Ted Cruz Roundtable, Creator March Madness, Ole Miss Softball, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #223
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Quick Hitters:
Ted Cruz Hosts Saban, Athletes, Attorney for NIL Roundtable
On Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz hosted many of the most influential voices in collegiate athletics and Name, Image, and Likeness discussions, including Nick Saban, Alabama AD Greg Byrne, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, the Cavinder twins, and NIL attorney Darren Heitner.
During the discussion, Cruz downplayed the likelihood of passing federal NIL legislation.
“The clock is running,” Cruz said. “It’s not too late to get it done, but we’re getting close to it being too late to get it done. I still think there are elements there of getting bipartisan agreement. We just have not been able to get everyone to the table to sign off.”
Saban voiced his support for a revenue-sharing model, but hopes to see it done without making student-athletes employees of their university.
Out2Win Creates Athlete-Creator Tournament
Out2Win, an athlete marketing firm, has created their own March Madness tournament to determine the “top content star” in college sports.
Athletes committed to the tournament include Duke’s Jared McCain (above), LSU’s Livvy Dunne, and FGCU’s Brandon Dwyer.
The winner of each round will be determined through a fan vote on Out2Win’s Instagram account.
“The tournament is an awesome idea," Dwyer said. "The friendly competition between creators and fanbases has been so much fun. As an athlete-creator, it has allowed me to realize how powerful my audience is."
Ole Miss Collective Signs Softball Team
The Ole Miss-focused Grove Collective announced this week that it would sign the entire softball team to its NIL ambassador program.
“This nationally leading deal marks another key milestone for the softball program, coach Jamie Trachsel and the collective,” the Grove Collective said.
The Grove Collective, with the addition of 21 athletes on the softball team, now covers over 200 Ole Miss athletes across 18 men’s and women’s teams at the university.
The softball team is the third full-team signing for the Grove Collective, following both men’s and women’s basketball.
ICYMI
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey called NIL “chaos” at SXSW. LINK
University Credit Union will select one men’s and one women’s basketball player from the Western Athletic Conference after the tournament. LINK
Kyle Filipowski and Gabby Gregory are joining Jay Wright in a series of Great Clips commercials. LINK
Adidas signs Texas A&M’s Janiah Barker to a deal. LINK
Michigan’s Quinten Johnson announced his return to the team alongside a deal with Randy Wise Automotive. 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!