Future of College Athletics, Revenue Sharing Sport Cuts?, Joint-Employer Ruling, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #196
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Thank you for being a part of OSC’s subscription plan! If you missed it, check out Monday’s Newsletter HERE.
Quick Hitters:
Coalition for the Future of College Athletics
Twenty-eight Division I conferences, including all of the Power Five conferences, have joined to launch the Coalition for the Future of College Athletics (C4FCA), which launched November 1st.
The C4FCA released a wish list of items for a future NIL bill, including:
The preemption of state laws;
The prohibition of inducements;
Uniform oversight and enforcement of NIL regulations;
Establishing that athletes are not employees of their universities; and
Recognition of preexisting Title IX requirements.
They plan to continue to lobby Congress in hopes of a Federal NIL bill.
Could Revenue Sharing Mean Losing Non-revenue Sports?
Taylor Jacobs, LSU’s Associate Athletic Director for NIL, predicted a “90% chance” that a judge will rule in athletes favor in a shift to a revenue-sharing model.
“As a former women’s tennis player, it hurts my heart a little bit because I feel like we are going to see the loss of sports,” Jacobs said. “You’re going to see smaller colleges not be able to sustain that model.”
The question of cost-cutting remains the most important. LSU, as an example, spends approximately $150,000 per athlete annually for tuition, room and board, equipment, travel, and health care.
LSU also spends $9.5 million annually to Football Head Coach Brian Kelly and $3.15 million annually to Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kim Mulkey.
NLRB Ruling on Joint-Employer Status, Effect on USC Case
Last Thursday, the NLRB issued final guidance on joint-employer status, releasing a new standard for finding multiple entities to be joint-employers.
Under the new standards, each individual entity is a joint employer if it shares or co-determines an essential term or condition of employment.
These essential terms and conditions of employment include wages, work hours, duties assigned, supervision, work rules, tenure, and working conditions.
With the USC NLRB case continuing towards its first hearing this month, this new standard will likely make it easier for the board to find that USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA are joint-employers of athletes at USC.
ICYMI
Altius Sports Partners announced a new partnership with Delaware. LINK
The Kansas-focused Mass St. Collective announced a partnership with Blueprint Sports. LINK
The Virginia Attorney General explained that his department was exploring “any and all legal options” against the NCAA in pursuit of a James Madison bowl game this season. 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!