NIL Newsletter #5 | Monday, July 26, 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 26
UNC launches first group licensing program under new NIL policy
The Tar Heels partnered with The Brandr Group to allow all athletes to profit from NIL in conjunction with UNC's official trademarks and logos. Participation is voluntary and does not limit the athlete's individual NIL rights and their ability to negotiate opportunities outside of the program.
Athletes will have the chance to be marketed in groups of 3+ within their sport or 6+ in cobranded licensing and marketing programs with UNC's IP. TBG will create licensing opportunities on behalf of the athletes in apparel and other categories, plus co-branded sponsorships.
UNC Beat Writer Brendan Marks notes that this could be an advantage for UNC in recruiting efforts, and might potentially be a gateway for larger licensing projects like video games.
High school athletes: NIL’s latest venture
California appears to be the only state in the country where it is clear that high school athletes can benefit from the use of their NIL in commercial endeavors, according to Attorney Darren Heitner.
On July 2nd, a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) spokesperson confirmed to 247Sports that high school athletes in the state can profit from their NIL as long as they are not using their high schools’ names or logos in the commercial activity.
Texas, Mississippi and Illinois meanwhile have NIL policies that effectively prevent athletes from entering into publicity rights agreements or receiving compensation from third-party licensees before the date on which the athletes enroll at postsecondary institutions.
Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Dr. Karissa Niehoff wrote “NIL Rulings Do Not Change for High School Student-Athletes” back on July 7th.
Coaches and ADs have a plethora of ideas regarding NIL
"I think there is great concern," Louisville Football HC Scott Satterfield said during ACC Kickoff media days. "You're not supposed to talk NIL (during recruiting) and how many deals you can get and this and that if you come play for whoever. But how can it not (happen)."
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren: “Student-athletes gained the opportunity to be able to compensate for their name, image and likeness, which I still believe needs federal legislation. We in the Big Ten Conference embrace the empowerment of all of our student-athletes from social justice initiatives to NIL.”
"Say they put $3 million into an account, and then you could work with Ohio State, and they split that money to everybody, so that the quarterback isn't the only one. Now if the quarterback wants to do a deal on his own, great, but if not, it all gets spread evenly to everybody. If it's a group deal, you can use the Ohio State logo and the trademarking. The NCAA would have to OK that because now we can't do that. But it seems more sustainable to me,” OSU Football HC Ryan Day told reporters.
“There are certain conferences and programs that benefit from so much television exposure or from their markets and the interests of their fans that kids that play at those places just inherently are going to have some opportunities that other kids might not,” Dartmouth Interim AD Peter Roby said. “But you don’t want this to get to a point where boosters and others are making commitments or promises to kids about their ability to cash in that tips the scales.”
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
Jeff Kessler and other attorneys from Winston & Strawn filed motions to join Steve Berman, et al from Hagens Berman, in working on the House/Prince lawsuit against the NCAA.
Kessler is coming off a major victory at the Supreme Court in Alston. In the June 24, 2021 order, Judge Wilken stated that the House/Prince lawsuit’s claims stand up against the NCAA’s arguments for dismissal by plausibly alleging injury and anticompetitive effects of the NCAA’s regulations.
FOR ATHLETES
Examples of Success Last Week
Former HBCU athletes say new NIL policy will put money in pockets and encourage graduation. “While I played football, I still worked a full-time job,” said Johnathan Sanders, former wide receiver for Clark Atlanta University. “It was a stressful situation. [Now] they can just make the money, go to school and play football.”
NC State running back Ricky Person Jr. is taking advantage of the new NCAA name, image and likeness rule. On Sunday, the junior hosted his first Person Academy football camp in Franklinton as a way to pay back a community that raised him.
5-Star Florida State Football commit Travis Hunter on NIL craze: “Fast money ain’t always good money.”
Tip of the Week: The first offer for professional representation might not be the one for you.
In a space that is constantly evolving, agencies across the country have begun recruiting top student athletes to represent them on NIL matters. Aside from possible conflicts of representing an SA for professional league matters down the line, many agencies are not well established and might not know how best to serve you. It can take time to develop NIL policies for agencies- and on the other side it is difficult to pick one when they don’t have a clear services guide and have little prior marketing experience. Since “agencies” seem to be the go-to for companies that don’t want to follow the NCAA’s quid pro quo policy as well, SAs should be skeptical of any “new agency” that doesn’t have an established track record.
FOR COLLEGE ADMINS
Notes for the Week
JD Supra released its “Playing by New Rules: Ten Considerations for Universities Implementing NIL Policies” that examines ten important legal questions institutions must address in their evolving NIL policies. They also conclude with three key takeaways for future policy adjustments.
Yummy Crypto, a cryptocurrency that donates three percent of transactions to charity, is finalizing contracts with eligible Miami Hurricane basketball players for sponsorship deals worth $500 per month for 12 months, a total of $6,000 annually per athlete. This is a part of Dan Lambert’s “Bring Back The U” program.
Tip of the Week: Media access to players might be hitting an inflection point- and journalists are conflicted.
In Thursday’s newsletter we will break down an Op-Ed by Andy Wittry, which argues that NIL media deals are exposing an issue some journalists believe exists: college athletic departments are closing off their student athletes to the media. Closely monitor media deals in your conference over the next few weeks- how are SIDs reacting to contracts where SAs have already agreed to do weekly podcasts or regular radio gigs.? Paying for more access to student athletes might go against journalistic integrity and ethics, but it could be the new reality sooner rather than later.
FOR AGENCIES
Takeaways and Successes Last Week
Excel Sports Management has signed Mikey Williams as its first NIL representation client. The 2024 NBA Draft prospect has made a name for himself on the basketball court and off, amassing more than 5M followers across Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. The 6’2 shooting guard is the #7 prospect in ESPN’s top 60 and has offers from Kansas, USC and Memphis.
In response to several inquiries about the future of Overtime Elite following changes in the NCAA’s NIL policy, OTE CEO Dan Porter shared a Twitter thread about why high school athletes might still want to turn professional, rather than heading to college. The league just announced an Academic and Life Skills Leadership Team in conjunction with their accredited academic program by Xceed Preparatory Academy.
USC QB Kedon Slovis signed a deal with Klutch Sports to represent him on all NIL matters, becoming the first NCAA athlete to sign with the firm that represents LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Trae Young. In January, Klutch acquired football agency Revolution Sports, with a client list that included Jarvis Landry, Xavien Howard, Melvin Gordon, Alvin Kamara, Ty Montgomery and Xavier Woods.
Tip of the Week: NFL agents can represent NCAA student athletes, but state policy might say otherwise?
The NFL Players Association has informed NFL agents they will be permitted to represent college football players in NIL marketing agreements. But the bigger issue, particularly at well known agencies, is whether or not signing players for NIL will create a conflicting pipeline for professional league representation. The best advice is to keep everything separate- people who work on one side of deals can’t just jump to the other side. Much like “not using NIL as a recruiting advantage,” abuse is bound to happen. Maintaining clear policies for fellow agents is imperative, particularly at large firms.