Newsletter, Image, Likeness Vol. 46: Did You Know Roger Williams Earned $10 Per Month For Laundry Money?

The Weekly Longer NIL Thought.

On September 20, the House Committee on Small Business hosted an NIL hearing titled, "Athletes and Innovators: Analyzing NIL’s Impact on Entrepreneurial Collegiate Athletes." I may have lost count, but I believe this was the 9th hearing on Capitol Hill concerning NIL without a single one of many NIL bills that have been proposed ever reaching either the House or Senate floor for debate.

The invited witnesses were Jeremiah Donati (Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Texas Christian University), Gene Smith (Senior Vice President & Wolfe Endowed Athletic Director at The Ohio State University), Gino Torretta (Heisman Trophy Winner & 2-Time National Champion and College Football Hall of Fame Inductee), and Maddie Salamone (Vice President of the College Football Players’ Association (CFBPA)).

Congressman Roger Williams, Chairman of the Committee, led off by saying that a patchwork approach of states passing their respective laws put athletes in an uncomfortable situation and that he was glad that two athletic directors could shed some further light on the alleged complications that arise therefrom. Williams additionally made some odd reference about earning $10 per month for laundry money when he was in college. He also made vague reference to "bad actors" who are making promises to athletes and taking advantage of them. Interestingly, Williams said he was interested in learning about NIL collectives' roles in this space, yet the Committee failed to invite a single collective representative to serve as a witness. So, instead of participating in the hearing, NIL collectives engaged in a sit-down meeting with Sen. Lindsey Graham and met with Rep. Peter Stauber as well as Rep. Aaron Bean

Here's a very brief recap of opening remarks: (a) Donati referred to NIL as the "Wild Wild West," (b) Smith admitted that NIL has been more successful than portrayed and noted that more than 400 athletes at The Ohio State University have entered into NIL deals; (c) Torretta said the NCAA lacks the "enforcement teeth;" and (d) Salamone said the issues of player health and wellbeing are more important than NIL.

The above obviously doesn't highlight all 5 minutes of each of the above individual's opening remarks, but that's what stuck out to me.

Then, the Congresspeople got in the mix asking specific questions to witnesses. The following is what I jotted down.

Donati doesn't expect the federal government to supplant the NCAA. The federal government should get involved in regulating agents, there should be a clearinghouse for contracts, and the government should help in enforcing rules. Does Donati know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been tasked with regulating the sports agent profession for 20 years under the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (SPARTA) and has not once enforced the law? So, count me among those who have little-to-no faith in the federal government getting involved in effectively regulating agents. I also previously addressed the concept of a clearinghouse in Vol. 25 of this newsletter. I wrote, "I was originally against the idea, citing concerns about the disclosure of confidential information. But, perhaps the solution is making it voluntary and maybe it's not so much a repository of traditional brand deals that is established. Instead, it could be NIL collective-driven."

Smith seemed to think that an NIL collective entered into a contract with Gervon Dexter, discussed in Vol. 44 of this newsletter, and characterized it as a loan. First of all, there was no loan and no debt component of the deal. Second of all, the deal was not entered into with a collective. Just brutally misguided commentary.

Salamone said that NIL collectives should be subject to Title IX regulations because they are essentially extensions of the universities.

Donati said the money being put into NIL is from donors who would have otherwise spent it elsewhere. Torretta said under the current system, universities are getting free labor and suggested revenue sharing as a potential solution.

We finally saw some strong words when Rep. McGarvey from Kentucky said he believed it was the first time an organization was so inept that it was actually asking the government to take over. But, realizing same, he appeared to believe that the government does need to step in.

When asked about pending federal legislation, Salamone said the NIL bills are trying to do too much, are ineffective, and will not be passed. She said that when it comes to player health and safety, it should be a priority but not combined in NIL legislation. Rep. Mfume from Maryland promoted his bill on player health and safety and essentially ignored that the hearing was supposed to be about NIL.

Smith referred to NIL collectives as an uncle who is not an uncle and that it is difficult for schools to control what happens within these third parties. I may adopt that uncle line in the future. It gave me a chuckle.

I thought this was a particularly interesting exchange given how desperately the NCAA seems to be begging for Congress' help. It doesn't seem like a couple of top athletic directors are so desperate:

In wrapping up, Rep. Williams addressed the fact that NIL collectives can be helpful. Donati said they are here "because we allowed them to be here" and praised the collective that supports TCU athletes. Smith also acknowledged that a lot of NIL collectives do a lot of good for athletes, including those who don't play revenue-generating sports like football and basketball.

Overall, I found this hearing to be yet another gigantic waste of time, but I served my duty to you all and sat through it so I could provide the above.

