Newsletter #60 | UT's Occupy Left Field, LSU Football jerseys, Oregon HS NIL, Caleb Williams x Beat by Dre + ICYMI Ticker
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Recapping NIL This Weekend:
New non-profit seeks to help charitable causes while providing NIL opportunity for Texas baseball players
Texas baseball players will have the opportunity to earn up to $10,000 per year in name, image and likeness (NIL) revenue by taking part in charitable fund-raising appearances as part of a new, non-profit called the Occupy Left Field Foundation. Britt Peterson, the president and co-founder of OLFF, said OLFF is a registered 501c3 in Austin that will contract with members of the UT baseball team “to appear at charitable events in an effort to amplify fund-raising for important causes.”
Those causes include mental health services for persons dealing with a cancer diagnosis (Flatwater Foundation), homelessness (Mobile Loaves and Fishes), youth outdoor activities in Austin (RBI Austin) and higher education scholarships (Jake Ehlinger Memorial Foundation).
Peterson said the goal of OLFF will be for Texas baseball players to help raise more than $1 million annually for the charitable causes previously mentioned. Those wanting to help fund OLFF, including the money that will be paid to Texas baseball players for their services, can get more information at occupyleftfield.org. “We’d like to see each member of the Texas baseball team have the opportunity to earn $10,000 per year while also helping to increase the fund-raising for some important charitable causes that we're partnering with," Peterson said. "We're hoping fans of Texas baseball and fans of helping others who are most in need might sign up to donate something like $25 per month."
In addition to Peterson, a successful businessman who founded and sold Longhorn Health Solutions, the OLFF founding team includes former Texas players Huston Street, Brooks Kieschnick, Drew Stubbs, Justin Simmons, David Lowery, Doug Hodo, Jr., Jonathan Walsh and Drew Bishop as well as Occupy Left Field founder Marc Pena, Jeff Cross and Jason McMinn (reporting by 247Sports).
LSU Football becomes first NCAA football team to fully participate in Fanatics and OneTeam Partners co-branded player jersey program
The customizable Nike jerseys, which will feature the name and number of every football student-athlete who opts into the program, will be available for purchase prior to the 2022 season, and players will be compensated for each of their jersey sales. The co-branded player jersey program went live Thursday to dozens of schools, and LSU reached near-unanimous opt-in within 24 hours of launch. More information about how fans can purchase the jerseys of their favorite current LSU football players will be made available later this year.
“This is a historic day in college athletics, and we’re proud and pleased to bring the storied tradition of LSU Football to the forefront of the sport through co-branded, licensed football jerseys,” said Director of Athletics Scott Woodward. “For the first time ever, fans will be able to purchase authentic jerseys of their favorite LSU Tigers, and student-athletes will directly benefit from every sale. We cannot wait to see our jerseys on the sidelines and in the stands inside Tiger Stadium next season, and we eagerly anticipate additional player co-branded products for our student-athletes across all sports.”
“What a moment for LSU! In less than 24 hours, the Tigers became the first football team to fully opt-in to the Fanatics player jersey program. OneTeam couldn’t be more excited for LSU athletes. We look forward to making this a reality for so many more athletes across the country,” said Malaika Underwood, SVP of Licensing at OneTeam Partners. “There is no question that LSU athletes understand their collective value, and they were ready to take advantage of the opportunity. There have been a lot of headlines in the last seven months, but this one is worth noting.”
The Oregon HS NIL meeting to be held Monday
The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is set to consider language at its Feb. 7 meeting that could officially open the door to Oregon high school student athletes profiting from NIL. Oregon could join the ranks of California, New York and New Jersey (along with Alaska, Nebraska and Kansas) that allow high school student athletes to participate in NIL activities.
A few states have already approved revisions to their amateur athletics rules, giving a preview of what we expect the OSAA’s likely action will be; which is to officially permit NIL activities for high school students, subject to certain limitations such as no use of school logos, marks or uniforms, and no school affiliation with the NIL deal (see the Kansas association’s language, for example).
The National Federation of State High School Athletes (NFHS) issued a statement in July suggesting that high school student athletes would be unable participate in NIL activities, because those activities could constitute earning money as a result of their connection to their high school team. The NFHS statement failed to address the reality that many NIL deals are based solely on an athlete’s individual NIL, without any connection to the school or school intellectual property, making clarification from state associations even more critical.
Caleb Williams lands deal with Beats by Dre days after joining USC
Beats by Dre announced their new NIL partnership with USC quarterback Caleb Williams on Friday. This is Williams' first NIL deal since committing to the Trojans. The USC quarterback has an NIL Valuation of $427,000 according to On3. That ranks him 16th on the NIL 100 list and seventh among all college football players. He has a combined 184,000 followers between Twitter and Instagram.
Williams announced his commitment to USC on Feb. 1, after entering the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 3. A month earlier, Williams’ HC at Oklahoma, Lincoln Riley, was named the new HC of the Trojans. "Getting to know Coach Riley and gaining familiarity with his offense definitely played a part in my selection, as well as already knowing some the guys on the team," Williams said. "I want to get to work right away, earn the trust of my teammates, win championships and help bring USC back to being a top-rated program."
Williams spent one season with Oklahoma, starting in the Sooners' final seven games. Finishing with an [11-2] overall record, Williams threw for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns. Williams is favored to start immediately at USC, over returning quarterbacks Miller Moss and Mo Hasan.
ICYMI Ticker
Business of College Sports’ Kristi Dosh talked to The Hockey Guys- a group of 10 NCAA hockey players who got their start on TikTok. The Hockey Guys have grown their reach to over 1.4 million followers and subscribers across multiple social media platforms. You can follow The Hockey Guys on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and check out their podcast, No Bad Days. Listen to the BCS podcast HERE.
LSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Will Wade says “there’s a basketball program right now spending $5 million a year” on NIL. Wade says facilities need work at LSU, but NIL must come first. “That’s how important this is going to be.”
Breakdowns of transactions reported on INFLCR for the first 6 months of collegiate NIL Sports with the most reported transactions: Football, M/W Track & Field, Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball, and Women's Soccer. Full chart HERE.
Some quick hitter deals: Colorado State Basketball’s David Roddy (@droddy22) has partnered with @JourneyPayroll; Arkansas Basketball’s JD Notae (@jdnotae) has partnered with @BUnlimited where he has released his exclusive apparel; and Ohio State Football’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (@jaxon_smith1) has partnered with @ricart where he helped in the design of a Ford F-150 with @RabidCustoms.