COLLEGE BASKETBALL TO GET $2M NIL TOURNAMENT: DO AFRICAN STUDENT-ATHLETES GET TO BENEFIT?

By now, as a regular reader of my newsletter, you are likely familiar with discussions surrounding NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) and its implications for international student-athletes, particularly those from Africa. Quite frankly, I thought I would not have any reason to write on this subject matter for a while, but this past weekend, a groundbreaking announcement was made: college basketball will host its FIRST EVER separate tournament, featuring a $2M payout. Naturally, this leads to the pivotal question: How does this affect African student-athletes in practical terms? Let's delve into the uniqueness of this announcement.

ABOUT THE $2M NIL TOURNAMENT

Front Office Sports announced an upcoming men’s college basketball tournament happening during Thanksgiving weekend, featuring a prize of up to $2 million in NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals for the teams participating. Teams such as Alabama, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Houston, Kansas, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. John’s, Syracuse, and Virginia are all in discussions to participate and they are all expected to receive at least $1 million in NIL funds, directed through schools’ NIL collectives or entities, for team distribution. The only stipulation is that the funds must benefit the team.

According to On3, this tournament is scheduled for the Thanksgiving holiday, an eight-team men’s college basketball competition will take place at the MGM Arena in Las Vegas, with discussions previously considering The Sphere as a potential venue. The "Players Era" tournament is organized by EverWonder Studio, co-founded by ex-Time president Ian Orefice and supported by RedBird IMI and Jeff Zucker, along with AND1's Seth Berger overseeing basketball operations. EverWonder is finalizing its broadcast partners and negotiations are also ongoing with both traditional and digital broadcasters.

The involvement of the NIL COLLECTIVES makes this a unique scenario in the dynamics of NIL and as it affects international student-athletes and in the case of this newsletter, African student-athletes.

NIL COLLECTIVES

NIL Collectives are better described than defined. When NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) policies were initiated, established entities known as collectives emerged. These collectives enable donors and interested parties to contribute funds for distribution to student-athletes and the interesting thing is, they are not formally associated with Universities, to avoid pay to play litigation. For instance, a brand might collaborate with Alabama’s Collective to support the NIL of their student-athletes for a specific campaign, facilitated through the collective.

This arrangement typically did not involve international student-athletes, particularly those from Africa, as collectives cannot gather funds for them in the USA, given their ineligibility (as discussed in previous newsletters).

Nonetheless, there have been exceptions where collectives support African student-athletes, such as raising funds to allow Mady Sissoko's brother to watch his basketball game live in the USA for the first time.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT AFRICAN STUDENT-ATHLETES

Under this tournament, schools will receive? payouts for using the NIL of athletes in tournaments, but cannot directly compensate African student-athletes due to their visa status (Already discussed in my newsletters here and here). Examining the rosters of invited schools, five student-athletes born in African countries were identified, potentially impacted by NIL regulations, some possessing significant NIL value.

Khaman Maluach, committing to Duke University, stands out. Not just an ordinary prospect from Africa, Maluach is the first to be ranked top 10 in the NBA draft while still playing in Africa, as he is currently ranked as the number one center and number 3 overall draft prospect for the 2024 NBA draft. His participation in the Olympics with South Sudan further elevates his NIL value.

Other affected African student-athletes include Cedric Lath from the University of Houston (Ivory Coast), N’faly Dante (Mali) and Mahamadu Diawara (Mali) from the University of Oregon, and Mounir Hima (Niger) of Syracuse. These athletes, as active members of their school rosters, will participate in the tournament.

ANY WORKAROUND

In previous newsletter editions, I have discussed two main strategies that have been employed by African student-athletes to potentially benefit despite restrictions. Firstly, changing visa status could be a viable option, and this will be a consideration for standout athlete Khaman Maluach, who may qualify for an O-1 or P-1 Visa given his status as one of the highly rated prospects out of Africa and being an Olympian in the Paris Olympics, with South Sudan.

Secondly, schools have sometimes endorsed earning through NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) activities conducted outside the U.S. However, this approach has complexities, especially now that payments are directed to NIL collectives for player distribution, which complicates eligibility.?

A noteworthy instance involved the University of Houston’s LinkingCoog’s collective during their international exhibition in Australia, securing a $1M deal that included player Cedric Lath from Ivory Coast, and this represents one of the few instances where an NIL collective has navigated this loophole to benefit an international student-athlete.

The effectiveness of these strategies for enabling athletes to benefit from NIL agreements remains to be seen, with potential earnings estimated at approximately $75K per basketball roster player. (There might still be some other deductions to be made before a final payment is given to the player)