A retired grain merchant, 25 years of FOIA requests and a push for transparent rev-sharing contracts

Hey there,

Welcome to another Saturday filled with college football. Who’s excited for the Indiana-Oregon game and the Texas State Fair? But before that, please take a few minutes to read today’s newsletter, which is filled with intriguing nuggets from the NIL world.

— Kyle

Does your team make the cut?

Tune in live on Oct. 15 at 8 pm (ET) / 5 pm (PT) for the reveal of the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll, recognizing the top offensive line units in the country. Hosted by CBS Sports personality Jenny Dell, this live YouTube event will unveil the best lines in the country with expert analysis from CBS Sports analyst Aaron Taylor, ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic and more.

The Joe Moore Award is the only college football award given out to a collective unit rather than an individual player, emphasizing the importance of unity, brotherhood and teamwork that define the culture of the offensive line.

Does your team make the cut? The only way to find out is to tune in live on Oct. 15.

Subscribe to the Joe Moore Award YouTube account today and be sure to catch a new episode of Trench Life every Thursday!

THE BIG 3

Will the University of South Carolina be forced to turn over revenue sharing information?

A retired grain merchant from South Carolina’s Low Country is taking aim at the University of South Carolina and Clemson for refusing to release revenue-sharing contracts with athletes. 

Frank Heindel filed his first Freedom of Information Act request in 2000, when the Mount Pleasant native was upset about the S.C. Ports Authority’s proposed Global Gateway terminal on Daniel Island. According to the Charleston Post and Courier, he’s filed hundreds of FOIA requests over the past 25 years and been part of multiple lawsuits. 

He filed his most recent lawsuit last week after South Carolina denied access to revenue-sharing contracts, claiming they were “scholastic records.” Clemson used the same tactic before recategorizing the contracts as trade secrets. 

Heindel cleverly invoked a 2017 amendment to the FOIA law that requires a judge to hold a hearing within 10 days of the lawsuit’s filing. He referred to South Carolina’s secrecy as “legally untenable.” In the lawsuit, Heindel asked that South Carolina turn over the revenue-sharing records or hold a confidential hearing to determine what might be exempt from disclosure. 

In an affidavit, Hilary Cox, South Carolina’s executive associate AD for strategic initiatives, denied that the school has contracts showing how the athletic department will divide its revenue sharing. However, Cox said the university does have NIL agreements between players and third parties, noting that the school is not a party to any of those contracts. Under South Carolina law, contracts in which the university is not a party are not public records. 

At a preliminary hearing on Friday, Fifth Circuit Judge Daniel Coble ordered the University of South Carolina to provide the court with more information about the $20.5 million in revenue being shared with athletes. 

When contacted by NIL Wire, Heindel texted: “The court process is ongoing, so I will let it play out before saying anything.” 

This is a wild story, with Heindel adding incredible theater to the situation. Revenue sharing details have been withheld in multiple states. Open records laws have been but an annoyance to schools as they hide behind disingenuous excuses. 

The trade secret explanation from Clemson actually has merit, though revenue sharing information should still be made public. 

Rutgers bolsters NIL operation

NJ Media profiled Rutgers athletic director Kelly Zinn, who has made strengthening the Scarlet Knights’ NIL apparatus one of her top objectives. The story notes that in her first two months at Rutgers, Zinn had 337 meetings with coaches, players, administrators and boosters. 

She has committed to making several “NIL-centric hires” and said Rutgers would be making NIL-based announcements this month. Zinn has set ambitious fundraising goals and won’t let the school’s history of losing be “a determining factor of our future.”

On Tuesday, Kings of the Raritan became the second Rutgers collective to cease operations this year, closing one day after Zinn announced the Athletic Excellence Fund that will support the infrastructure of the school’s in-house NIL program.  

Rutgers is not reinventing the NIL wheel, but Zinn’s commitment is part of a growing war chest for Big Ten schools and perhaps the leveling of competition in the conference. Indiana and Illinois, perennial football losers, have shown in recent years that increased spending on player procurement is a worthwhile path. The same is true for men’s and women’s basketball, sports in which Rutgers has experienced success.

The curious reality of volatile NIL valuations

College sporting events have always impacted athletes’ professional aspirations. 

A bad season could diminish their draft prospects, which could trickle down to their future earnings. In the NIL era, results are instant — positive and negative. 

In the past six weeks, no one has seen their commercial image affected more by on-field play than Arch Manning. Following a dismal debut at Ohio State, Manning’s On3 valuation dipped nearly $500,000. Last week, it dropped more than $1 million after Texas lost to Florida. 

Manning began the season with a $6.8 million valuation, the most among all college athletes. His value now stands at $5 million, just $100,000 ahead of Miami QB Carson Beck. 

The quarterback who beat Manning and the Longhorns, DJ Lagway, has experienced the positive effects of NIL when your team wins. This week alone, he’s agreed to deals with Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville and Red Bull. By the way, Lagway’s NIL value is just under $2 million. 

Everyone wants to be associated with a winner, so there is nothing wrong with Manning’s valuation going down after losses. But it’s an uncomfortable reality and perhaps an unintended consequence of NIL and the professionalization of college sports. If you’re of a certain age, there’s a level of sleaziness in discussing a college kid’s diminished potential value. 

But, as Urban Meyer says, “That’s life in the big city.” 

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Big Ten chief medical officer Jim Borchers had an interesting conversation with Ben Portnoy of Sports Business Journal about NIL and revenue sharing changing the way athletic trainers operate.

♦️ USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer says NIL is not what ails Texas.

♦️ Arkansas coach John Calipari has an idea to fix the never-ending transfer cycle in men’s basketball.

♦️ Curt Cignetti learned a valuable lesson from Mike Gundy: Don’t talk about Oregon’s NIL resources.

♦️ Speaking of the Ducks, their NIL machine is growing even larger via Learfield, with the addition of two leadership positions dedicated to maximizing NIL partnerships for athletes.

♦️ Star Auburn wide receivers Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. signed NIL deals with Nike.

♦️ In the latest SCORE Act vs. SAFE Act tug of war, power conferences put together a pro-SCORE Act commercial that will air on major networks during Saturday’s game.

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Which college sports congressional bill do you favor?

• SAFE Act - 46%

• SCORE Act - 54%