🏅LSU is about to get gambling tax revenue

Hey there,

How we doing people? What a week it was in the NIL world – we’ve got a lot to talk about today.

First, Louisiana is taxing sports gamblers in order to fund their state’s college athletics. Then, we explore whether HR departments could help schools retain players in the transfer portal era. Lastly, we look at Sacramento State’s crazy week, which involved two high profile commits and an NBA legend joining the basketball program. It’s all coming up now – let’s dive into it!

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— Cole and Collin

The Big 3

Louisiana College Sports Win from New Gambling Tax

A new bill is moving through the Louisiana state legislature that would more than double the state’s sports gambling tax rate from 15% to 32.5%. A portion of the tax’s revenues would then contribute directly toward funding college athletics within the state. In other words, this bill would fund player compensation for athletes at schools like LSU.

“The need [for funding] is so high,” said Rep. Neil Riser, who drafted the bill, “When you start talking about the SEC, talking about any level of athletics right now, it’s changed so dramatically.”

Estimates say that the bill would bring in about $31 million annually, which would then be distributed amongst eligible institutions. In all, each school would receive about $2.8 million to help fund their athletics department – which is a whole lot of money in the post-House era. (More)

Human Resources = Player Retention?

Could college athletics programs benefit from adding human resource departments? A recent study suggests so, citing relationship management as a key factor to player retention – and thus mitigating roster turnover through the transfer portal.

The statistics don’t lie: 70% of Tier I student-athletes who enter the transfer portal end up moving down a tier, usually to schools with less money to pay them. HR departments, the study argues, would provide “relational” support to help them navigate that choice before it’s too late.

"The time has come for every athletic program in [Division I] to create a support program similar to a private-sector human resources department," the study said, “Its purpose would be to help schools retain their student-athletes. Given the reality of the portal, either schools will get used to saying goodbye every year to players, or they need to find a new coordinated way to retain them.” (More)

All Aboard the Sac State Hype Train 🚂 

Sacramento State raised $50 million in NIL last year to help transition their football team into the FBS ranks. It seems like that investment is already paying off: The Hornets just landed a commitment from former 4-star QB Jaden Rashada, who played at Georgia last season.

The fun doesn’t stop with football, though. Sac State also hired ex-NBA guard Mike Bibby as their head basketball coach in March, and just announced Shaquille O’Neal as their basketball team’s general manager. As a result, they scored a commitment from former 5-star hooper Mikey Williams just a week after getting Rashada.

The hype train is real in Sacramento, but it remains to be seen whether the big names will translate into wins – which they will absolutely need if they’re going to jump into the revamped Pac-12 next year. (More)

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NIL BLITZ

♦️ NCAA changes could alter how players make it to the NHL

♦️ Steve Sarkisian said that Quinn Ewers never took money from Texas’ collective

♦️ Only 106 players entered the NBA draft due to NIL – the lowest amount since 2012

♦️ College athletes are using Ozempic to give them a performance edge 

♦️ UNC is trying to make Belichick-backed football work, but the math isn’t easy 

♦️ Mid-majors are recruiting out of high school much more in the NIL era

♦️ Arch Manning opted out of the College Football 26 cover shoot

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

If you were a college football team, would you pay $300K for the best college kicker in the country?

• Yes - 57%

• No - 43%