Travis Hunter's NIL Donations, Players Era Women’s Championship Announced + ICYMI | Newsletter #298

Dec 19, 2024

Today’s Thursday newsletter includes highlights from this week, important news from past weeks, and what to watch for.

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Recapping Major News This Week:

Last week, Travis Hunter was awarded the Heisman Trophy. He also earned AP Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Chuck Bednarik Award, Biletnikoff Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy and Paul Hornung Award honors.
Hunter returned to practice this week to prepare for the Alamo Bowl, with his coaches and teammates praising his team-mentality mindset.
In a conversation on the Zero 2 Sixty podcast, Deion Sanders Jr. revealed that Travis Hunter doesn't take any money from Colorado’s collective. Instead, he donates his own money to other players on the team.
Hunter has signed NIL deals with Adidas, United Airlines, EA Sports, JLab, Celsius, NerdWallet, Leaf Trading Cards and Rock 'Em Socks. He uses his own NIL earnings to support 10-15 teammates through the collective.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

Next year, South Carolina women’s basketball will play in the Players Era Women’s Championship. The Women’s Championship will be a new event in women’s basketball and will follow in the footsteps of the recent men’s version of the same event.
The 2025 Championship will feature South Carolina, UCLA, Duke, and Texas. Each team will receive at least $1 million in NIL money for participating in the tournament, which takes place Thanksgiving week in 2025.
“We’re excited to be among the first women’s teams invited to play in the Players Era Women’s Championship,” South Carolina coach Dawn Stanley said. “This innovative event brings together everything we’re looking for – quality games early in the season, a great location for fans to come and enjoy, and NIL opportunities for our players.”
CLICK HERE to learn more.

Powerade signed NIL deals with three college basketball players - LINK
Former UNLV QB Matthew Sluka scheduled two FBS visits - LINK
Top LSU recruit Harlem Berry signs NIL deal with Leaf Trading Cards - LINK
SeatGeek signs 4 college football players to NIL deals - LINK
South Carolina wide receiver Jared Brown signed a new NIL agreement with Garnet Trust - LINK

The IRS has named NIL collectives as a compliance enforcement priority for the 2025 fiscal year. Many collectives are run as non-profits, making them tax-exempt.
The justification for this non-profit status was that athletes would promote charitable causes as part of the arrangement. However, the IRS has seen through this ploy, pointing to the reality that these organizations primarily exist to pay athletes and bolster recruiting, not fulfill legitimate charitable purposes.
Without the tax incentives that come with the non-profit designation, these collectives will likely see a steep donation drop. The combined impact of revenue sharing from the House settlement and the IRS crackdown on nonprofit collectives means that many schools could be forced to overhaul their entire approach to athlete compensation.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

Recently, LSU coach Brian Kelly announced that he would be matching fans’ donations to the Tigers’ NIL collective up to $1 million. Kelly also donated to LSU to help renovate their facilities. Now, FSU coach Mike Norvell has restructured his contract to include a $4.5 million contribution that will launch the athletic department’s Vision of Excellence campaign. Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy agreed to reduced compensation to retain his job, with the cost savings being redistributed through the school to the athletes.
College coaches bankrolling their programs used to be a major NCAA rules violation. Now, coaches are declaring their payments as part of fundraising campaigns for their programs. Some coaches are taking the financial hit as a trade off for job security, opting to make a decision that benefits their employer.
Since the inception of NIL, college coaches have argued consistently that without significant funding, they cannot create championship teams. They have looked to collectives for more money and have even come up with creative fan engagement initiatives to increase donations. However, coaches have seemed to overlook themselves as potential sources of funding, a trend we may see become more common.

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