NIL Newsletter #16 | Knight Commission, MarketPryce, Tennessee Football + Deep Dive/ICYMI
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting!
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This Thursday’s Newsletter Includes:
Recapping NIL news this week
Deep Dive: The Pressure to Succeed Following Large NIL Deals for FBS Quarterbacks
ICYMI: The PAC-12 Networks Launches New NIL Licensing Program
Recapping NIL This Week
Knight Commission On Intercollegiate Athletics sends letter to the NCAA Constitution Committee, mentions NIL
The Knight Commission sent a letter to the NCAA Constitution Committee, stating: “We would welcome the opportunity to present to the Constitution Committee to share more information about our recommendations and what we’ve learned over the course of our work—which has included presentations and discussions with more than 100 D-I presidents, as well as athletics directors, commissioners, and other leaders in college sports and higher education.”
As stated in the letter, The Knight Commission has provided extensive research and recommendations on Division I’s governance, revenue distribution programs, NIL rules, and gender and racial equity performance over the past two years.
The commission released their NIL plan in April of 2020 as a set of principles to guide the development and oversight of NIL rules to allow college athletes to earn compensation from third parties, without institutional involvement. Ultimately, the NCAA and Congress never made a long-form NIL policy following Alston.
In remains unclear if a national NIL policy recommendation is in the works- the group has remained relatively silent on the issue over the past year. Their last NIL-specific content came in June of 2020, with an FAQ-style article dedicated to group licensing.
MarketPryce, a marketplace that connects brands and athletes, has raised a $3 million seed round
Per Jacob Feldman writing for Sportico, CEO Jason Bergman turned to the world of dating apps for a comparison. Tinder, Hinge and Bumble each might have different business models and features, but the most important factor is the connections they help users make. “We believe there are massive network effects for this new market, which should lead to a winner-take-most dynamic,” Bergman said. “We’re raising $3 million to make sure we are the company who comes out on top.”
MarketPryce currently boasts 1,300 athletes and over 300 brands on its platform. Bergman said many deals start with product seeding, though some athletes secure paid marketing deals within minutes of signing up. Athletes pay a monthly fee to access the marketplace, while brands pay a percentage fee for any agreements made using MarketPryce’s tools.
Bergman understands why so many startups are racing to stake a claim among NIL marketplaces. “It’s not too often that you can invest in a space that has a historic shift in legislation that more than 10x’s a TAM overnight,” he said.
More than 50 Tennessee football players have opted into a shirt agreement with a Knoxville-based design company
50 Tennessee football players, including newly named starting QB Joe Milton III, are in on a group shirt deal announced earlier this week. Each player who signs the agreement with DW and Spyre gets a guaranteed percentage from every shirt sold.
Per a portion of the statement that announced the deal: “The DW Designs and Spyre Sports Group are partnering with Tennessee Football athletes for this historic release in a team-wide endorsement featuring our original Tennessee Attack design. Inspired by the team's pursuit to always play fearless and "Attack" whether on offense or defense.”
The “Attack” design also is applicable to any The DW Designs merchandise, which could include hats, Koozies and stickers, with revenues also again providing a percentage to Volunteers players opted into the agreement.
NIL was a topic Head Coach Josh Heupel discussed back at SEC Media Days: “Some of the outside experiences that players have a chance to take advantage of are really important. I go back to my playing days and the opportunities that I would have had, that I did have, as soon as my playing career was done. Those are unique opportunities that have an opportunity to help you grow as a player, too.
Deep Dive: The Pressure to Succeed Following Large NIL Deals for FBS Quarterbacks
From Heisman favorites to 4th string players who just joined programs, the size of NIL deals for some of the nation’s best QB prospects might be setting on-field expectations a bit too high.
Written by Austin Meo (@AMeo31)
Several weeks ago in OSC’s Monday Newsletter on August 9th, the tip of the week for student athletes was, “As school starts and practice begins, do not forget about your mental health.” This was inspired by Simone Biles, who made international headlines during this year’s Tokyo Olympics for withdrawing from multiple events- citing her strained mental health. And while mental health is often depicted as one’s internal struggles, sometimes the toughest things to deal with come externally. In Dennis Dodd’s piece for CBS Sports, he discusses, in part, how on-field expectations for some of the nation’s most notable FBS QBs are being shaped following large NIL deals.
It is difficult not to associate expectations on the field with the deals that fans have seen ahead of this year’s FBS regular season. North Carolina HC Mack Brown even alluded to this, arguing that a player’s performance, not their brand, should drive NIL demand. “What we're realizing with players is not everybody on the team is going to make a whole lot of money,” Brown said. “Make it about your ball, not your brand. Without your ball, you're not going to make any money.” That inherently is tough to hear- the translation is “you’ll get deals but only because you’re good at football, not because you marketed yourself well.”
