NIL Newsletter # 149 | House v. NCAA Updates, NCAA Review, NIL and Real Estate + 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:
House-Prince Antitrust Case Provides Major Updates
This week, there were a number of significant developments in the House-Prince v. NCAA class action lawsuit. The lawsuit is primarily focused on compensating former student-athletes who could not benefit from NIL deals during their collegiate careers.
According to recent court documents, the plaintiffs (student-athletes) are seeking more than $1.4 billion in damages.
In response to this, the NCAA and its member conferences submitted arguments to deny the bid for class-action status. Denying class-action status would limit recovery to the three former student-athletes currently involved.
However, if Judge Claudia Wilken grants class-action status, damages can be awarded to hundreds, if not thousands of former student-athletes.
Expert witnesses have concluded that the value of the use of student-athlete’s Name, Image, and Likeness in college sports broadcasting contacts is 10% of the total broadcast revenue for each conference.
75% of that amount is attributed to football, 15% to men’s basketball, and 5% each to women’s basketball and Olympic sports.
Jimmy Sexton, Co-head of Football at CAA, submitted a declaration on behalf of the NCAA, anticipating a significant amount of litigation “ensuing from star players who would not want to participate in such a revenue sharing process.”
More on the recent developments is available HERE.
NCAA Begins State-of-Business Review
NCAA president Charlie Baker announced this week that the NCAA hired Bain & Company to conduct a full review of the association.
Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman has been vocal in her criticism of the NCAA, believing it to be, at times, inefficient and undervalued.
"There isn't a clearly defined commercial unit within the national office. In my opinion, it's failing," Ackerman said.
“The NCAA is a billion-dollar concern because of the money they bring in from March Madness. I think we would all benefit from a clearly defined structure, business unit that would be run by a chief marketing officer and a chief commercial officer who would be entrusted with oversight over television with a dedicated broadcast person underneath them."
Baker is supportive of the process, seeing it as an anticipatory measure in light of a number of recent changes, as well as current and future litigation, such as House v. NCAA.
More on the review is available HERE.
Real Estate Firm Keller Williams Partners with Opendorse, NIL Real Estate
Keller Williams, Opendorse, and NIL Real Estate announced a partnership this week to offer athletes with on-demand video lessons and articles.
This training course is aimed at providing student-athletes with the the opportunity and knowledge to buy a house, invest in real estate, or pursue a future career in the field.
“This partnership is a great example of how impactful NIL can be for college athletes,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence. “Real estate careers and investment have been a popular path for athletes for years. Now, with help from Keller Williams and NIL Real Estate, athletes can get a jump on their future with support from the pros.”
BYU offered a similar program in partnership with Keller Williams to over 120 athletes last year, preparing student-athletes to take the Utah exam required for a real estate license.
The program will now be available nationwide, and more information is available HERE.
ICYMI Ticker
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy shared his thoughts on Colorado’s recent roster turnover: “The NCAA says players aren't employees except for their coaches all treat the players like employees. Sanders is in the process of firing half his team, kicking them off their scholarships because they aren't performing. That's employment.” LINK
Massachusetts endorsed the Midnight Ride Collective, created to support UMass football Student-athletes. LINK
Nebraska announced that Jonathan Bateman, the Associate Director of Compliance, would be promoted to Assistant AD for NIL Strategy and Governance in partnership with Altius Sports. LINK
Rutgers also partnered with Altius Sports to implement a full-time, on-campus NIL GM. LINK
Purdue partnered with Captiv8 to provide social media and NIL analytics and education. LINK
LSU WBB transfer Hailey Van Lith will continue to promote Adidas, despite wearing Nike gear during all team activities. LINK
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association will allow student-athletes to profit from NIL beginning July 1st. LINK