NLRB Hearing, Oregon St/Wazzu, Eli Drinkwitz on Signing Day, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #207
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sport professionals.
Thank you for being a part of OSC’s subscription plan! If you missed it, check out Monday’s Newsletter HERE.
Quick Hitters:
NLRB Hearing Underway in Los Angeles
On Monday, arguments began in Los Angeles in the USC, Pac-12, and NCAA NLRB case.
The NLRB General Counsel, arguing on behalf of athletes as employees, began by stating that “[a]n individual may be both a student and an employee of a university.”
While the NLRB is fighting for athletes as employees, they face stiff opposition from USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA. The NLRB claims those three groups are joint-employers, and that each may be liable for damages to athletes.
Testimony was heard from USC’s Brandon Outlaw on Monday, a former walk-on football player from USC.
The hearing continues through the week.
Oregon State, Washington State Join WCC for Basketball
On Thursday morning, league presidents and athletic directors are expected to approve Oregon State and Washington State as affiliate members of the West Coast Conference.
OSU and WSU will play in the WCC for 2024-25 and 2025-26, with the exception of baseball and football.
Their football programs have already agreed to a Mountain West schedule, but, unlike that deal, their basketball teams will be eligible for conference tournaments and championships.
Eli Drinkwitz Discusses NIL and Signing Day
On Wednesday, Eli Drinkwitz spoke about NIL packages offered to Missouri commitments leading up to National Signing Day.
“Every single recruit asks about NIL,” Drinkwitz said. “Something that I encountered in the last 48 hours, which was completely new to me, was a lot of schools are now just calling within the last 48 hours of a kid’s signing and throwing out crazy numbers just to get them to sign with them on signing day. They’re utilizing NIL packages as the main motivation, which is exactly what we don’t want to happen. We don’t want NIL to be an inducement.”
ICYMI
BOA Nutrition, which had deals with Duke and UNC Basketball players, filed for bankruptcy. It offered Duke’s Roach and UNC’s Bacot equity for their endorsement. LINK
Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith said that “everybody is throwing all types of money at us right now.” LINK
Arkansas Baseball players hosted a pitching camp as part of an NIL deal. LINK
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- agency laws and information about school policies, as well as seminar/congressional notes, worksheets, and much more!