A cataclysmic NIL deal was announced on Tuesday, when autograph giant GTSM signed Ohio State QB Quinn Ewers to a multi-year deal worth $1.4 million. Ewers, who chose to forgo his senior year of high school in part due to Texas’ restriction on HS NIL, likely will not start at QB for OSU in 2021.
This movement towards investment into younger college athletes is something many might not have foreseen when NIL began in July. The expectation was that accomplished, older college athletes would see the biggest deals because they had established reputations with little risk. And yet, three of the biggest winners in the FBS space thus far are 1) an Alabama QB whose HC believes has made 7 figures in deals despite throwing just 22 passes in 2020 2) a Clemson QB that will have a national commercial spot this season after starting 2 games the year prior and 3) a highly-touted Ohio State recruit who won’t be under center to start 2021.
The fear is that college recruits will be assessed like pro draftees. Only now, there will be a career earnings number next to their name before they sign their first pro deal. That could be daunting for 18-year-olds heading to institutional powerhouses with exceedingly high expectations to begin with.
And the added NIL pressure might head straight to the high school level as well. Will HS athletes feel pressure to finish school early to get to the FBS level a year sooner? Probably not- there is a growing amount of exposure on a national scale for HS football. But in states that restrict NIL rights for high schoolers, there could certainly be more student athletes like Ewers. Will HS athletes be pressured to start brand building? Perhaps, since the day they graduate HS, companies from around the country will be scouring their social media profiles looking for endorsement opportunities.
The benefits of the new NIL model will always outweigh the perceived negatives, but there is something to be said of the new pressure certain college athletes will face. While it is great to see young students capitalize on their various NIL opportunities, administrators/agents should be aware of the potential pressure that is being put on them- some of which haven’t even gotten meaningful reps in their sport just yet.
Managing expectations and realizing college sports is a time for growth (and not just on the playing field) will help SAs understand that the deals they sign are not considered de-facto pay for play in the eyes of the fanbase.
ICYMI: The PAC-12 Networks Launch New NIL Licensing Program
Pac-12 Networks has announced the launch of a new initiative that will pave the way for current Pac-12 student athletes and their name, image and likeness (NIL) partners to license Pac-12 Networks footage and highlights. The Pac-12 Networks NIL Licensing Program, launched in partnership with Veritone, provides a pathway for student athletes and their brand partners to access Pac-12 Networks footage and highlights as they navigate the new NIL opportunities available to them and ensures adherence to all relevant state and institutional NIL policies. Through Pac-12 Networks’ exclusive licensing partner, Veritone, current student-athletes and their brand partners are able to license Pac-12 Networks footage and highlights for use in conjunction with their NIL opportunities.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Pac-12 Networks is the first and only sports media company wholly owned by its 12 universities. Pac-12 Networks incorporates one national and six regional television networks, plus extensive digital content accessible through social media, university websites, the Pac-12 Now app and newly-launched streaming service, Pac-12 Insider. Each year, Pac-12 Networks offers live coverage of 850 sporting events.
Veritone (Nasdaq: VERI) is a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and solutions. The company’s proprietary operating system, aiWARE™, powers a diverse set of AI applications and intelligent process automation solutions that are transforming both commercial and government organizations. aiWARE orchestrates an expanding ecosystem of machine learning models to transform audio, video and other data sources into actionable intelligence. The company’s AI developer tools enable its customers and partners to easily develop and deploy custom applications that leverage the power of AI to dramatically improve operational efficiency and unlock untapped opportunities.
“As part of a network built to showcase the Pac-12 Conference, its student-athletes and programs, the Pac-12 Networks NIL Licensing Program is an important step in recognizing and celebrating the new opportunities available to student-athletes,” said Pac-12 Networks President Mark Shuken. “We are proud to provide this new, streamlined process for student-athletes and their NIL partners to easily access and make the most of Pac-12 Networks footage in this new landscape.”
“At the forefront of advancing technology and as subject matter experts, Veritone strives to make content more accessible to licensees and create a smooth process for our library partners,” said Mike Arthur, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Veritone Licensing. “Through the Pac-12 Networks NIL Licensing Program, we are excited to make this content available for the first time to current Pac-12 student-athletes and the brands with which they will work.”
Newsletter Update:
Details about premium, paid content (in addition to free content as well) will be announced in the Monday newsletter!
Have you checked out OSC’s website?
Head to www.OptimumSportsConsulting.com to find important resources and features relating to all things NIL. These resources include State by State Resources for Admins, Agents and Athletes, including our initial “OSC Summaries” for over a dozen states coming soon.
More to come too, including links to helpful state information- including agency laws and information about school policies, as well as seminar/congressional notes, worksheets, and much more!