NIL Newsletter #139 | Cavinder Twins Sanctioned, Historic NIL Deal, Conflict of Shoes, + 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:
The NCAA's First NIL-Related Ruling Came Against the Cavinder Twins
Haley and Hanna Cavinder are some of early NIL’s most prominent figures, boasting a joint TikTok account with over 4 million followers, and singing NIL deals with a number of brands, including: Under Armour, Raising Cane’s, Intuit TurboTax, and PINK.
The NCAA’s first NIL-related ruling focused on a dinner attended by the Cavinder twins and hosted by John Ruiz, who is often mentioned when speaking of Miami(FL) and NIL.
In April of 2022, Ruiz hosted the Cavinder twins and their family, while the twins were still in the transfer portal. The dinner was encouraged, if not arranged, by Miami Women’s Basketball Head Coach Katie Meier.
Meier served a three-game suspension at the beginning of this current season, while the Women’s Basketball Program had a few minor recruiting penalties levied upon it. The NCAA did not enforce any penalties on Mr. Ruiz, but instead signaled that it was a future possibility. Similarly, the NCAA did not punish either of the twins, choosing to focus on the larger institution.
More info is available HERE.
Tribal-Owned Business Partners with Three New Mexico Athletes
Tamaya Ventures, owned and operated by the Pueblo peoples, announced that they were partnering with three Native American student-athletes from the University of New Mexico: Ali Upshaw (Cross-Country), Natalia Chavez (WBB), and Jaelyn Bates (WBB, pictured above).
Each student-athlete will have their own custom merchandise, which is available to purchase for two weeks.
The NIL agreement is the first to take place between a tribal-owned entity and Native American student-athletes.
“We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this new and exciting partnership and support of our local Division I Native American student-athletes,” said Richard Luarkie, CEO of Tamaya Ventures. “Our goal is to not only support the athletes, but to also showcase the talent and ingenuity of our young people, our Santa Ana Tribal businesses, and illuminate the vision of our tribal leadership.”
More information on the historic agreement is available HERE.
Flau’jae Johnson’s Conflicting NIL Shoe Deal
Johnson, a McDonald’s All-American basketball player, has started every game for LSU Women’s Basketball this year, averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game. Off the court, Johnson is signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label.
It isn’t just her talent on or off the court that is intriguing about Johnson, it is also her unique NIL deal. Johnson signed a multiyear deal with Puma, which pays her in the low- to mid-six figures per year.
The controversy arises because Johnson’s school, LSU, is a Nike University. LSU is paid $1 million per year by Nike, which also supplies nearly $5 million worth of apparel to the school’s athletic department each year.
On the court, Johnson wears the University-issued Nike shoes and gear, and off the court, she wears her Puma shoes and apparel. Thus far, neither company has had an issue with the arrangement.
“If I had to take a guess, I think the NIL world will eventually move towards what the professional leagues have,” Max Staiger, Puma’s global head of basketball said.
More on the story is available HERE.
ICYMI Ticker
Florida' Gulf Coast’s NIL store powered by Campus Ink launched, and no, unfortunately, it is not called “Dunk City.” LINK
10 months since Clemson’s TigerImpact collective launched, it has amassed $8.3 million in commitments from over 200 donors. I wonder how Dabo Swinney feels about that? LINK
Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick discussed NIL opportunities for ND student-athletes: “Some of our most interesting [NIL] opportunities right now surround the launching of businesses.” LINK
Utah State-focused Light It BLUE collective has launched to support student-athletes. LINK