House v. NCAA Settlement, Georgia Quarterback Sues Florida, The Cavinder Twins + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #239
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
House v. NCAA:
The Historic $2.8 Billion Dollar Settlement:
The NCAA is set to pay damages to current and former student athletes from as far back as 2016 who were prevented from earning endorsement money.
The NCAA would be responsible for 41 percent of the total settlement, roughly $1.2 billion from reserves, and collegiate conferences would be responsible for the remaining 59 percent, around $1.6 billion.
The House settlement includes an optional revenue sharing plan that would share up to 22% of revenue with athletes - more than $20 million a year per school. The revenue sharing plan would be an addition to scholarships, third-party NIL payments, health care and other benefits that college athletes already receive.
The House settlement would also resolve two current antitrust lawsuits - Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA. Fontenot v. NCAA, a separate lawsuit filed in Colorado, would not be affected by the House settlement.
The NCAA Board of Governors and leaders from the Power 5 conferences -Â ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC - voted to approve the House settlement.
Other House-Related News:
The NCAA will continue lobbying to secure an antitrust exemption from Congress to protect the association from further lawsuits.
Steve Berman, the co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in the House v. NCAA, will help the NCAA’s lobbying efforts to secure a limited antitrust exemption - LINK
Big East Commissioner, Val Ackerman, and the Dartmouth Union publicly vocalize their opposition the House settlement.
Ackerman believes that the 22 non-FBS conferences would have to pay a disproportionately high amount of backpay. Under the current formula, the Big East would be responsible for about $5 - $7 million annually which is around $600,000-$700,000 per school - LINK
The SEIU Local 560 union, which represents the Dartmouth men’s basketball players, says the House Antitrust settlement is not a solution - LINK
Private equity firms are campaigning to infuse millions of dollars to colleges that may struggle to make House-related payments.
Former FSU Quarterback and private capital investor, Drew Weatherford, has met with around 50 FBS programs with the intention to help infuse instant cash into their programs - LINK
Other Major News
Jaden Rashada’s NIL Deal Gone Wrong
Former University of Florida football recruit, Jaden Rashada, sued coach Billy Napier and the University of Florida on multiple counts, ranging from fraudulent misrepresentation to tortious interference.
Florida allegedly offered Rashada a four-year, $13.85 million contract in November 2022 to help lure him away from his commitment to the University of Miami.
Shortly thereafter, the Gators released Rashada from his National Letter of Intent and refused to pay him any of the $13.85 million he was allegedly offered.
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
The Cavinder Twins announce partnership with all-natural protein drink brand, Slate Milk, to join as investors and ambassadors.
Slate Milk is Haley and Hanna’s first deal since they announced that they would be returning to Miami for their final season
In addition to Slate Milk, the sisters have deals with brands such as Boost Mobile, Champs Sports, Raising Cane’s, Intuit TurboTax, Core Hydration, and the WWE.
The sisters continue the recent trend of college athletes investing their own NIL money into brands.
ICYMI
University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball star, Raven Johnson, signs brand deal with the beauty brand Parfait - LINK
EA Sports to pay schools in tiers for its College Football 2025 game - LINK
ESPN and TNT Sports reach a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense selected College Football Playoff games from ESPN, beginning with the upcoming season - LINK
Class of 2027 Quarterback Peyton Houston inks a deal with Leaf Trading Cards without ever starting in a high school game - LINK
Stanford University’s Athletic Department hires Lindsey Jones as their first in-house NIL General Manager - LINK
Texas One Fund signed Nicholas Air as its private aviation partner for Texas football and Texas athletics - LINK
The Oklahoma women’s basketball team lands a team-wide NIL deal with local car dealership Fowler Auto - LINK
Angel Reese buys stake in Washington DC women’s soccer team - LINK
Colorado star Travis Hunter secures NIL deal with Squishmallows - LINK