Newsletter #77 | House/Prince Case, Ohio HS NIL Vote, Jake Olsen's Engage NIL Platform, Eccker Sports for HS NIL + ICYMI Ticker
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Recapping NIL This Week:
Latest developments in House/Prince vs. NCAA/Conferences
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in House/Prince litigation vs. NCAA and athletic conferences ask Judge Claudia Wilken (also from O’Bannon and Alston ) for 4-month extension of deadline to file class certification motion and supporting expert reports, saying they need more time to gather data on athletes' NIL deals (Per USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz).
Plaintiffs' lawyers say they have subpoenaed more than 200 parties for details on athlete NIL deals, including approximately 150 NCAA schools, as well as online platforms.
Part of the reason plaintiffs seek this information is that the suit seeks not only an injunction, but also damages that would be based, in part, on the amount of money college athletes would have received in past years had the NCAA's rules barring NIL pay not existed at that time. Such a damages award would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and, under antitrust law, the basic award would be tripled.
New class-certification filing deadline would be in late October, which would move the trial date to September 2024.
Ohio High School Athletic Association will vote on NIL proposal May 1-16
Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSSA) member schools are scheduled to vote on a student athlete NIL proposal during the annual referendum voting period between May 1-16, 2022.
OHSAA announced Tuesday member high school principals will vote on 14 potential changes to the constitution and bylaws of the state's high school sports governing body. Issue 12B is a name, image and likeness proposal that mirrors changes made at the collegiate level.
This proposed addition would allow student-athletes to sign endorsement agreements so long as their teams, schools and/or OHSAA logo are not used and provided there are no endorsements with companies that do not support the mission of education-based athletics such as casinos, gambling, alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
OHSAA's 817 member high school principals will vote electronically on the 14 proposals beginning May 1 and ending at 4 p.m. May 16. If approved, all items become effective Aug. 1 unless otherwise noted. A simple majority is needed to pass an item.
USC Jake Olsen’s speakers firm leverages athlete NIL into $1M seed round
Jake Olson became a national inspiration as the first entirely blind NCAA Division I college football player. Despite a rare eye cancer taking his vision at age 12, Olson served as a walk-on long snapper for USC, stepping into action twice during the 2017 season.
Engage, which Olson founded along with USC roommate Daniel Hennes and four others, recently completed a seed round of more than $1 million that values the talent booking platform at $30 million, according to the founders. Cameo co-founder Steven Galanis is among the investors in Engage, which connects nearly 3,000 athletes and other speakers to clients ranging from Bank of America to SpaceX.
Hennes, Engage’s CEO, said the company currently gets about 70% of its revenue from facilitating speaking, adding that the overall speaking market has grown as some companies bring back live events while others continue hosting virtual ones.
Engage also helps athletes craft speeches and set prices as they enter the NIL market. The startup has partnered with INFLCR and Opendorse in its efforts to help players launch speaking careers while still in school.
“Completing this round will allow us to expand our team, double down on our marketing efforts, and capitalize on the return of live events, NIL, and more macro trends,” Hennes said in a statement.
Eccker Sports: NIL platform aimed at high school athletes
Sports media and tech veteran Randy Eccker has launched a new educational platform aimed at high school athletes, their families, coaches and athletic associations.
The Eccker Sports digital platform will be sold and marketed by a team that includes Eccker, who ran XOS Digital, among several businesses, Chief Commercial Officer Tim Prukop and CMO Michelle Houp.
“Doing something like this and scaling it on a national level has meant going state by state and that can be difficult,” Eccker said. “But as these state high school associations and coaches associations have gotten more organized and forward thinking, it has become more realistic.”
The educational platform will Include four components: a video curriculum that can be accessed online; up-to-date state NIL laws and information; Coach Assist, a teaching mechanism for high school coaches; and a network of specialists in legal, financial and taxation, who will provide athletes and their families with expertise in those areas. The educational material for online courses will be licensed from Vin McCaffrey’s North Carolina-based firm Game Plan.
“We’ve been missing out on one of the most important parts of this NIL market and the most scalable part of the market that really needs attention,” Eccker said. “There is so much pressure on kids and families and coaches to address NIL and they are just not in a position to do it. So, we’ve been kicking the tires on it for some time and it really is obvious that something like this is needed.”
ICYMI Ticker
South Carolina WBB’s Destanni Henderson shouted out her clothing line in her postgame interview after helping clinch the school’s second national championship in the last six seasons (Per Neil Horowitz).
A new clinic Minnesota Law will launch next fall will offer NIL legal assistance to students, including college athletes and social media influencers of all types. Created in partnership with the law firm of Fredrikson & Byron, the Sports and NIL Clinic will help its student clients navigate the tricky legal waters of sponsorships, endorsement deals, and image licensing. Story HERE (more law schools will follow).
In collaboration with Opendorse, Texas haS launched their brand-new, official NIL marketplace- LEVERAGE Lineup. More HERE.
Success With Honor, the Penn State NIL collective that launched in March, raised more than $120,000 in annual aggregate subscription revenue through its first week of operation. Full story HERE.
San Diego State Athletics announced the launch of Aztec Advantage a comprehensive NIL program. “Through partnerships with Opendorse Ready and Team Altemus, and support from our NIL Coordinator Michelle Meyer, out student athletes are excited and ready to engage our San Diego community," said AD John David Wicker.
The Athletic writer David Ubben, who previously covered the $8 million ‘23 QB, argues that the rise of NIL collectives is sustainable. “No, the money will not run out because people want to win, and the entire economic structure of college sports is built around alumni using their money to help fund successful athletic teams on campus. And just like the fundraising arms of athletic departments, collectives can court donors and fans to donate and are already doing so aggressively.” Full story HERE.