Day-in-the-Life: NIL Director, Settlement Q&A & Compliance Mailbag | NIL Blitz: Oct. 28 - Nov. 3

Hey NIL fam – welcome to the 61st installment of the NIL Blitz.

I focused my Blitz-time last week on outreach within my network. There's thirty-some NIL Directors I connect with on a regular cadence and those I like to float ideas by -- the floater this time was an ask for their opinion of whether or not they felt this Front Office Sports article accurately captured their day-to-day gig. The reactions varied and I spell all of that out below.

While I had 'em on the line, we also caught up on things like the House settlement and the growing concern over what happens to international student-athletes in the new era.

If you're intrigued, go ahead and give today's a read.

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1. NIL Directors: Day in the Life ??
2. NCAA's Settlement Q&A ?
3. International NIL Lawsuit ??
4. Unionization Speculation ????
5. NIL Compliance Mailbag ??

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1. NIL Directors: Day in the Life ??

The job of an NIL Director has quickly become one of the most dynamic — and chaotic — roles in college sports. FOS published an article last week in attempt to give us an inside look at the daily grind. Enter my two-part follow-up to my rolodex of NIL Directors.

1. Scale 1-10, how accurately does that articles describe your role?

Average: 6.3

1. What's at least one thing that regularly consumes your job that wasn't mentioned in the article/most people don't know?

Common responses: depth of the international student-athlete nuance, navigating corporate sponsorships, marks/logo usage education, rules education, managing national campaigns, intra-department navigation, budgeting, social media strategy

In many cases, NIL Directors act as a hybrid of compliance officer, marketing agent, and player advisor. It's like "managing a mini-agency" or "playing air traffic control" where every day brings new challenges, from securing brand deals and strategizing social media content to handling compliance issues and educating athletes on NIL best practices.

A few miscellaneous points that came up in conversation:

• "We understand how intimidating change is - but that doesn’t stop the fact that it is coming. Brands, sponsors, and supporters have never been able to engage with the talent like this in college athletics. This is our chance to get it right and write the future." - Brenden Hill, M.A. , SDSU Aztecs
• "People have no idea the day-to-day and the extent of it. The department staff thinks I help print t-shirts with names on the back and educate student-athletes on tax deadlines." - Anonymous
• "Dealing with internationals. I’m fortunate to have a legal background that makes navigating things like immigration law slightly easier, but even still, I never specialized in immigration law so it’s still a challenge interpreting Visa restrictions and advising student-athletes and coaches accordingly. I never anticipated how involved it would be." - Anonymous
• "Most people think we just help football and basketball... we help HUNDREDS of student-athletes all across campus." - Anonymous
• "Every day is different and every school is unique. Although our titles across the country are often similar, the scope of what we deal with on a daily basis differs drastically so it is hard to paint a true picture of the position because it is so property-specific." - Grayson Wagner , Kansas Jayhawks
• "Helping student-athletes with brand building, coming up with social media plans, the execution, fulfillment, etc. takes about 75% of my time" - Anonymous
• "Educating coaches, student athletes, parents and PSAs takes up a huge part of the role and time commitment on the NIL side. Not only with our students but also high schoolers— I have to speak at high school clinics to HS students, coaches and parents sometimes in addition to educating our own staff and athletes, so that’s definitely some extra responsibilities I don’t think a lot of people in this role anticipate." - Anonymous
• “It’s hard to over-emphasize just how many stakeholders we interact with every day. Parents, recruits, recruit families, comms staff, development staff, EVERY coaching staff, athletes, agents, brand reps, student development & compliance staff, senior admin… I even talk to nutrition, mental health, and equipment staff quite frequently about overlapping programming or product questions.” - Madeline Walsh , UCLA Bruins

As the NIL space matures, the role is facing an interesting evolution. In some cases, these folks will take up more budgetary/cap management type roles within their respective departments. Others will get to shed some of the collective/rev share work to hyper-focus on commercial, revenue-generating opportunities.

For example, take the University of Minnesota which is set to hire an NIL GM with "the official title of 'House settlement negotiator, quantitative analysis and contract manager.'"

(Now, this isn't the same job that NIL Directors signed up for. I'm trying to be careful here to stay apples-to-apples. The trouble you run into with that is schools, and their NIL setups, are not apples-to-apples.)

Regardless, NIL Directors are proving essential to program success, so you can expect more schools to invest in these roles, potentially creating an even bigger demand for skilled professionals who can juggle the unique demands of college sports in the NIL era.

2. NCAA's Settlement Q&A ?

As we creep near the new year, the NCAA decided to drop a Q&A on the House settlement to clear up confusion about what the $2.8 billion agreement really covers. Here's a little interp of the interp itself.

Q1: DI schools can give benefits as outlined in the settlement

Q2: By directly entering into an NIL agreement with an athlete, a school has "opted-in" to the settlement and all other terms (i.e., roster limits)

Q3: Not all schools have to give new benefits, and conferences can set their own standards

Q4: Schools are either all-in or all-out of the settlement; this is not team-by-team (additional questions have surfaces regarding the detail of benefits "beyond what is currently allowed")

Q5: All athletes will now be required to disclose NIL deals >$600, a change from interpretation given back in May to revert back to last January's rule adoption

Q6: Scholarships are not required to be full; they will be equivalency awards

Q7: This is the process of re-writing the manual that is expected to take place over the next six months via regular and irregular NCAA governance timelines

Q8: Championships and championship distributions access are unaffected by the settlement

Q9 - Q11: Some helpful details on the timeline, backpay, and additional Q&A forums

Athletes in P4 conferences, especially in revenue-heavy sports like football and basketball, may stand to gain the most, but smaller programs and non-revenue athletes could see limited benefits. One comment I picked up last week summarized it well: “The Q&A has answered some questions, but there are still grey areas, particularly around how schools will implement these changes.”

