Private Jets, Alabama AD, USC NLRB Case, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #219
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for athletes, administrators, agencies and other sports professionals.
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Quick Hitters:
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Signs Deal with Nicholas Air
Earlier this week, Dart became the first collegiate athlete to sign a deal with a private jet company.
The deal, negotiated by sports marketing agency ESM, allows Dart to use their fleet for “travel, training, and philanthropy.”
Nicholas Air provides private jet memberships and operates at over 9,000 airports in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Dart boasts additional deals with EA Sports (to promote the new college football game), NextGen Camps, and the Ole Miss-focused Grove Collective.
The company announced the partnership on Twitter HERE.
Alabama AD Admits NIL is Part of Recruiting
This week, Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne weighed in on the recent changes to recruiting brought about by District Judge Corker’s ruling in the Tennessee case.
“We’re all trying to make sure we are supportive of the young people in our program,” Byrne said. “Making sure we are following the rules and the process and at the same time too, not exactly knowing where all the rules are necessarily. NIL is a part of recruiting, it is.”
Byrne stressed its importance while maintaining a level of separation from the NIL offers given to recruits.
“Whether you want it to be part of recruiting or not, it’s something that recruits are asking the people around them. That’s why it’s part of recruiting. You have to be able to keep an arm’s length from that. But when somebody asks you every single day of a recruiting time about it, then it’s part of it.”
USC NLRB Case Resumes in LA
On Monday, the NLRB trial against USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA resumed in Los Angeles.
The case, like the recent Dartmouth decision, is focused on whether USC athletes are employees of their university.
Unlike the Dartmouth decision, this case seeks to decide whether USC, the Pac-12, and the NCAA are joint employers of the athletes, and therefore whether all owe the duties of an employer.
“I think it’s almost guaranteed the judge will declare the USC athletes are employees of the school,” said Mit Winter, college sports attorney. “If you look at the Dartmouth decision, the factors the regional director focused on there are stronger in the USC case.”
ICYMI
Caleb Williams earned nearly $10 million through NIL deals in his two years at USC. LINK
Kirk Herbstreit on NIL: “I feel like the NCAA has lost any power whatsoever in college football.” LINK
Tennessee Baseball’s Christian Moore partnered with local convenience store Weigel’s to give out free Coca-Cola if he hits a home run. LINK
Taylor Gerring, Ethereum co-founder and UCF alum, announced a $5.5 million donation to UCF and a $1 million donation to their collective. 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!