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. College Sports Commission informs schools that NIL collectives can pay athletes directly with limitations (Yahoo)
In a revised memo sent to schools on Thursday, the College Sports Commission announced that booster-backed NIL collectives can, in fact, directly compensate athletes if the transactions meet certain “valid business purpose” benchmarks.
The one-page guidance replaces a memo sent to schools on July 10 where the CSC revealed that collectives would not be treated as valid businesses and denied many of their transactions with athletes. After weeklong negotiations with House plaintiff attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman, the College Sports Commission, operated by the power conferences, is adjusting its approach — an expected resolution that Yahoo Sports reported last week after the parties originally agreed on a joint statement that was finally released Thursday.
The statement “clarifies” what is permitted from collectives to athletes under the NCAA’s landmark House settlement agreement, reversing the July 10 guidance by permitting collectives to strike deals with athletes as long as they “have a valid business purpose related to offering goods or services to the general public for profit and fall within the range of fair market value compensation.”
The College Sports Commission, the industry’s new enforcement entity led by a former Major League Baseball executive in Bryan Seeley, is charged with determining the legitimacy of third-party NIL deals with athletes. Approved deals hold significant benefit for schools as third-party compensation does not count against the revenue-share cap that each school is working inside.
2. What the NFL salary cap has to do with Mississippi State football revenue sharing (Clarion Ledger)
Revenue sharing, where schools can directly pay athletes, began July 1. Early returns for Mississippi State football have been positive, according to general manager Marc Votteler.
Mississippi State has not revealed what percentages have been allocated to each sport. However, football is expected to get the most because of its exponential revenue and large roster. The contracts with the athletes are not publicized, either.
Votteler said MSU tried to make the transition simple from the (NIL) era to the revenue-sharing era. Athletes’ paychecks used to come from the Bulldog Initiative, MSU’s NIL collective. Now, they can come from the university.
They started by examining NFL teams, specifically ones in the playoffs. How did they spit up their salary cap for each position group? Mississippi State isn’t copying NFL teams because of factors like roster size, but it was at least a starting point.
“Just to kind of get a baseline,” Votteler said. “You’re not always going to be in those. Like I said, if you have a bunch of seniors, maybe you’re top heavy in a position that year.”
Then comes the negotiation. What is the proper value for a freshman linebacker in the SEC who was a three-star in high school? How does that compare to a starting right guard, or a transfer wide receiver?
