In an attempt to stay tapped into all things NIL, I’ve sorted through and gathered some interesting NIL-centered news items today. The title of each section will redirect you to the initial article, as I did not translate all of the columns into this page. Just the best cliff notes.
I will continue adding more news as the week unfolds! Please feel free to link any informative or interesting NIL articles in this thread!
1. Five ways Group of 5 coaches say they’re adapting to college football’s portal-poaching era (TheAthletic)
Every coach of a non-power school can hear the drumbeat. It’s the bittersweet reality of a player thriving in their program.
In an era of college football where rosters turn over rapidly and sharks in major conferences are constantly swirling, coaches outside the major conferences must brace for their highest performers to be poached every offseason.
Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall
Tulane won nine games last season, and their quarterback — star freshman Darian Mensah — left for Duke in December on a two-year deal worth a reported $8 million. Sixty of Tulane’s 116 players — 51.7 percent — are new in 2025.
“Every year, we all have a brand-new team and a brand-new roster,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said. “That’s not just me. That’s everybody. And it’s not normal now.”
There are also times when a coach can tip his cap and thank a player, as Silverfield said. Sumrall pointed to former Tulane cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant, who played 37 snaps in 2023, blossomed into a star in 2024 and moved to Auburn this offseason with two years of eligibility left.
Said Sumrall: “He went from being an unknown nobody to a well-compensated SEC player.”
Memphis Head Coach Ryan Silverfield
“It’s really hard. You turn around and go, ‘Wait, we only have three returning starters? And every year we’re gonna have a new quarterback?” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said. “If you have a guy who starts and thrives for you at left tackle, it’s hard to afford to keep him around”. “You can’t take anything personal,” Silverfield said. “But you do.”
Temple Head Coach KC Keeler
First-year Temple coach K.C. Keeler has a mandate for his staff. It’s simple. It’s small. But it’s foundational.
If it’s a player’s birthday or he’s having surgery for any reason, he’s getting a text or call from every member of Keeler’s staff. “If a player is going to leave, I want him to feel like he’s leaving the whole building, not just a coach,” said Keeler, who won a FCS national title at Sam Houston in 2021 and guided the program’s transition into FBS before leaving for Temple in December. “That makes it harder.”
Florida Atlantic Head Coach Zach Kittley
Zach Kittley, a first-time head coach taking over at Florida Atlantic, has two key pillars of his program: Treat each other like family and have fun. That’s with an aim toward retention. “If you create an environment guys want to be in, it’s going to be easier to keep guys,” he said.
UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor
“Your standards and norms in the program culturally cannot change,” UTSA coach Jeff Traylor said. “You have to stand on the foundation you believe in.”
South Florida Head Coach Alex Golesh
South Florida coach Alex Golesh said he’s talked with his team four times in the last three months about being guarded about who they’re getting advice from. “I can point to guys now where it’s like, ‘Look at this situation, look at that situation,’” Golesh said. “We’ve got guys on our team who were at a place, left and then were like, ‘Holy smokes, what did I do?’”
6. What’s the next ‘arms race’ in college sports? Finding ways to legally exceed new rev-share cap (Yahoo)
Tennessee athletic director Danny White faced a decision this year. Remain with apparel partner Nike or move to a new brand, adidas.
“NIL was right up there,” White told Yahoo Sports in a recent interview. “We are in a very competitive space. It was at the forefront of my mind.”
Tennessee announced on Wednesday a return to adidas, a brand the university used during a 20-year run that ended in 2014. The brand and school struck a 10-year contract that is “one of the biggest apparel deals in the history of college sports,” according to White, likely putting its value at at least $10 million annually in product and cash.
At the heart of the deal is expected to also be one of the most lucrative NIL components in the history of collegiate apparel deals, described by one of the company’s vice presidents as “establishing a new standard for investment in NIL.”
In short, the players will get a piece of the $100 million-plus pie. In a significant way, too, and, for some of them, immediately.
What Is Changing with Apparel Deals?
Adidas says it is already working to strike individual deals with Tennessee athletes during this school year — months before the new apparel contract starts next July. Once the partnership begins, the company will offer what it calls “unprecedented NIL opportunities” for UT athletes across all 20 sports.
“The arms race was originally about facilities,” said Chris McGuire, adidas vice president of sports marketing, North America. “Now it’s gone to rev-share and NIL. We want to provide opportunities to our partners that are competitive, so they’ll be competitive on the field.”
Tennessee’s apparel partnership is the latest weapon in the new recruiting battlefield: Finding creative ways to legally exceed the revenue-share cap by providing athletes with legitimate third-party endorsement and commercial deals.
The adidas deal won’t be the last apparel contract structured in this way, experts believe. Several power programs remain in negotiations with apparel partners as their current contracts come to an end, including LSU, Penn State, and USC. In fact, more than 20 power conference programs have apparel deals set to expire in 2026 and 2027.
McGuire acknowledges that this “model,” if it works as intended, will be used elsewhere. “This is the first one,” he said.
There’s a brewing bidding war unfolding among multimedia rights and apparel companies offering the best NIL-centric contracts for university partnerships.
