Players Era Event Raises Over $8 Million for Participating Schools' NIL Collectives, New Learfield Initiative Paves Way for Sponsored Uniform Patches, and More | Newsletter #295
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This Monday Newsletter includes:
1. Inaugural Basketball Tournament Hits $8 Million Milestone for Schools NIL Collectives
2. Jersey Patches on College Uniforms Coming in the Near Future
3. What’s Coming Up in the World of NIL
4. Legal Updates: State NIL Lawmakers Warn That House Settlement is Illegal
5. News for administrators and student athletes
Major News
Players Era Event a Massive Success in First Year
The Players Era inaugural college basketball tournament which is owned by The Players Era IMI’s EverWonder Studio, reached over $8 million dollars for the tournament which will go to the NIL collectives of the eight teams that participated - Alabama, Houston, Rutgers, Oregon, Texas A&M, Creighton, San Diego State, and Notre Dame.
While unconventional, this tournament was a completely legal way for schools to raise money for their collectives. CEO of Players Era, Seth Berger, stated that “participating student-athletes met NIL quid pro quo obligations to sponsors and $1 million was paid to each program’s collective for the value and management of the NIL activities… [and] The activities were documented and available for review by [the] NCAA.”
Players Era intends to expand the event next year to as much as 18-teams following this year’s massive success.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
New Learfield Initiative Focused on Bringing Sponsorships to School Uniforms
Although jersey patches are still prohibited under NCAA rules, the multi-media rights giant, Learfield, is announcing an initiative, Performance Partner Alliance, to help deliver a jersey patch solution for its schools.
Despite the initiative, there are still multiple hurdles that need to be met before jersey latches can be added to school jerseys and uniforms. Jersey patches are not only, for now, against NCAA rules, but also many contracts with school apparel partners. Apparel partners such as Nike, Adidas and Under Armour, for example, have existing contracts with schools that prohibit other branding on jerseys and uniforms.
Nevertheless, Learfield is committed to providing a solution. “We’ve been at stagnation with arguably one of the most valuable aspects of college athletics — jersey patches,” Cole Gahagan, president and CEO of Learfield, told Yahoo Sports. “There is seemingly little to nothing anyone can do to actually get it moving. Activity has to start somewhere. We’ve got a responsibility to kick off that activity.”
If jersey patches do become legal, Learfield estimates that jersey patches could bring in anywhere from $500,000 annually for schools, to as much as $12 million for the top power conference programs.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
Other Notable Stories to Follow
Bill Belichick to North Carolina.. is it so crazy? - LINK
Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State restructure coaching contract with a focus on going all in on NIL - LINK
SEC fines piling up - LINK
Does the expanded college football playoff negatively affect conference championship games? - LINK
Best ways to potentially choose the college football playoff - LINK
What’s Coming Up Next For NIL
December 18, 2024 | Jaden Rashada Motion to Dismiss Hearing
April 7, 2025 | Final Approval Hearing for the House v. NCAA Settlement
Legal Updates
Some State NIL Lawmakers Believe the House Settlement is Illegal
State Senators Nancy Skinner (D-Calif.), Steven Bradford (D-Calif.), Megan Hunt (I-Neb.) and James Manning Jr. (D-Ore.) jointly released a statement arguing that key terms in the House settlement violate the statutes they authored by placing restrictions on NIL monies paid by athletic boosters and collectives.
Current NIL laws in California, Nebraska and Oregon, among other states, specifically prohibit schools from complying or enforcing NCAA or conference rules that restrict donor and collective participation in paying players. California is also among four states (Georgia, Illinois and Virginia) that allow schools to enter in direct NIL deals with college athletes.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
Optimum Sports Consulting is here to help.
For athletes looking for NIL insight and advisement, administrators and collectives looking for resources and facilitating a best-in class process, or agents looking to navigate the changing landscape, we’re here to help!
Message us now for a free consultation.
FOR ATHLETES
Notes for the Week
Flau’Jae Johnson debuts player exclusive PUMA shoe - LINK
ASU Quarterback, Sam Leavitt, giving 100% of his NIL royalties back to his team - LINK
FOR ADMINS
Notes for the Week
UCF bringing Scott Frost back as their head football coach - LINK
Georgia Tech and head football coach agree to extension and pay raise - LINK
Iowa’s NIL collective to offer donor priority points - LINK
Thanks for Reading!
Keep up to date on all of our newsletters and content by checking out past Optimum Sports Consulting Newsletters, and following us on Twitter!