OT: Team NIL Deal

[AmeriConn]

I would like to see something like this happen at UConn where the entire team can benefit on some level.

 

[oldhusky]

I would like to see it too for a variety of reasons. One if any "team" deserves it, certainly the Uconn women would be near the top of that list. It also could be a recruiting advantage vs. other schools with a new version of "everybody eats"! Actually the impact on recruiting from NIL deals could work as an advantage or a disadvantage for Uconn as I see it.

If there are only a few teams that get these kind of lucrative deals, then I think it plays to our advantage, as the team with the biggest national following. If, however, it plays out as Geno predicted where only the stars on each team benefit, then I think it could be a disadvantage for us.

The reason I say that, is a high recruit that projects as a contributor at Uconn, but a star at a lesser school might be looking at greater financial rewards going to a school where the attention is on them, if only the stars of teams benefit. If the attention a great team gets winds up with rewards for everyone in the rotation, then it is just the opposite and NIL deals probably helps us in recruiting.

From my days in the Chicago area, I can remember two scenarios where a great team benefitted a vast number of players beyond the top stars. The "Super Bowl Shuffle" Chicago Bears were the talk of the nation that year. Of course the stars like Walter Payton got endorsement deals, but at least on a local level it seemed like everyone who was anybody on that team got an endorsement deal in the Chicago area. The field goal kicker was on local commercials etc. and who can forget "The Fridge" who was a good player but on paper not someone you would expect to get big deals.

The other point of reference was the Michael Jordan Bulls teams. Outside of the Chicago area you probably just saw the stars, but once again on the local level being a member of that team made you marketable. I remember Bill Wennington had a commercial of some kind, and I remember thinking back then wow it even extends to him.

So I don't know how this will play out, and doing a local used car add is not exactly the same as NIL deals, but there are some past examples of more average players on great teams gaining financially from the team success. The Uconn women would seem to be in that category, with the potential for "everyone eats" on NIL deals too at least on a regional basis.

Correct me if I am wrong but a major legal question has to do with foreign players. As I understand it they are not "yet" eligible for NIL deals. That is a horrible injustice in my opinion, that I don't see a logical reason for, but does that mean a deal for Uconn players would have to exclude Nika, Dorka, Aaliyah, and Lou? Seems like a problem screaming for a solution to me.

 

[AmeriConn]

I would like to see it too for a variety of reasons. One if any "team" deserves it, certainly the Uconn women would be near the top of that list. It also could be a recruiting advantage vs. other schools with a new version of "everybody eats"! Actually the impact on recruiting from NIL deals could work as an advantage or a disadvantage for Uconn as I see it.

If there are only a few teams that get these kind of lucrative deals, then I think it plays to our advantage, as the team with the biggest national following. If, however, it plays out as Geno predicted where only the stars on each team benefit, then I think it could be a disadvantage for us.

The reason I say that, is a high recruit that projects as a contributor at Uconn, but a star at a lesser school might be looking at greater financial rewards going to a school where the attention is on them, if only the stars of teams benefit. If the attention a great team gets winds up with rewards for everyone in the rotation, then it is just the opposite and NIL deals probably helps us in recruiting.

From my days in the Chicago area, I can remember two scenarios where a great team benefitted a vast number of players beyond the top stars. The "Super Bowl Shuffle" Chicago Bears were the talk of the nation that year. Of course the stars like Walter Payton got endorsement deals, but at least on a local level it seemed like everyone who was anybody on that team got an endorsement deal in the Chicago area. The field goal kicker was on local commercials etc. and who can forget "The Fridge" who was a good player but on paper not someone you would expect to get big deals.

The other point of reference was the Michael Jordan Bulls teams. Outside of the Chicago area you probably just saw the stars, but once again on the local level being a member of that team made you marketable. I remember Bill Wennington had a commercial of some kind, and I remember thinking back then wow it even extends to him.

So I don't know how this will play out, and doing a local used car add is not exactly the same as NIL deals, but there are some past examples of more average players on great teams gaining financially from the team success. The Uconn women would seem to be in that category, with the potential for "everyone eats" on NIL deals too at least on a regional basis.

Correct me if I am wrong but a major legal question has to do with foreign players. As I understand it they are not "yet" eligible for NIL deals. That is a horrible injustice in my opinion, that I don't see a logical reason for, but does that mean a deal for Uconn players would have to exclude Nika, Dorka, Aaliyah, and Lou? Seems like a problem screaming for a solution to me.

Good points. Good questions.

 

[Ozimoto]

I believe that the "no NIL income for foreign players" has to do with their student visa status that limits the amount of income they can get while in the US.

