Newsletter #79 | Interview with TCU/Think NIL's Brent Cunningham + ICYMI Ticker
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Inside NIL Collectives: Interview with Brent Cunningham, VP of Operations at Think NIL
Former TCU Assistant AD Brent Cunningham sat down with OSC to discuss his transition from athletics administration to running Think NIL- TCU’s new NIL collective.
Interviewed by Austin Meo of Optimum Sports Consulting
1. Let’s start off with your career path in college athletics. How did it take you from administration to running an NIL collective?
My background in athletics administration has been in compliance. I started as an intern right after I completed my undergraduate degree at LSU. Then I went to Marshall University for graduate school and was a graduate assistant for compliance there. That led me to my first full-time opportunity at TCU- where I’ve been for the past 9 years working in compliance. I do have involvement in development as well as a board member and president of the student-led Tiger Athletic Foundation Collegiate Club when I was at LSU as an undergraduate student. Of course in compliance, we’ve been tracking NIL probably longer than anyone else. It has always existed, but from our perspective we’ve enforced rules that prohibit it. Whenever there was use of a SA’s NIL from an outside company, we would contact them with a cease and desist letter and take down most things. As the NCAA has gone down this road, we’ve tracked this soft policy that they’ve put out. From that standpoint, I have an extensive background of what goes into NIL.
2. With your compliance background, you’re not the first administrator to make the jump to a collective- why are more and more ADs making the switch? And what factored into your decision?
We’ve seen UGA and another school see their compliance director start their collective- it is certainly a trend. What made sense on our end is specific to the state of Texas- the universities and its employees are handcuffed as far as what they can do with arranging NIL for SAs. It made sense for an athletics department staff member to leave and do this on the external side. For me specifically, my relationships with the coaches and SA provides Think NIL with invaluable insight into the needs and wants of those programs. While a number of collectives from around the country are at a perceived disadvantage because they don’t know the inner workings of an athletics department (or really how this should operate to protect every party involved). Think NIL is positioned for success because of the subject matter expertise I can bring from campus to a collective.
3. We’re seeing collectives pop up all over the country- how long had the idea of a collective been rumored/talked about at TCU? How will Think NIL stand out from others entering year two of NIL?
Think NIL was started by an individual named Guillermo Zamarripa who owns and operates The Marketing Jersey, LLC. He got the wheels moving last fall and there was a press release that came out from him in December of 2021. This collective wasn’t my idea but was an area where I could provide value which is why I seeked it out. What will make us stand apart? The model of raising money from donors - the sustainability from it - will be interesting to watch. There are opportunities to apply for nonprofit 501(C)(3) status- but i don’t see most basic collectives having a good chance at getting approval. If they do, I think when audit season comes around it will be interesting. The 501(C)(3) model from a collective standpoint- there needs to be more than just raising money and paying athletes. That’s something we’re exploring and taking our time with. The approval is only the first part- then you have to make sure you are operating appropriately every year there after. It’s a serious area we are monitoring and making sure that when we are ready, we protect everyone involved. For now, what helps us stand apart is our founders experience in the sports marketing world. We’re doing more than just the fundraising and paying athletes. We’re seeking B2B relationships with companies on campus and in the region- the DFW area is massive. We’ve also shot some content series with athletes where we are paying them specifically- it’s an opportunity for them to build their brand and provide the public/fanbase with a side of them that isn’t seen.
4. Speaking of the DFW area, Texas has a unique HS NIL law. Current estimates say about 20% of states allow it- and surely you followed the Quinn Ewers situation at Ohio State and now UT-Austin. Is it only a matter of time before states move like they did for college NIL? Or will they stand their ground like Texas?
I think there’s going to be a big push from an SA rights perspective to be able to monetize their own personal NIL. I can see that being an area of the Texas law that gets modified in the future. There can be an opportunity where the entire NIL law gets repealed altogether like we saw in Alabama. So many universities - when it comes to NIL it is apart of the recruiting process. If Alabama or Auburn can say they don’t have any restrictions in their state- schools in the state of Texas are automatically at a disadvantage because we do have laws that prohibit certain things from an NIL perspective. If not a repeal there could be a modification of the Texas NIL law in the future.
5. Speaking of recruiting advantages, the NCAA’s Interim NIL Policy hasn’t moved. When you were working in administration, did you hope for a federal NIL law? Do you think Congress will stay silent on it?
From an administrative side when I was on campus- when you’re enforcing rules its important to have structure. With no rules it makes the job more difficult. We were hoping the NCAA would pass its proposal- it was a fairly good proposal that covered every base. There was hope but not optimism. What you are seeing now with the NCAA is that they are at the beck and call of the lawsuits that are being brought against them. Right now the NCAA is shying away from anything that might end up being a lawsuit that is brought against them- of course NIL fell into that category wholeheartedly. We had hoped too that without the NCAA doing something from a legislative standpoint, that federal legislation could be put together. Some bipartisan bills were proposed but never made it through. From an angle of consistency and knowing what you’re working with/against- a federal law or an NCAA rule on this would be ideal. But the position that each school and each collective is in right now is you have to make it work.
