Vegas NIL Tournament, Michigan NIL GM, Kentucky Reloads, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #236
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Quick Hitters:
Las Vegas NIL Tournament Nearly Finalized
Games of the first ever “Players Era Festival will be played in November this upcoming fall.
Alabama, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, and Texas A&M are all confirmed for the tournament, while the eighth school is not yet confirmed.
The tournament will include $1 million in NIL payouts for the eight schools this year, while the winning team is poised to earn an additional $1 million in team NIL opportunities.
In 2025, the festival plans to double the size of the field. Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Syracuse, and Virginia have all engaged in discussions for a 2025 version of the tournament.
Michigan Hires In-House NIL Executive GM
Terése Whitehead, a former NFLPA executive, was announced as the NIL Executive GM for Michigan, in partnership with Altius Sports Partners.
Whitehead is the former Vice President of Consumer Products & Strategy at NFL Players Inc.
“Terése’s addition to our team marks a pivotal moment for Michigan Athletics, and I am excited to partner with her,” said Michigan AD Warde Manuel.
“Terése is a perfect fit and uniquely qualified to lead U-M’s strategy thanks to her impressive sports background in marketing, licensing, brand development, and partnerships and her experience across agency, league, and team settings to tailor tremendous revenue-generating opportunities for teams and individual athletes.”
Kentucky Collective Announces Massive NIL Raise
Club Blue, the primary NIL collective for Kentucky basketball, announced that they have secured $650,000 in recurring annual commitments during the first three weeks of Mark Pope’s tenure.
They aim to reach $1 million in recurring annual commitments over the next few weeks.
Additionally, the collective received lump sum private donations of nearly $5 million.
ICYMI
Wichita State launched an NIL store in collaboration with Campus Ink. LINK
Only 174 US college basketball players entered the 2024 NBA Draft as early entrants, a record low. LINK
Former Oregon State guard Talia von Oelhoffen announced her transfer to USC with a Panini card deal. LINK
Abilene Christian University announced the launch of the Strive On Cats 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!