NIL Newsletter #124 | John Cohen Flips, Miami's NIL Machine, Future of Collectives, + ICYMI Ticker
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:
Mississippi State AD John Cohen Leaves for Same Role at Auburn
Cohen’s move appears to have sent shockwaves through athletic departments nationwide. Not only does Auburn’s athletic department budget surpass that of Mississippi State’s, so does their NIL spending.
Cohen agreed to a minor pay increase with Auburn, but it appears as though the most important factor in his decision was the $12 million already pledged to Auburn’s collective. Mississippi State has lagged behind in its NIL efforts up to this point.
Notably, in what is perhaps a vindictive movement, Mississippi State’s collective has tripled in size and received over $500,000 in annual donations since Cohen announced his move.
No matter the motivation, it is clear that NIL plays a huge role in today's amateur athletics landscape—not simply in the decisions of athletes, but in the decisions of coaches and administrators as well.
John Ruiz, Miami (FL) Booster, Shows No Signs of Stopping
Despite Miami’s lack of recent success, Ruiz, a massive booster and NIL contributor to the ‘Canes, has expressed his desire to continue to invest.
“Do I want the University of Miami to win? Absolutely, who’s going to deny that. I’d want them to win even if I wasn’t putting up a dime for NIL. But my business strategy is totally different than everybody else’s and, in fact, not that anybody wanted the university to lose, but now we’re getting even more attention because the view is, ‘Is Ruiz a dummy? Did he put up all this money and he’s throwing it away? Well, we’re super happy with our return on investment. We’re super happy with the branding that we’ve done.”
Ruiz’s current NIL spending is hovering around $10 million dollars, with most of that going to current Miami (FL) athletes. He has disputed reports of a singular $9.5 million dollar deal with incoming football recruit Jaden Rashada, but one thing is clear—he will continue to give.
According to reports from this previous summer, Ruiz stood to make $23 billion dollars from a merger. There is no reason to expect his NIL spending to stop, as long as he is pleased with the business return on his investments.
Ruiz’s full interview is available HERE.
Collectives are Here to Stay…For Now
INFLCR, which offers a school-specific NIL platform used by more than 50 universities, released recent data relating to NIL transaction quality and quantity in regards to collectives
Transactions from collectives currently account for more than one-third of total transaction volume on INFLCR’s platforms. The average payment from collectives is only slightly higher than payments from non-collectives, but the median payment from collectives is nearly three times that of non-collectives.
This collective based transaction system is a natural evolution of the non-traditional world of NIL. While major companies are determining their strategies, collectives, which are usually donor-funded and university specific, have filled in.
“NIL is tied to the success of an athlete, very much so, at every level. An athlete’s performance, their influence on social media and in the community, and the exposure of the school that they attend really is what is calculating their NIL value.”
Jim Cavale, founder and CEO of INFLCR, believes that collectives may simply be a temporary, albeit necessary, bridge to allow athletes to monetize their NIL early in the market. He believes that as companies build their strategies, and as donors lose their patience, there will be a shift to more traditional sponsorships as seen in professional leagues.
ICYMI Ticker
Jordan Brand signed their first NIL deal with Kiki Rice, a UCLA Women’s Basketball athlete. LINK
Lacrosse Unlimited announced its second intake of NIL athletes signed to its UNLTD roster, including three men’s and three women’s athletes. LINK
Temple partnered with INFLCR to launch Temple Owl Exchange, a local exchange focused on Temple student athletes. LINK
Vanderbilt is partnering with Fanatics and OneTeam to allow their student athletes to sell personalized t-shirts with their names and numbers. Fanatics began the program with football and soccer, and has plans to add additional sports. LINK
Oakland University launched the Gold Standard NIL marketplace through its partnership with Opendorse. LINK
Kentucky Men’s Basketball freshman Chris Livingston has partnered with Lids and KLUTCH Sports Group to produce exclusive merchandise. It will be available across the country this week. LINK
La Salle has partnered with The Brandr Group, which will allow their student athletes to use the school’s official trademarks and logos for NIL deals. LINK