Texas A&M NIL Earnings, NCAA Backup Plan, Evening with Ewers, + ICYMI & More | NIL Newsletter #163
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Major News
Texas A&M Student-Athletes Cash in
From August 1st, 2022 to June 11, 2023, Texas A&M student-athletes combined to make $8,547,477 in reported NIL income.
In the first year of legal NIL compensation, Texas A&M student athletes had pulled in less than half of that amount, earning just over $4,000,000.
It seems as though a vast majority of earnings come from the football, as in the first year, football student-athletes accounted for nearly 81% of NIL earnings at Texas A&M.
While women’s student-athletes saw some growth in earnings year-over-year, they combined to earn $134,661 in year two, after pulling in $96,725 in year one.
For comparison, student-athletes at the University of Texas reported only $2,039,180 in compensation in year two.
More facts and figures are available HERE.
NCAA NIL Working Group Working on Backup Plan
Meetings of the NCAA NIL Working Group this week—which were attended by NCAA President Charlie Baker—focused on an NIL-specific proposal in the event that Congress does not pass a federal NIL bill.
The NCAA will continue to aggressively lobby Congress, but it seems as though more energy than before is being expended on the second option.
Some athletic directors have not been tied in on any of these discussions:
“I haven’t heard anybody talking about a Plan B now,” said Bubba Cunningham, North Carolina’s AD. “Hope we have people working on that. We do need a Plan B and C.”
More info on the Plan B is available HERE.
Quinn Ewers to Host Aptly-named “Evening with Quinn Ewers”
Fresh off the launch of his new clothing line, Quinn Ewers, Texas’ starting quarterback, will host “An Evening with Quinn Ewers.”
The event is aimed at fans and boosters, who will pay above $250 per ticket for the two-and-a-half-hour event.
Proceeds from the event will go to the Merging Vets and Players charity.
Additionally, every fan who attends will receive a signed jersey from Ewers.
More information on the upcoming event is available HERE.
Legal Update
New York NIL Law Signed
This week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York’s new NIL amendment into law.
The amendment is nearly identical to the one recently passed in Oklahoma, which covers state schools from punishment by the NCAA for NIL related infractions.
Of great significance is the timing of this new amendment, which was passed in June, but signed only after the NCAA’s recent memo aimed at states like Oklahoma.
More on the new law is available HERE.
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
Three Missouri football student-athletes signed a deal this week with Andoro & Sons Pizza to market a line of frozen pizzas.
The deal was facilitated by the Every True Tiger Foundation, the Missouri-focused collective.
Ty’Ron Hopper, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., and Kris Abrams-Draine will be featured on the pizza packaging for eight-weeks, before other Missouri student-athletes rotate in.
For Admins & Agents
Head Coach Transfer Portal Window?
Berry Tramel, a columnist for The Oklahoman, believes that making head coach movements subject to a “transfer window” would reduce chaos, particularly in college football.
“Most of the perceived problems in college sports were launched by coaches and their happy feet. The portal and its immediate eligibility? Name, image and likeness excess? A calendar that causes chaos as rosters are mangled and patched together on the fly? All either pantomimed or duplicated from the actions of coaches.”
ICYMI
LSU Gymnast Livvy Dunne, who cleared over $500,000 for one NIL deal, established The Livvy Fund through a partnership with the LSU-focused Bayou Traditions collective. LINK
“As a female student-athlete, I have been fortunate enough to build a strong social media following and establish valuable brand partnerships that have launched my career in ways I couldn’t imagine. I am excited to build on this momentum by leveraging my connections and sharing my knowledge in the NIL space to create more opportunities for LSU female-student athletes while emphasizing the importance of bringing NIL funds to women in college sports.”
Missouri joins the growing list of states with NIL laws preventing NCAA intervention when their new law comes into effect on August 28th. LINK
EA Sports filed an opposition memo this week, arguing that college student-athletes are free to license their NIL to EA, and that Brandr cannot prove tortious interference. 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!