NIL Newsletter #3 | Monday, July 19, 2021
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.
Through this newsletter and our additional legal and advisory resources, we aim valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Every Monday (at 8:30am ET) and Thursday (at 8:30am ET), we will catch you up to speed with the latest news surrounding Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) in college athletics- directly to your email inbox. This newsletter is currently FREE.
Follow us @OptimumSportsConsulting on Instagram and @OptimumSportsC on Twitter for daily content.
Major News as of July 19
NCAA President Mark Emmert says it is time to decentralize college athletics following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Alston
NCAA President Mark Emmert said Thursday the time is right to consider a decentralized and deregulated version of college sports, shifting power to conferences and campuses and reconsidering how schools are aligned.
“When you have an environment like that it just forces us to think more about what constraints should be put in place ever on college athletes. And it should be the bare minimum,” Emmert said.
The NCAA is comprised of over 1,100 academic institutions with 450,000+ student athletes- 355 schools make up the Division 1 level. Emmert mentioned reexamining the three division structure and how FBS football might be better suited away from the NCAA even further.
University of Michigan football players will be the first to cash in on jersey sales
The M Den, the official merchandise retailer of Michigan Athletics, is now selling customized officially licensed University of Michigan football jerseys with the name and number of many current Michigan athletes.
“The M Den deal is not considered to be a group licensing deal and it was not established through the university. Instead, M Den went to the current college athletes and directly contracted with them,” Sports Attorney Darren Heitner reported.
If players opt in, they will receive a team-standardized royalty based on sales- jersey prices range from $75 to $180. Only current players are under this deal- that might disappoint former stars like Johnny Manziel, who has wanted to sell #2 Texas A&M jerseys for some time..
Student athletes are using NIL revenue to support charitable causes
Student athletes across the country have been using their revenues from NIL to promote various charities and initiatives.
Buddy Boeheim, son of Syracuse Mens Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim, donated his Cameo revenues to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Ohio State offensive lineman Harry Miller started an online pop-up store selling apparel that features a logo of his personal brand. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to Mission for Nicaragua, which provides food and medicine for school children in Los Brasiles, Nicaragua.
FSU offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons launched the ‘‘Take Timothy to Tally’’ fundraising campaign in honor of his friend and biggest fan, Timothy Donovan, who suffers from a rare medical condition. The campaign raised $49,000 to help pay Timothy’s medical bills. For Timothy’s trip to see an FSU game, a Tallahassee-area hotel has donated rooms, a local bookstore will outfit the Donovans with Seminoles gear, and program boosters have donated game tickets and parking passes.
What’s Coming Next on NIL
July 23, 2021 | Arizona’s state NIL policy goes into effect
August 28, 2021 | Week 1 of the NCAA FBS Football
September 1, 2021 | Connecticut’s state NIL policy goes into effect
Legal Updates
NCAA COO and Chief Legal Officer Donald Remy was confirmed by the US Senate (91-8) to take over the No. 2 position at the Department of Veterans Affairs. An LSU and Howard Law graduate, Remy served as the top in-house lawyer for the NCAA since 2011, working on many legal cases including the Alston decision this year.
Law 360 Journalist Jack Lerner recently compared the Supreme Court’s decision in Alston to Naomi Osaka’s post-match interview requirements with the Women's Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation and the Grand Slam Board. The antitrust analysis details how products are defined in the marketplace- ultimately concluding that Osaka’s case (appealing $15,000 in fines) would probably lose.
FOR ATHLETES
Examples of Success Last Week
The Atlanta Braves and Florida Panthers are the first two major North American sports franchises to announce that they are looking for NIL endorsers.
TexAgs, GreenPrint Real Estate partner for exclusive interviews with Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller and Demani Richardson- they’ll each receive $10,000 for the interviews just days before SEC Media Days.
Pitt QB Kenny Pickett tweeted his unique partnership with the Oaklander Hotel: “I’m excited to announce my association with the Oaklander Hotel & their restaurant, Spirits & Tales, where I will be treating my linemen to our weekly Hog Dinners!”
Tip of the Week: Include provisions in contracts that can sever ties if a deal is deemed illegal by your school, state or the NCAA.
While many schools have specific policies (if not already mandated by your state) to disclose all NIL deals to your compliance office, you should always include provisions in your contracts that allow you to void a deal if it violates any rules by your school/state/NCAA.
Your school might make revisions to their policies to better protect your fellow student athletes, and state NIL legislation is always subject to litigation and legislative amendments. Protecting yourself from being locked into a deal that can impact your eligibility is of upmost priority.
FOR COLLEGE ADMINS
Notes for the Week
Forbes’ Dash confirmed that Opendorse, which is the only provider that is currently partnering with schools for education and compliance while also operating its own marketplace, has been paying individual athletes directly to promote its Opendorse Deals platform. Opendorse’s CEO Blake Lawrence and Florida Legislator Chip Lamarca (who authored Florida’s NIL law) both discuss their interpretations of the law.
Front Office Sports has unveiled the Athlete Marketing Essentials: NIL Certification. The six-lesson course will help college athletic departments and athletes capitalize on the new era of collegiate athletics. Participants earn a digital verified badge and receive access to the Facebook and Instagram Safety Guide for Athletes as well as the College Athletes on Instagram & Facebook online hub.
New Orleans AD Duncan discussed Pell Grants, NIL’s unintended consequences, and NIL impacts on NCAA equivalency restrictions on the News & Brews Sports Biz podcast.
Tip of the Week: Collaboration across your institution is key.
Members across athletics departments have various skill sets. When drafting, analyzing and modifying NIL policies, make sure to source input from across your department.
More broadly, look to other university resources who have experts in a variety of fields and specialities. Beyond the general counsel’s office, other places to look can be business and entrepreneurial faculty/professors; accounting and financial aid staff; international services offices; etc. Cross-university collaboration can be a huge benefit to your student athletes and will strengthen your NIL policies.
FOR AGENCIES
Takeaways and Successes Last Week
There are over 30 NIL marketplaces to date- check out the Business of College Sports’ tracker.
Wasserman has signed former Vanderbilt and current North Texas soccer player Sarah Fuller, who became the first woman to ever compete in a Power 5 football game this past November.
INFLCR CEO Jim Cavale broke down the categories within the NIL market- specifically discussing endorsements, digital, products, training and education
Tip of the Week: Get to know your athlete’s passions and long term goals.
At the beginning of the “NIL Boom” just a few weeks ago, it seemed the most random products were being endorsed by athletes- from mid-level phone companies to a celebrity version of Twitch with a questionable terms of agreement policy.
But now, the world is starting to see a new side of NIL. Athletes are patiently waiting to sign with agencies and brands, and positive stories like charitable giving and teammates supporting each other are stepping to the forefront. As many agencies look to sign players, it is especially key now more than ever to take a holistic approach to marketing.
Go beyond just the custom logo and the shoe deals- what is the student athlete passionate about? What other interests do they have outside of school and playing their sport? If they could help a certain group or raise awareness about a specific cause, what would it be? Sure, some players just want the deal that pays the most. But many are leaders on their teams and in their communities and want to make a difference with their earnings.