint of conferences.
“That money now needs to be shared with the student-athletes, and there needs to be revenue sharing and the players should get paid and you can get rid of [NIL] and the schools should be paying the players because the players are what the product is. And the fact that they don’t get paid is really, the biggest travesty.”
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
Kiki Rice, a sophomore at UCLA, announced a partnership with Beats by Dre.
Rice was previously the first-ever NIL athlete for Jordan Brand, and also has partnerships with Buick, Gonna Need Milk, and Clean California.
ICYMI
The Georgia Southern-focused Eagle Nation Collective is hosting a concert from Cole Swindell to raise money for its NIL fund. LINK
Colorado State’s head coach Jay Norvell said that quarterback Brayden Folwer-Nicolosi was offered a $600,000 deal if he transferred. LINK
NCAA President Baker’s new proposal raises serious Title IX concerns, according to one Op-Ed. 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!
Chip's vision is admirable, but impossible unless Congress passes a broad anti-trust exemption. He is smart enough to know that and it's a shame he started this without stapling that plea to the message.