P.J. Fleck's AAA Ball Club, MSU Collective Cancels Deals, Georgia HS NIL, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #187
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Major News
P.J. Fleck Calls for Donations, Warns of Repercussions
P.J. Fleck, the current Minnesota Football head coach, was discussing the emergence of freshman running back Darius Taylor during his weekly appearance on his radio show.
Fleck stressed the importance of NIL deals for current players to the audience.
"We had players that were here that are now gone and playing at another school that should be here playing right now — because NIL," Fleck said. "We didn't pay him; we didn't pay him enough. That is the fact of life, and I know we all laugh at it, but that is a fact.
Fleck went on to say that if current players aren’t well-compensated, Minnesota will be a “Triple-A ballclub for somebody else.”
To conclude his message, he encouraged listeners to “contact Dinkytown Athletes,” the official NIL collective for Minnesota Football.
Michigan State-Focused Collective Cancels Deals
On Friday night, Spartan Dawgs 4 Life (“SD4L”) announced that they had canceled or paused a number of contracts with Michigan State football players.
SD4L reportedly had deals with approximately thirty football players at MSU, and less than five will continue to receive NIL payments from the collective.
SD4L released a statement through their Twitter (LINK), announcing that they had secured under 100 subscriptions to date, far under their projections.
Deals with every member of the Michigan State Men’s Basketball team remain in place.
Georgia High School Association to Approve NIL Guidelines
Today, The GHSA is expected to amend its bylaws to allow high school student-athletes to earn money through NIL without affecting their eligibility.
In an earlier interview, GHSA executive director Robin Hines indicated that the decision in Georgia could spur others to make the same change.
“In Georgia, we stand alone, and we make our own decisions,” Hines said. “But I’ve been told if once we do it, it’ll make it easier for some of those other states to come on.”
According to a screenshot of the amendments from Attorney Dan Greene (LINK), high school student-athletes would be required to notify their schools within seven days of entering into an agreement.
They would also be unable to use any school names, apparel, logos, or uniforms.
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
Bryce James, the younger son of LeBron James, and four of his AAU teammates are starring in a Nike commercial for the new Lebron XXI shoes.
All five high school student-athletes are able to participate because California allows high school athletes to monetize their NIL.
ICYMI
The Vanderbilt-focused Anchor Impact Fund signed the entire baseball roster to a team-wide NIL deal. LINK
Learfield released their inaugural NIL Impact report, where they state that their partnership assisted over $8 million in deals for athletes. LINK
Pepperdine partnered with INFLCR to create an NIL exchange for student-athletes. LINK
Shilo Sanders partnered with Tint My Ride to wrap his Mercedes-Benz in Colorado colors. LINK
Florida’s Ricky Pearsall, who had the likely catch of the season, released T-shirts to commemorate the moment. 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!