 

[Zarathustra]

Any NIL benefits for mascots? (Jon, the real Huskie!!)
Does the Texas Tech NIL deal have a clause or something so
that foreign players can benefit. Or can UCONN find a way to
truly allow that " Everyone Eats!". Go Huskies!! Z

 

[Blakeon18]

Would this be accurate?
Assume a university did indeed work out an NIL arrangement with some company that paid every member of the team the same amount. Would an individual player...under the current rules...be allowed to negotiate other deals with other companies that would pay her and her alone considerably more ...in addition to the amount she would receive just for being on the team? Uhh..Paige comes to mind...or Azzi...or etc.

 

[cancontent]

Correct me if I am wrong but a major legal question has to do with foreign players. As I understand it they are not "yet" eligible for NIL deals. That is a horrible injustice in my opinion, that I don't see a logical reason for, but does that mean a deal for Uconn players would have to exclude Nika, Dorka, Aaliyah, and Lou? Seems like a problem screaming for a solution to me.

As it's in relation to their visa status, I would guess there's more to deal with because it would need the US government's involvement. Whether it's logical or not, no idea.

I believe that the "no NIL income for foreign players" has to do with their student visa status that limits the amount of income they can get while in the US.

"No income" isn't entirely accurate. Foreign students can leverage NIL when they're home in their native country. For example, if Aaliyah wanted to host a skills camp in her hometown, that's allowed.

There are some who are trying to challenge this. I read a Forbes article talking about a British basketball player who is trying to leverage NIL while at school. Their logic is that because the athlete will be paid in euros/pounds from a UK business account to their personal UK account, they're not violating any laws. Time will tell if this is true or not.

 

[LoboDays]

I would like to see it too for a variety of reasons. One if any "team" deserves it, certainly the Uconn women would be near the top of that list

What exactly puts these players on top of the list to receive this money? Financial need? Dedication to community? Fighting in foreign wars to protect democracy? Absurd.

It also could be a recruiting advantage vs. other schools with a new version of "everybody eats"!

A very sad state of affairs if we have reached the point where a coach can successfully recruit a player by guarantying them a certain amount of money if they sign.

I’m not against the concept of compensating college athletes but this NIL thing without any rules is a disaster that destroys the integrity of the recruiting process. And, thinking that it’s Ok to throw money at players from certain schools because they deserve it more only adds to hypocrisy.

 

[Bone Dog]

The question of who deserves what seems too vague to help much. This is a property rights case, and the NCAA has illegitimately "converted" an asset that belongs only to the players for DECADES. This injustice should have been corrected long ago.

The question whether it is good for this or that college sport is intriguing. But however we decide this is irrelevant to the underlying property rights issue. It may produce enormous differences between teams and conferences based solely on which markets have better NIL possibilities. This seems entirely likely. But this too is a problem of the NCAA's making, not the players.

So, who will get more NIL money? It's going to be the ones who get more exposure in their market, as long as they have some charisma. This will track the better players for the most part, but not entirely. The Cavinder twins are an interesting case for this. They developed huge followings even though they were in a minor market, got little national exposure, and are not top tier bb talents. What they did have was a good deal of social media savvy. I say more power to them. This is an asset just like all the others. They deserve whatever they can make from it.

 

[Carnac]

As it's in relation to their visa status, I would guess there's more to deal with because it would need the US government's involvement. Whether it's logical or not, no idea.

"No income" isn't entirely accurate. Foreign students can leverage NIL when they're home in their native country. For example, if Aaliyah wanted to host a skills camp in her hometown, that's allowed.

There are some who are trying to challenge this. I read a Forbes article talking about a British basketball player who is trying to leverage NIL while at school. Their logic is that because the athlete will be paid in euros/pounds from a UK business account to their personal UK account, they're not violating any laws. Time will tell if this is true or not.

Where there’s a will (nil), there’s a way.

 

[oldhusky]

What exactly puts these players on top of the list to receive this money? Financial need? Dedication to community? Fighting in foreign wars to protect democracy? Absurd.

A very sad state of affairs if we have reached the point where a coach can successfully recruit a player by guarantying them a certain amount of money if they sign.

I’m not against the concept of compensating college athletes but this NIL thing without any rules is a disaster that destroys the integrity of the recruiting process. And, thinking that it’s Ok to throw money at players from certain schools because they deserve it more only adds to hypocrisy.

