NIL Newsletter #123 | NCAA NIL Guidance, House-Prince-Oliver Lawsuit, Collectives Go International, + ICYMI
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:
NCAA D1 Board Announces Clarifications of Interim NIL Policy
On Wednesday, the Division 1 Board of Directors unanimously approved the release of clarifications regarding the involvement of schools in NIL activities of enrolled student-athletes, in accordance with the NCAA’s interim NIL policy. Major points of clarification included school support for athletes and school interactions with NIL collectives.
Schools are permitted and encouraged to provide education to student-athletes on a number of topics, including, but not limited to: taxes, financial literacy, social media, and entrepreneurship. They are similarly allowed to provide NIL specification education to collectives, boosters, and recruits.
Athletic Departments are permitted to engage with NIL marketplaces, such as Opendorse, and inform student-athletes on NIL opportunities. However, they cannot negotiate those opportunities for the athlete.
Schools cannot provide free services, such as graphics, video or photo equipment, or facilities, to student-athletes, unless those same services are free to the rest of the student body. There are a few exceptions to this; schools are permitted to provide stock photos or graphics to student-athletes, and arrange space on campus for a meeting place where the student-athlete can meet with prospective NIL sponsors.
Full NCAA release available HERE.
House-Prince-Oliver NIL Lawsuit v. NCAA Proposes Expansion to Class Action
The attorneys for the House-Prince-Oliver NIL antitrust lawsuit, which originally included only the three plaintiffs, filed a proposal last Friday in an attempt to expand to a class action. This expansion would include thousands of current and former athletes dating back to 2016, and makes it clear that a likely conclusion is a settlement for hundreds of millions of dollars.
The case is currently in front of Judge Claudia Wilken, who previously ruled on triumphant victories for student-athletes in O’Bannon and Alston.
There are four proposed classes for the expansion: the first is an injunctive relief class which includes all D1 student-athletes who have competed or will compete from June 15, 2020 to the date of the judgment; the remaining three are seeking to recover damages, and consist primarily of student athletes from football and men’s and women’s basketball.
The large-scale ramifications of a ruling for the plaintiffs on this case could mean the end of collegiate athletics as we know it. Attorney Mit Winter shared his thoughts: “A finding that this rule violates antitrust law would open up broadcast revenue sharing to athletes. And sharing broadcast revenue with football and basketball players would fundamentally alter the economic model that Power 5/D1 college athletics programs operate under.”
Penn State’s “Success With Honor” Collective Goes International
The “Success With Honor” Collective recently launched billboards in Toronto and the greater Ontario province, depicting four Penn State football student-athletes who are Canadian natives. In doing so, they became the first collective to promote internationally.
Student Athlete NIL, which manages the collective, launched similar campaigns in France, Indonesia, Ireland, England, and Australia.
“It’s a way to involve international student-athletes in NIL passively in their home countries. Not only are they promoting the collective, but the university is getting value at the same time. … We’re definitely the first to do it. And most certainly, we’re the first NIL advertisement in a foreign language.” - SANIL Founder Jason Belzer
The billboard itself advertises Penn State as “L’Équipe locale Du Canada,” roughly translated as The Home Team of Canada.
ICYMI Ticker
Two Tennessee collectives–The Volunteer Club and Lady Vol Boost (Her) Club– announced the first NIL deal in the nation with AT&T. Participants include Heisman hopeful quarterback Hendon Hooker and three women’s basketball players: Tamari Key, Sara Puckett, and Jordan Walker. LINK
The Heart Mind Soul collective, also managed by Student Athlete NIL, launched to support Creighton student-athletes. The entire Creighton Volleyball team has already signed with the collective. LINK
Drew Rosenhaus issued a warning to agents who seek to grow their professional rosters through signing collegiate student-athletes: “[It’s] not automatic if you have an NIL client that you are going to sign him in the draft. … But last year was the first year of NIL, so most of the players that we had were younger guys, so we’ll see how that translates this year in the draft.” Noted football student-athletes currently signed with Rosenhaus for NIL representation include Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy–a former five-star recruit– and Miami (FL) quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who, unlike McCarthy, is draft eligible this year. LINK
Altius Sports Partners launched ASP Academy, an educational program aimed at providing schools with NIL training and advising. Nevada, Tulane, Oakland, and North Alabama are the first four clients. LINK
Michigan State collective “This is Sparta!” agreed to terms with MSU’s Big 10 champion women’s soccer team, as well as MSU’s men’s and women’s golf. The collective will distribute $382,500 to be allocated equally amongst 41 student-athletes, with an expectation that each will contribute 5% to a charity of their choice. LINK
There are a number of friendly reminders that NIL deals alone do not equate to wins. TCU football head coach Sonny Dykes: “You can find good football players that really just love playing football. That's the most important thing. Sometimes, when it's just about money or it's just about things, sometimes that becomes more important than the other stuff.” LINK