NIL Newsletter #128 | College Free Agency, David Shaw, + 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:
CFB Transfer Portal Opens Today - Free Agency?
As the college football Division 1 transfer portal prepares to open up officially on December 5th, allowing schools to talk with student-athletes who have put their name into the NCAA’s transfer system, the world of NIL readies for another turn.
NIL will play a massive factor in determining the recruitment strategies of some of the portal’s biggest stars, such as former 5-star recruit Donnell Harris, arguably the crown gem of Texas A&M’s fabled 2021 recruiting class.
While others, such as new Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders’ son, will likely follow in the footsteps of their former coaches in joining new schools, many will likely be swayed by promises from NIL collectives.
“I mean, if you were smart, and you were good enough to warrant it, I think you would just go in early,” an SEC collective operator told On3. “And you would almost use it as an exclusive negotiating window with your current team. And when you get to where you want it to be, you would just pull out before the portal opens.”
CFB Free Agency may be upon us. Read more about it HERE.
David Shaw’s Final Straw
Stanford Football Head Coach David Shaw resigned from his position just over a week ago, after spending 12 years as the Head Coach of his alma mater. He holds a 96-54 career record as head coach, but has finished 3-9 each of the past two seasons.
Stanford seems far from interested in supporting their football team within the new landscape of NIL. It has no official online marketplace where boosters can connect with current student-athletes and has not encouraged a collective to assist student-athletes in securing NIL deals.
As a university, Stanford admits somewhere between 40 and 50 transfer students each year, not student-athletes, but students. It is among the most difficult universities to transfer into, and as a result, has a difficult time attracting talent through the transfer portal.
While Shaw did not state that Stanford’s NIL and transfer policies were a determinator behind his departure, he did note that the university was behind the curve in that regard.
"Stanford historically doesn't change quickly," he said. "We are methodical. ... It's been difficult, but it's been difficult for everybody." Perhaps not as difficult for some *Texas A&M* as for others.
ICYMI Ticker
Augustana Athletics Launches NIL Marketplace Through Opendorse. LINK
West Virginia hired Wren Baker as their new Athletic Director. They cited Baker’s work with NIL at North Texas as one of their primary reasons for hiring him. LINK
Michigan State hosted the first annual EverGreen NIL Celebration to promote the NIL achievements of MSU student-athletes. LINK
Colorado State announced the Stalwart Journey program to connect their student-athletes with NIL opportunities. LINK
South Alabama partnered with NOCAP Sports to enhance student-athlete NIL opportunities. LINK
Penn State NIL collective Success With Honor launched a $2 million dollar campaign to promote NIL activity in the transfer portal. LINK