The newest innovation in NIL compliance: a snitch line

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Thanks for spending part of your day with NIL Wire. It’s been a lively first week on the job. Welcome to our new subscribers, and thank you to the loyal group who have remained with us.

I’ve started reporting on some future stories that I think folks will find interesting, informative and, perhaps, amusing. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, don’t be shy!

— Kyle

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THE BIG 3

Who says Republicans and Democrats can’t get along?! 

A group of Democratic senators authored the SAFE Act, which was introduced Monday night. And, according to a person close to the White House who spoke to USA Today’s Matt Hayes, the bill aligns with President Donald Trump’s vision for college sports. In fact, it reads similarly to an executive order the president drafted earlier this summer. 

On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) threw a bucket of cold water on the proposal, telling Semafor that the SAFE Act is “a partisan bill that is designed not to pass” and that it was drafted “to scuttle real bipartisan legislation to fix the crisis in college sports.”

The SAFE Act would give the Federal Trade Commission oversight of college sports and expand the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, allowing conferences to pool media rights to increase revenue and funding for women’s sports and Olympic sports. It would also permit players to transfer twice without penalty. 

The less player-friendly SCORE Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in July, would codify the revenue-sharing model that was agreed upon over the summer as part of a $2.8 billion settlement of three antitrust lawsuits. It would also establish a set of national rules for college sports, including a fair-market-value assessment of NIL deals and new transfer guidelines, while shielding the NCAA, conferences and schools from antitrust and state court lawsuits. 

Critics believe it would allow the Big Ten and SEC to enrich themselves and accumulate more power. 

University presidents and conference commissioners are against the Sports Broadcasting Act piece of the SAFE Act, with most expressing the opinion that the amounts of money thrown out are unrealistic. 

Which side you come down on almost certainly depends on your feelings about NIL and the transfer portal. If you are in favor of player rights, the SAFE Act probably suits you. People who think college sports are out of control with money and free agency might prefer the SCORE Act. 

Parity in college sports, across the board, is widespread. As it turns out, alumni from Texas Tech, SMU, Marquette and St. John’s can spend right alongside those from Ohio State, Michigan, Texas and Miami. Neither NIL nor the transfer portal has led to the ruination of college sports. Instead, money and player movement have contributed to the creation of a bigger pool of contenders. 

Perhaps Cruz is right about the SAFE Act’s lifespan. But having Trump as a supporter gives the bill a crucial advocate. Of course, nothing will be advanced until the government is operational again. 

Snitches get stitches

The College Sports Commission was established in June to enforce the rules of the House settlement. Part of the CSC is a NIL clearinghouse called NIL Go, where athletes are required to report all NIL deals worth $600 or more. 

The idea is to ensure that NIL deals are at fair market value or serve valid business purposes. 

If not, there’s a snitch line you can call. 

On Tuesday, the CSC announced an anonymous tip line to share information about NIL rules violations, according to Front Office Sports. 

Even if tips are anonymous, it’s hard to envision schools tattling on each other. Industry self-policing has proven to be an ineffective model. And even though major programs are stocked with staff members, reporting potential violations feels like a waste of resources and time. 

Issues have plagued NIL Go since its launch, and it has only four employees. 

Good luck to the CSC and NIL Go on enforcement.

Is Oregon State’s Blueprint deal bad for the Beavers?

Blueprint Sports, initially a software company providing logistical support for NIL collectives and offering tax benefits to donors through its companion nonprofit, BPS Foundation, has rebranded itself, now serving as a consultant on NIL deals. 

Blueprint acquired Student Athlete NIL in February, immediately bringing 70 collectives under its roof and entering a new role as a consultant for athletic departments. In an August consulting deal with Oregon State, Blueprint acquired Dam Nation Collective. 

Blueprint CEO Rob Sine told Sportico’s Daniel Libit that Blueprint purchased the collective for more than $100,000. The deal entails an annual management fee of approximately $284,000 and a profit-sharing arrangement based on a baseball fundraising target of $750,000 in the first year, with a 3 percent yearly increase thereafter. Blueprint keeps 75 percent of net direct revenue between the baseline target and $1.15 million and 50 percent of net direct revenue above $1.15 million. 

Blueprint also gets a fee of 1.25 percent of all NIL compensation it administers. 

This deal is staggering in the percentage of revenue that Blueprint keeps and could lead Oregon State boosters to tighten their wallets and purse strings. Money is not easy to come by for the Beavers. Giving away 50 to 75 percent is puzzling.  

Athletic departments would argue that there will be more revenue because a third party is helping generate it. And Blueprint is incentivized to make deals for Oregon State athletes. One last intriguing note: Blueprint will have three staff members housed in the Oregon State athletic department.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Athletes.org, the college players association launched by INFLCR creator Jim Cavale, received $3.1 million in loans through Cavale’s for-profit company, Athletes Innovations, over its first two years of operations.

♦️ D1 Baseball’s Joe Healy makes an interesting, albeit unlikely, case for the San Francisco Giants to hire Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello.

♦️ Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said the Razorbacks’ next head coach will have the revenue sharing and NIL resources to compete in the SEC. 

♦️ A federal judge in Michigan dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought by four former Michigan football players who contend the NCAA, Big Ten and Big Ten Network owe them more than $50 million from continued use of their NIL.

♦️ Caden Pierce, the Ivy League men’s basketball player of the year last season, is making a shrewd NIL business decision by taking a gap year and then transferring for his final college basketball season.

♦️ Tennessee Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell says she doesn’t like getting involved in players’ NIL deals because she doesn’t “want to see a player on the floor and see a dollar sign and then just get mad.”

♦️ Morgan and Morgan, the nation’s largest injury law firm, announced partnerships with 12 college football players, including Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. 

♦️ Scorability, a college sports recruiting marketplace, raised an additional $40 million. 

♦️ The Big Ten is considering a massive infusion of private capital, and Matt wrote about it over on Extra Points, thinking through the ways such a deal would make sense for schools — and the ways in which it wouldn’t.

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

If the coach of your favorite college team blamed a lack of money for bad performance, how would you react?

• I’d agree - 22%

• I'd feel sympathetic but still be upset about poor play - 68%

• I'd think the coach should do a better job of accepting blame - 29%

• I'd think it was a bad strategy - 20%