My point which Bone Dog has generally covered in his post is that the fame of the team is largely the determining factor. If it has many fans and followers on social media etc, those players have more market value to advertisers. Uconn players can be expected to have more market value and be expected to be among the most valuable teams for someone to do an NIL deal with. That may not be fair, but I think it is realistic. On your other points I agree it could be a disaster, and needs a clearer set of rules, which I hope and expect will come with time.

 

[LoboDays]

My point which Bone Dog has generally covered in his post is that the fame of the team is largely the determining factor. If it has many fans and followers on social media etc, those players have more market value to advertisers. Uconn players can be expected to have more market value and be expected to be among the most valuable teams for someone to do an NIL deal with. That may not be fair, but I think it is realistic. On your other points I agree it could be a disaster, and needs a clearer set of rules, which I hope and expect will come with time.

I don’t follow “fame” so, I’m not aware of how many Social Media Followers the Texas Tech Women’s Basketball team has. Apparently, enough fame to give everyone $25,000. One can only have visions of sugar plums if that is chump change compared to what the truly famous teams will be handing out. Seems to me that fame (however one describes it) May not be needed if a school can attract a few deep pockets to entice recruits with guaranteed money. Who knows, there are probably a couple of billionaires residing In Indianapolis. Turning Butler into national Champs.

 

[AmeriConn]

Any NIL benefits for mascots? (Jon, the real Husky!!)
Does the Texas Tech NIL deal have a clause or something so
that foreign players can benefit. Or can UCONN find a way to
truly allow that " Everyone Eats!". Go Huskies!! Z

More good questions. ???

 

[Bone Dog]

$25k is a lot to your average college kid, but peanuts to the big NIL earners.

I can see how folks can have thought that college athletics needed to be distinguished from pros. Ultimately, this is an incoherent distinction. After all, most of the cream of the crop of kids who end up in D1 schools were trained at special prep schools. These are probably excellent high schools, but there’s nothing casual about the bb prep they get there. Are these kids still amateurs even before they get to college?

I remember Chariots of Fire, in which Harold Abrahams is thought by some not to be an amateur because he employs a professional trainer. My mom was a competitive swimmer who was excluded from the US Olympic tryouts in the 40s because she had won a turkey at a church swim meet in high school. By that standard of amateurism, very few D1 athletes would qualify.

Beyond whatever qualms we may have about professionalism, I don’t think we have any strong sense for why we think amateurism matters. This is a distinction that has been drained of meaning for us, and maybe it never really had much meaning to begin with.

 

[TeamFirst!]

This is an instance where the boosters drove the sitiuation. More and more teams are going to "crowdfund" these NIL deals in order to help recruiting. Instead of under the table deals they have just gone open about it, and legal. This is a competitive advantage at Texas Tech and maybe had some influence on Janiah Barker signing. They hadn't announced this deal when she signed but they probably knew it was coming. A lot of recruits would consider $25,000 a year in cold cash up front before any other NIL deals are even arranged is a closing statement. Barker can probably assume more will be coming with that sort of foundation in place. It might have been the difference in her decision.

Women’s Basketball Signs Janiah Barker; No. 3 Recruit in the Country

 

[eebmg]

This is an instance where the boosters drove the sitiuation. More and more teams are going to "crowdfund" these NIL deals in order to help recruiting. Instead of under the table deals they have just gone open about it, and legal. This is a competitive advantage at Texas Tech and maybe had some influence on Janiah Barker signing. They hadn't announced this deal when she signed but they probably knew it was coming. A lot of recruits would consider $25,000 a year in cold cash up front before any other NIL deals are even arranged is a closing statement. Barker can probably assume more will be coming with that sort of foundation in place. It might have been the difference in her decision.

Women’s Basketball Signs Janiah Barker; No. 3 Recruit in the Country

The NIL team deal is Texas Tech. Barker is Texas A&M.

 

[sun]

Reading about it, the funding is done through a non-profit organization named the Matodor Club started by a trustee/ booster /former Texas Tech athlete / businessman who has donated a lot of money to the University's facility projects.

Included with its mission is to fight athlete poverty which the Matador Club website claims affects 85% of student athletes.

It's understandable that the Federal gov't, hasn't relaxed rules on the income of foreign students that would encourage the outflow of Dollars to foreign countries.

For NIL work it seems that they're making it a matter of community service, such as by making a simple university appearance with a meet & greet.

As more money is collected by the charity, it can be invested to accumulate enough to become self-sustaining.

The Matador Club

The Matador Club is a nonprofit NIL collective for Texas Tech athletes. We help student-athletes make a positive impact with their name, image, and likeness.

www.matadorclub.org

 

[Bama fan]

The NIL team deal is Texas Tech. Barker is Texas A&M.

"Nevermind" From Emily Litella