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1. Implications for the House v. NCAA settlement
2. What’s coming up in the world of NIL
3. News/tips for administrators, student athletes and agencies
Title IX Implications in the House v. NCAA Settlement
The agreement to settle the landmark House v. NCAA lawsuit last week has significant legal and Title IX issues that schools will now have to face.
Major college athletics programs are looking at an increase of more than $30 million in new yearly expenses as they look to pay their student-athletes starting in August 2025. This brings into question how schools will keep all their varsity sports operating, especially those that aren’t bringing in revenue.
Schools will need to think about how to revenue share among their sports. At most schools, football and men’s basketball bring in the most revenue and therefore should theoretically earn the highest revenue shares, but schools will need to think about how Title IX laws govern and what this means for revenue sharing among their male and female athletes as Title IX requires equal opportunities for male and female athletes.
House lead attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, believes that schools who puruse unequal revenue sharing in favor of male athletes will face Title IX issues that will be settled school-by-school in the court system rather than through a conference-wide ruling.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
FHSAA Set to Vote on NIL
The Florida High School Athletic Association has its final meeting on Tuesday where the board of directors will vote on a multitude of proposals. The most anticipated is the vote on allowing prep athletes to profit of their name, image, and likeness.
The FHSAA has been researching and discussing the potential of adopting NIL at the high school level since last January, citing 30 states that have adopted the policy.
If the board votes in favor of the policy, high school athletes would be able to profit off of their NIL with a few exceptions.
This policy would allow many of Florida’s top football prospects like Solomon Thomas, Tramell Jones and Drake Stubbs, who were all ranked in the top 100 of On3’s national NIL valuation chart, to earn significant profits while in high school.
This would also open the door for many female athletes to tap into their market value as they were also previously blocked from accepting any NIL deals.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
June 4, 2024| FHSAA NIL vote
June 6, 2024| NCAA will consider a proposal to bring corporate sponsorships to football fields and jerseys
July 19th, 2024 | EA College Football 2025 release
NCAA Permanently Ends Transfer Restrictions
One week after the NCAA and Power 5 Conferences agreed to allow revenue sharing for collegiate athletes, the NCAA has permanently relinquished its authority to govern transfer behavior.
The United States Department of Justice and the NCAA reached a settlement to eliminate any rule restricting or penalizing the free transfer of college athletes on the basis that the longstanding behavior of the NCAA was in violation of United States antitrust law.
The settlement stems from an antitrust lawsuit brought by West Virginia basketball players RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan, challenging the NCAA’s one time penalty free transfer limit.
CLICK HERE to learn more.
Recent deals and successes from athletes
LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne moves up to the No. 2 spot in NIL earnings, passing Bronny James - LINK
BYU receiver Kody Epps hosted the Kody Epps Invitational golf tournament on Saturday to promote his company, the Sonny Golf Club - LINK
College basketball player Caleb Love is returning to Arizona and debuting a new number, which he announced through his partnership with Arizona-focused NIL collective, Arizona Assist - LINK
College athletes hurry to opt-in late for EA College Football 25 - LINK
Tip of the Week: Advice from NIL standouts the Cavinder Twins
"I think the advice I would give is just jump at every opportunity you have,” Hanna Cavinder said. “You never know the places it’ll take you or the people that you will meet. That’s what we did and I think just taking one day at a time. I know things can get overwhelming, but if you have the right people in your corner and you stay grounded, it’s going to be amazing.”
Notes for the Week
ESPN recruiting director/basketball analyst Paul Biancardi on changing recruiting strategy: “Every coach loves retaining players but that’s just not the way it is any more. You don’t know if a player is unhappy with his role or if it is NIL but there is no guarantee of retention. That’s why the transfer portal and high school recruiting is so important. Pope is different from (John) Calipari who is different from (Tom) Izzo. Everybody is different.” - LINK
Indiana University partnered with the Opendorse Ready Program in 2020 and built a specialized task force within their athletics department to be prepared for NIL taking effect. Their student-athletes were quickly able to capitalize on their earning potential, and now, they are better positioned than most schools to leverage opportunities for student-athletes - LINK
Tip of the Week: If your school doesn’t have a collective or a team to facilitate deals (as is legally allowed), you’re behind.
NIL is a recruiting tool in some capacity. What is certain is that schools are doing everything they can to gain an edge in NIL and recruiting, and if your institution isn’t hiring NIL specific positions or working with development/legal to launch these types of initiatives, you might be overlooked in recruiting in the future.
Notes for the Week
A few NBA teams have voiced concerns that their draft classes are weaker due to college’s sway over athletes via NIL, affecting two-way contracts and undrafted free agents - LINK
David Carro Funes, CEO of FairPlay Agency and Octagon Basketball Europe Senior Director, has stated that NIL is threatening the future of European basketball as clubs are losing leverage to pay players and the motivation to develop young players - LINK
Tip of the Week: Stay up-to date on each state’s unique NIL policies.
It is important to know what different restrictions may apply to your clients based on their location. For example, 33 states and the District of Columbia currently permit prep athletes to engage in Name, Image, and Likeness transactions. In addition, virtually every state’s prep-NIL regulations are governed by the respective jurisdictions’ high school athletic associations, while collegiate NIL is governed by state law.
Head towww.OptimumSportsConsulting.comto find important resources and features relating to all things NIL. These resources includeState 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!
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