Newsletter #30 | Anthony Richardson, NY HS Athlete NIL, Student Athlete Empowerment + Deep Dive and ICYMI
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
This Thursday Newsletter includes:
1. Recapping NIL this week
2. Deep Dive: Analyzing DC’s NIL Law
3. ICYMI: The NIL Reality for One HBCU Conference
Recapping NIL This Week:
Florida QB Anthony Richardson is focusing only on six- and seven-figure NIL deals
In an interview with Kristi Dosh of Forbes, UF QB Anthony Richardson said he’s embracing the opportunity to generate income for himself and his family through NIL. “It’s a blessing for us to be able to make money. It teaches us how to manage money and understand the business aspect of things. It also allows us to help our families in ways that we couldn’t before.”
“We’re going to take a very different approach than many in this space,” said Richardson’s attorney Darren Heitner. “Maybe three to five deals in total, six-figure or seven-figure deals. We want to make sure he’s associating with strong companies and being properly valued.”
Heitner says he doesn’t think we will see many brands get cold feet because simply because notable players are getting injured or benched. Particularly for those brands who’ve worked with other types of athletes, it’s simply part of sports.
New York HS student-athletes will be able to make NIL money
Executive Director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Dr. Robert Zayas announced that HS student-athletes will be able to make money off of their NIL.
The tweet read: “The @NYSPHSAA Executive Committee has approved revisions to the @NYSPHSAA Amateur Rule allowing students to benefit from their name, image & likeness (#NIL). Students will be prohibited from entering into endorsement deals "in affiliation" with their school, Section or @NYSPHSAA.”
Relevant provision: “c. An athlete forfeits amateur status in a sport by capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money, compensation, endorsements or gifts of monetary value in affiliation or connection with activities involving with the student’s school team, school, Section or NYSPHSAA (scholarships to institutions of higher learning are specifically exempted). 1. This provision is not intended to restrict the right of any student to participate in a commercial endorsement provided there is no school team, school, Section or NYSPHSAA affiliation. 2. The student does not appear in the uniform of the student’s school and does not utilize the marks, logos, etc. of the school, section, or NYSPHSAA as part of any endorsement.”
Student Athlete Empowerment will help brands and boosters connect with college athletes on marketing deals
A group of college sports entrepreneurs are launching Called Student Athlete Empowerment (SAE), a new company aimed at helping brands and boosters connect with college athletes on marketing deals.
SAE is wholly owned by Student Athlete NIL, an Atlanta-based agency created earlier this year. Its partners include agent and media publisher Jason Belzer, marketing executive Vince Thompson, and Matt Roberts, founder of the popular college sports news platform D1.ticker.
The group already has agreements in place with four schools: Florida, Fordham, Robert Morris and Loyola Marymount. There’s no money changing hands between the schools and SAE, and the agreements make it clear that SAE is not a representative of the institution. The signed memorandums essentially represent non-exclusive rights to deal flow. The schools have committed to letting sponsors and donors know that SAE is a “preferred” intermediary for NIL deals, and sharing contact info for athletes and brands.
In return, SAE will build a custom portal for deals at each institution (here is Florida’s), submit all the necessary disclosures to the schools, and give the institution final approval over the deals, Belzer said. SAE will take a cut from the brand or donor.
Deep Dive: Analyzing DC’s NIL Law
DC could join 27 states that have already implemented NIL legislation. What does their law look like and how does it compare with others? Here’s a quick breakdown of the bill.
Written by Austin Meo (@AMeo31)
Washington, DC Councilwoman Christina Henderson introduced the College Student Athlete Compensation Amendment Act of 2021. The bill, if signed into law, would make it 27 states plus DC with NIL legislation on the books.
DC is unique in that many smaller states have not bothered to implement NIL policies. While it’s population is roughly 700,000 residents (making it bigger than Wyoming and Vermont and just smaller than Alaska and North Dakota), the closest comparable state is Montana (~1.1 million) whose bill goes into effect in 2023.
The bill’s impact might have a larger reach than one would think. For context, DC has 4 NCAA DI programs: American, George Washington, Georgetown and Howard (the latter 2 have FCS football programs). UDC is DII, and Catholic, Gallaudet and Trinity Washington are all DIII. So for a territory that only covers about 68 square miles, 8 NCAA programs will be impacted by the proposed law.