3. International NIL Lawsuit ??

[Big preface here that I am no immigration law expert - simply sharing what I've gathered online.]

First-of-its-kind lawsuit in the NIL space - international student-athlete is challenging her application to change visa status. On3 with the first report.

F-1 Visas are the primary "student visa" that thousands of student-athletes are residing in the U.S. with. There are various requirements to adhere to, but the main NIL tie is that off-campus work is highly restricted. This has led to the industry practice of "do your NIL when you're back home and/or off U.S. soil".

P-1A Visas are for individuals "coming temporarily to the United States solely for the purpose of performing at a specific athletic competition". This is most common for pro athletes who don't have classes to go to.

This LSU WBB player was denied an application for a P-1A visa (which her attorneys believe could open up NIL opportunities) so she is still sitting with an F-1 visa (which her attorneys believe severely limits her NIL opportunities).

Over the weekend, there was some clearing up of what the denial was all about. In clarification from Last-Tear Poa's legal team , it was not that she was denied for lack of international recognition of her events - it was entirely different. According to USCIS's decision, it is a three-part issue: (1) Poa's proposed NIL activities aren’t “ancillary promotional activities”, and her NIL isn’t related to her status as a student-athlete (<-- requirement under NCAA policy here); (2) Poa's NIL Representation Agreement isn’t an agency agreement; and (3) Poa cannot attend school on a P1 Visa.

By the sounds of it, Poa's team is going to challenge this by outlining identically structured scenarios. Grab your popcorn for this legal scuffle. ??

4. Unionization Speculation ????

Unionization in college sports is becoming more than just talk, especially as it is the eve of the 2024 election. State laws are already shaping NIL policies differently across the country, and now, states are looking at unionization efforts as a way to further empower athletes.

I thought Forbes did a good job of examining the potential for state-by-state unionization, highlighting how political shifts could influence whether athletes organize on a state, conference, or national level. I can't say I've dug in this far to the collective bargaining legal structure, but it is surprisingly fascinating. Here's an excerpt for context:

"The issue of collective bargaining at public land grant universities appears to be a major sticking point in addressing the legal problems facing college athletics. Lawyers I’ve spoken to across the country all seem to be in agreement-the only way out of this expensive legal mess is for colleges and universities is to sit down and allow the athletes a say in their working conditions."

Some conferences and universities are going to be watching this closely - maybe even hopeful that the complication could kick this further down the road - considering the logistical and financial implications of athlete unions.

Union advocates believe that unions could provide athletes with more negotiating power for benefits and protections, particularly in the wake of the House settlement and other revenue-sharing arrangements. It’s a complicated path forward, but it’s one that could fundamentally change the landscape of college sports.

The election results may heavily impact whether unionization efforts gain traction. If unionization becomes a reality, we could see a new era in college athletics, where athletes have a seat at the table alongside administrators and coaches.

Speaaaaaking of which, there's some scuttlebutt of P4 conferences circulating rev share contract agreements right now...

5. NIL Compliance Mailbag ??

Wrapping us up this month with three *fun compliance mailbag requests ? ? ?

Q: Can athletes promote NIL deals while "on call"?

A: Yes, but it depends. First, here's the definition of "on call" as outlined by the NCAA. Second, NCAA interps have told us that schools may allow athletes promote their NIL activity while on call (e.g., practice, pre- and postgame activities, celebrations on the court, press conferences) - but schools need to consider how these deals could interfere with existing school agreements. (Of note, there are some state laws (e.g., Nebraska) which explicitly permit athletes to engage in NIL activities in competition.)

Q: In the pre-approved settlement, what determines a "booster" for an NIL collective?

A: The traditional definition of a "representative of athletics interest" holds. However, from a collective viewpoint, it will be important to note the settlement's clarification document note more clearly that individuals who have "directly or indirectly (including contributions by an affiliated entity or family member) has contributed more than $50,000 over their lifetime to the athletics department of a particular Member Institution or collective" will be considered "boosters".

This is important because, under the settlement terms, the NCAA/conferences will have the ability to require these "boosters" to validate a "business purpose related to the promotion or endorsement of goods or services provided to the general public for profit" at FMV rate for all NIL deals.

Q: Under the settlement, will entities outside of schools, collectives, and "booster" be subject to validating business purposes and FMV rates for compensation?

A: Presumably, no. Drawing from the House clarification brief, "...so long as those contracting businesses do not themselves constitute Associated Entities or Individuals ["booster"], there is zero regulatory obstacle to any such sponsorship or endorsement agreements. Individuals or entities currently providing money to collectives also can redirect those amounts to their preferred institution so that the school can itself make direct payments to athletes without any limitation other than the Pool limit."

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WANNA HEAR MORE BEHIND THE SCENES FROM THE DAY-IN-THE-LIFE OF AN NIL DIRECTOR? WE INTERVIEWED FRIEND OF THE POD AND FORMER OPENDORSE-R Grayson Wagner FOR THIS WEEK'S NIL BLITZ PODCAST ! GIVE IT A LISTEN WHEN IT DROPS TOMORROW!

Go have yourself a great week!