After The Hearing, Gene Smith Revealed A New Proposal For Athlete Compensation.

He wants to change scholarship rules.

“Some people believe the money (to athletes) should flow through the institution. I’m not one of them, unless we settle on a new scholarship model,” said Smith. “We give room, board, tuition, cost of attendance and [Alston v. NCAA] money. What you’d do is add to the scholarship model an amount of dollars for NIL money.”

Apparently, he's uncertain about the details of his idea. I would think one would want to think through those details before floating it to the media, but what do I know?

So, Is Congress Going To Get Involved In NIL?

I have long said no.

Sen. Chris Murphy, on September 19, said, "I delivered a tough message to a group of big college ADs in town today. They created a mess by creating professional level sports but forgetting to do the most important part - paying the employees. Congress isn’t going to bail them out. They need to lead on reform."

Sen. Ted Cruz set the odds at "60-40" that an NIL bill passes Congress.

Shrug.

Kiyan Anthony Signs Deal With PSD Underwear.

It has been an honor that La La Anthony and Carmelo Anthony chose me to help guide their son, Kiyan Anthony, with his NIL transactional activity. Part of that has been negotiating what I believe to be a strong partnership with PSD Underwear.

Michigan Regent Jordan Acker Calls For Revenue Sharing.

In an Opinion for The New York Times, Acker says that this is "a shameful time for all of us involved in college athletics and higher education. As regents, trustees, presidents and athletic directors, we promised to focus on our universities as academic institutions first and sponsors of intercollegiate athletics second. We failed."

Jordan Acker added that the "steps that universities like mine — large institutions with prominent athletic departments and football programs — should take are clear: First, they should meet to consider how a revenue-sharing model would work within the current structure of the N.C.A.A., and release their plan for how to grant players employee or quasi-employee status. Second, if the N.C.A.A. is unwilling or unable to help schools through this dramatic transition, they should leave and found their own organization, similar to how the English Premier League broke away from the rest of English soccer in 1992. They can create a more efficient model with a sustainable infrastructure to protect the interests of student athletes."

Banking Platform PoetrYY Finance Signs 2 College Athletes.

Alabama LB Dallas Turner and Miami safety Kamren Kinchens have signed NIL deals with PoetrYY Finance, which also offers account management tools for tracking of NIL agreements and provides financial literacy for college athletes while helping to establish and build credit.

The deals were brokered by Rosenhaus Sports.

“This is a great opportunity for both Dallas and Kam to partner with an exciting new banking platform at the forefront of innovation and allows PoetrYY Finance the opportunity to utilize the NIL’s of two of college footballs’ brightest stars that grew up in the same area the digital fintech company is based. This deal is in the upper echelon of NIL deals and might be the first of its kind where the athletes are representing a financial services software company, catering to the NIL market demographic”, said agent Ryan Matha .

7-Eleven Signs 9 College Football Players To "Cleat Crew."

The 9 athletes will team up with The Shoe Surgeon to create custom cleats that fans can win through weekly auctions. The first auction is with QB Bo Nix. Travis Hunter, Quinn Ewers, Dorian Singer, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Trevor Etienne, Kam Arnold, Nick Singleton, and Blake Corum are a part of the program.

Funds will be raised for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals .

Would You Dine At A Shipotle?

The Chipotle in downtown Clemson has been temporarily renamed "Shipotle" through an NIL deal with RB Will Shipley.

SWFL Flight Crew Created To Support Florida Gulf Coast Athletes.

"The SWFL Flight Crew aims to build relationships between regional businesses, fans, boosters, nonprofit organizations and Florida Gulf Coast athletes, allowing the athletes to realize the full potential of their NIL campaigns by making appearances at community events as well as leveraging their social media presence," said Timothy J. Cartwright, chair, SWFL Flight Crew. "The SWFL Flight Crew was established by a group of regional business leaders to assist FGCU student-athletes as they take the first step on their entrepreneurial journey of marketing themselves and engaging with their fans and the community."

The Collective Associations Enters Partnership With Opendorse.

“There’s access on both sides,” said Opendorse founder and CEO Blake Lawrence told. “Opendorse will be providing insights and guidance to TCA members, based on trends and the actual ways that collectives are operating. Together, they’re going to share a common voice, but individually they need different solutions. We’re here to provide technology and data that will help collectives run more efficiently. This is a very important segment of the industry for NIL."

Hail Impact NIL Collective Receives 501(c)(3) Approval.

Final Thoughts.

That is it for Vol. 46 of Newsletter, Image, Likeness. Thanks to the more than 7,270 people who have subscribed to this newsletter thus far, and please feel free to share this free resource with others on LinkedIn or elsewhere.

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