What sections stood out? Let’s take a look at a few:
Content Clause
The first notable section starts on line 85- what might be called a "content clause." Some states (AL/AR/LA) have these, others (CA/CO/FL) do not. DC's is extensive including alcohol, gambling, firearms, adult entertainment, and more. There were two sections that jumped out- marijuana and steroids.
Marijuana is decriminalized in the District and residents can use marijuana both recreationally and medically (with up to 2oz on them at any time). While using marijuana could result in an SA losing their NCAA eligibility, it’s odd that they can’t even participate in the endorsement of anything related to the subject. As mentioned in last week’s Deep Dive- if the goal of NIL is to put SAs on a level playing field with fellow students, it is odd that states randomly ban certain endorsement areas.
When we think of NCAA athletes, it’s rare to think of any sort of performance enhancing drugs (at least compared to professionals). This is one of (if not the) first instances that steroids have been mentioned in a content clause. It makes sense why- they’re not technically illegal to own/endorse though they would violate NCAA rules if used. Again though, there is a difference between using an item and simply endorsing it.
All in all, we’ve already seen alcohol and potentially sports betting deals done with NCAA athletes to date. It is very possible we will see firearms soon, as well as what constitutes adult entertainment (I.e OnlyFans).
School Restrictions
The next section is boilerplate language about what a school can't do. They can't change scholarships or engage in pay for play, and the bill includes the usual state certified agent or licensed attorney section for professional representation. Lines 121-22 jumped out- a school can restrict an SA from engaging in NIL while the student is engaged in "team activities" (something not defined in the bill). Does that mean a school can stop a student-athlete from posting a sponsored story on a road trip? It’s unlikely that a coach or official would ever do this (not exactly a good look for future recruits), but still gives the school a bit of power.
Speaking of power with restrictions, schools can also: prevent an SA from using school IP (think uniforms, colors), limit branding that would use school facilities, implement disclosure deadlines (here up to 10 days), and require disclosing professional representation (mentioned multiple times in the bill).
Financial Literacy
Finally, DC’s bill does contain a financial literacy requirement for schools. The clause is rather vague, and there is no hours requirement in DC's bill, unlike some other states. Interesting point in the last line- schools have no obligation to provide 1 on 1 tax advice for SAs.
Not clear if schools will hire outside help with this or engage with their business/economics departments to assist (or what is even allowable by law). One thing is for certain, the DC Council recognizes that NIL is a new space and they want to make sure SAs are protected BEFORE they make deals.
The bill will head to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s desk for signature (the DC Council could also override a veto with a 2/3 votes). For more info on state policies for student-athletes, agents and athletic programs, head to OSC’s website.
ICYMI: The NIL Reality for One HBCU Conference
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Commissioner Dennis Thomas sat down with Front Office Sports’ Amanda Christovich to discuss how the conference is approaching NIL, the challenges both FCS and HBCU athletes could face in this new era, and the future of athlete compensation.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Commissioner Dennis Thomas agrees it’s “uncharted territory.” But unlike other officials, he and his conference were prepared.
“The MEAC has been talking about this for several years now and how that will impact [us], and what we needed to do to chart our course for our student-athletes that would not only be advantageous for them but also for our institutions,” Thomas told FOS.
Norfolk State running back Rayquan Smith has inked at least 15 NIL deals so far, according to HBCU Gameday. Smith is an example of what’s possible. But right now, he’s an exception. “The biggest challenge is the communication of informing our student-athletes that it’s a lot of work involved in building your brand,” Thomas said. “Corporate America is not going to come up and be beating your door down.”
Thomas said the conference was “not on board” with the NLRB’s recent memo suggesting athletes should be considered employees. The vast majority of NCAA athletic departments don’t turn a profit, so it doesn’t make sense to pay athletes, he said. Getting “a full scholarship, cost of attendance, NIL revenue” is “a pretty good deal” for athletes in departments that don’t turn profits. “The [Power 5s] who have these billion-dollar contracts, now, that’s a different issue for their student-athletes.”