Newsletter #107 | Virginia Tech Football, Indiana Basketball, Mississippi State's NIL collective + ICYMI Ticker
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for student athletes, administrators, agents and other sport professionals.
Recapping NIL This Week(end):
28 Virginia Tech football player sign NIL deal totaling $300k
Triump NIL, a subsidiary of Hot Route Brands, announced that 28 players from the Virginia Tech Football team signed NIL deals worth a total of $300,000. The company specializes in partnering current student athletes with businesses in compliance with NCAA guidelines.
“We are beyond excited that these gifted athletes are joining the Triumph family,” said Kelly Woolwine, Triumph partner and CEO. “We are extremely appreciative of the trust they have placed in us. Each and every one of these student-athletes has done a remarkable job of creating a valuable brand for themselves. Our clients are especially excited to have this caliber of individuals represent their businesses and philanthropic causes. Without a doubt, the Hot Route and Triumph families are building some awesome momentum.”
As part of the agreement, participating student athletes will leverage their NIL rights to promote company business and philanthropic initiatives through a variety of personal appearances, content development programs, social media posts and live events.
11 Indiana men's and women's basketball players sign NIL deal totaling $425k
Ten Indiana men's basketball players and one Indiana women's basketball player have signed NIL deals with Hoosiers For Good, the non-profit announced Wednesday. The total compensation will collectively reach $425,000 spread among the 11 players.
The recent IU MBB signings include freshmen Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau, Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn, sophomores Tamar Bates and Logan Duncomb, juniors Trey Galloway and Jordan Geronimo, and seniors Xavier Johnson and Miller Kopp. Those 10 players join star senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and sixth-year forward Race Thompson, who inked deals with Hoosiers For Good in April.
IU women's basketball junior guard Sydney Parrish, who transferred from Oregon this offseason, rounds out the organization's 11-player summer signing class. Parrish is the third IU women's basketball player to partner with Hoosiers For Good, along with senior forward Mackenzie Holmes and fifth-year guard Grace Berger.
Wednesday's announcement marks the second wave of signings for Hoosiers For Good, an NIL Collective that partners IU athletes with charitable organizations from around the state. In the spring, the organization announced its first 14 signings, totaling $470,000 in compensation, that included six IU football players, two IU men's and women's basketball players, and one IU softball player, IU volleyball player, IU women's soccer player, and IU swim and diving athlete.
Members of the organization's leadership council include former IU basketball star Calbert Cheaney and former IU women's soccer standout Allison Jorden who serve as directors, and former IU Athletic Director Fred Glass who helps with legal components. Tyler Harris, the executive director of Hoosiers For Good, spent four years working in IU's Athletic Department, most recently as an Associate Athletic Director who oversaw day-to-day operations of the Office of Compliance Services.
Mississippi State’s Starkville NIL Club
On the eve of Mississippi State football players reporting for preseason practices, they took to social media for a new NIL push. MSU's players announced the launch of the Starkville NIL Club. It's a "membership-based community" where fans can donate to player and interact with the team. Proceeds are said to be split evenly among all players. Benefits include digital events with players, content created by players such as film breakdowns and a community message board.
“Without a doubt, we enthusiastically support our student-athletes capitalizing on their name, image and likeness, and are committed to the education and facilitation of those opportunities,” a team spokesperson said. Donations are already being accepted, and at the time of publication, the $50,000 monthly goal was at $235.
The Starkville NIL Club is a replica of the Oxford NIL Club for Ole Miss players launched July 21. The Rebels had the same monthly goal and have raised $7,311. Mississippi State's athletic department is not directly related to the NIL initiatives as Mississippi law still has boundaries.
MSU athletic director John Cohen told the Clarion Ledger in an interview last month he'd like for Mississippi schools to be allowed more direct involvement.
ICYMI Ticker
Miami businessmen Zach Burr and Brian Goldmeier have launched Canes Connection, a Miami collective that will start by partnering with Shadow Lion to create original content with Hurricanes athletes. Shadow Lion is the creative agency behind Tom Brady's online content. Major Miami supporter John Ruiz tweeted out his support too.
Great story on Built Brand CEO Nick Greer, who made headlines a year ago when his company partnered with BYU Football. “Now that you’ve got 36 (walk-ons) being taken care of in ways they’ve never been taken care of, it elevates their game. No matter what team, what sport, what company you work with, if you have others around you elevating their game, you naturally will elevate your game. That’s key. So it absolutely is elevating the game and the players and the level of play that BYU football is playing and will play at. I think it gives them more confidence.” Full story HERE.
Great article from The Athletic on how CFB recruiters would change the current system. One big discussion point? Photoshoots for prospective players. Full story HERE.
UCLA HC Chip Kelly said Saturday that he could only support his team’s NIL endeavors from afar. “I think people have kind of convoluted the whole rule,” Kelly said. “Name, image and likeness is the student athletes can make money off of their name, image and likeness, but coaches can’t be involved in brokering deals for student athletes. This is not pay for play, this is not recruiting inducements.” More HERE.
Austin Peay Athletic Director Gerald Harrison: “I pride myself on being a traditionalist who believes in the value of a college education. With that being said, I do believe it was time to adopt the model that allows student athletes to generate revenue off of their name, image and likeness. They have the right to earn revenue off of things such as jersey sales, or representing a local business. I have no problem with that … However, I am against the fact that donors can now put money directly in the hands of student athletes. Throughout the history of the NCAA, donors paying athletes was heavily frowned upon. Those who engaged in paying their recruits were given severe penalties. Now that it’s been legalized, it just shows you how much the landscape of the NCAA has changed.” Full story HERE.
Arizona State’s new NIL collective, the Sun Angel Collective, reached its fundraising goal of $1 million before its launch on Tuesday. The name is an ode to the original name of the Sun Devil Club, which was known as the Sun Angel Foundation for 60 years from 1947-2007.
On3 ranked the 20 most “ambitious” NIL collectives in the game. Sprye (Tennessee) was ranked number 1, ahead of Texas A&M and Miami. More HERE.
University of South Florida student athletes will now be able to receive compensation via the launch of the Fowler Ave Collective - the university’s first and only NIL collective. Dreamfield Sports, an Orlando-based startup that works to help collegiate athletes to profit from their NIL, announced the launch Friday.