6. What is the new thing coming up in NIL and what are you most excited about?
Right now with wrapping up NIL- people are interested in finding a way to stabilize it. There’s been a lot of new entries into this process whether its collectives, directives, NFTs, group licensing. I’m not naive to think nothing else will present itself. I think everyone in the industry is looking for this to level off, figure out what it is, and identify itself. I’m hoping to see this as we wrap up this first year of NIL.
ICYMI Ticker
Penn State QB Sean Clifford is launching an agency this week to represent college athletes and help them maximize their NIL opportunities. Clifford, 23, is entering his sixth year at Penn State and his fourth year as the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback. He already has assembled a team of five employees for Limitless NIL, which is believed to be the first agency founded by a SA to help others with NIL.
On Wednesday, a group led by Casey Floyd, Chief Compliance Officer of NIL company NOCAP Sports, launched the first formal public international NIL rights campaign. The movement includes a petition with three recommendations for Congress and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The petition lists three law groups and 20 coaches’ associations and is accompanied by a short video featuring several international Power 5 athletes.
The championship winning Kansas MBB team will participate in a statewide victory tour put together by 6th Man Strategies, which has represented the entire team’s NIL activities since October 2021. The “Barnstorming Tour,” announced on Friday, will commence at Wichita East High School on April 23. Players will sign autographs and host a Q&A session, a skills training camp, and a VIP dinner. Tickets range from $30 to $125 each. Players will receive 70% of the ticket revenue, with the other 30% going to host facilities, CEO of 6th Man Strategies’ Matt Baty told Front Office Sports. Players will also get 100% of the revenue from auction items.
In June of last summer, the ruling of the NCAA vs. Alston Supreme Court case found that NCAA rules limited education-related compensation violated section 1 of the Sherman Act. In response to that, Baylor AD Mack Rhoades told SicEm365 Radio that Baylor Athletics has established a $2.1 million annual fund for it’s 500-plus student athletes to benefit from. Baylor is now one of roughly 25 athletic programs that have decided to take part of this allowed but not required incentive program. Baylor athletes will have access to $5,980 per academic year by meeting academic requirements.
Alabama has become the latest university to unveil a NIL collective, titled High Tide Traditions. “High Tide Traditions was established to harness the power of Name, Image, and Likeness with student athletes to make and propel positive business relationships across the city, state, region and nation,” their website states.
Three Clemson University football teammates of the early 1980s - Rich Davies, Kendall Alley and Kevin Gemas - have launched TigerImpact, a “purpose-driven” collective. The group says it is launching with commitments totaling more than $5 million and 12 Clemson athletes working on behalf of community charities that align with the athletes’ personal passions. “TigerImpact is an innovative and effective way to assist student-athletes developing themselves and serving others while navigating the challenges and complexities of NIL with authenticity, integrity and professionalism,” Alley said in announcing the fund.
Purdue has launched the Boilermaker Marketplace Exchange with INFLCR. "Long before anyone had heard of NIL, Purdue Athletics was developing a first-in-class student-athlete development curriculum through our EMPOWER program," said Dr. Ken Halpin, Purdue Deputy AD and COO. "Adding the Boilermaker Marketplace exchange is the necessary next step in making sure all of our SAs have a secure and comprehensive space to support all of their NIL opportunities."
The Brandr Group and AJS Collective announced a partnership focused on creating NIL opportunities for female athletes. Story from BCS HERE.
VCU through its partnership with INFLCR is launching the VCU Exchange to allow student-athletes and businesses to communicate directly about NIL opportunities. Full story HERE.
Colorado State and The Brandr Group are launching group licensing for student athletes- full announcement HERE.
Chris Bickell, a 1997 graduate of Pittsburgh, has started Alliance 412, a collective of supporters mobilized to facilitate NIL opportunities for Pitt athletes across all sports. He previously donated $20 million to Pitt’s football program just last year.
Nebraska Athletics is partnering with leading NIL advisory and education firm Altius Sports Partners- full announcement HERE.
Clemson FB HC Dabo Swinney: “There's no rules, no guidance, no nothing. It's out of control. It's not sustainable. It's an absolute mess and a train wreck, and the kids are going to be the ones who suffer in the end. There are going to be a lot of kids that end up with no degrees and make decisions based on the wrong things. There are going to be a lot of decisions based on short-term stuff, and they're going to sacrifice the long-term value of education, relationships and connectivity. It will settle out eventually. But, no, it's not what it was supposed to be. The intention is very good. I love the fact that these guys can go make some money on their name, image and likeness if that's what they want to do. But the way it's set up right now is definitely not how it was intended. Just like most things, there are always unintended consequences, and unfortunately, the kids will be the ones to pay the price because you've got a lot of really young people that are having to grow up really, really fast.” Full interview HERE.
New USC FB HC Lincoln Riley on NIL: “Our reality is that it’s made what’s going on at certain places for a long time, it’s kind of put it out in the open,” Riley said. “I’m a fan of guys being able to capitalize off their NIL. But there was no doubt it was going to seep into recruiting at some point. I think anybody that cares about college football is not real pleased with that.” // “That wasn’t the intention,” Riley said. “A lot of people voiced concerns when NIL came up and that there had to be a plan for that. And instead, we instituted NIL without any plan.”