Newsletter, Image, Likeness Vol. 67: College Sports Waits While Judge Contemplates Motion For Preliminary Injunction

The Weekly Longer NIL Thought.

In Vol. 66, I stated that the NCAA won a battle, but what about the war?

It was about the NCAA prevailing on a motion brought by state attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia who sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the NCAA from enforcing any of its rules related to NIL, particularly those related to improperly inducing athletes to commit to/enroll at colleges.

But the judge hinted, in the order denying the motion for TRO, that the NCAA may be violating antitrust laws with its current NIL policies.

Since then, the parties have gone before the federal judge overseeing the case on a motion for a preliminary injunction, which would be a more permanent form of what the attorneys general were seeking by way of the TRO in that it would likely last throughout the course of the pending litigation if granted.

Before the hearing, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel submitted a declaration that was filed with the court, which supports the request for a preliminary injunction. The declaration focuses on the following:

Much of it consists of the coach emphasizing why an athlete finding the right school is important—the “best fit,” he writes, “can make all the difference in a student’s happiness, mental health, personal development and professional future.” He warns that the “wrong environment” sometimes can lead to irreversible harms for the athlete. Heupel also emphasizes that a recruiting-related NIL deal might be the only one an athlete obtains given the “risk of injuries in college sports.” He also criticizes NCAA rules on NIL as “vague and confusing” and subject to “frequent change” that contradicts earlier NCAA statements.

For now, we wait. The court has yet to rule on the motion. I'm sure many assume that the motion will be denied given the denial of the TRO, but one never knows how the fully briefed motions and oral argument may have changed the court's disposition.

According to Trey Wallace , the NCAA's lawyers seemed to have been caught off-guard with questions during the hearing.

"When the NCAA was asked about the timing of when a player can speak with a collective or not is when things took a turn for the worse pertaining to their argument," wrote Wallace, who attended the hearing. "A fumble of words from the NCAA led to confusion in the courtroom. It seemed the NCAA did not have a clear answer on when a student athlete can actually discuss potential opportunities at schools. Unfortunately for the NCAA's attorney, he seemed befuddled by his own clients rules, which led to a moment of confusing statements, a clear sign that the organization is having trouble classifying. The attorney had a hard time distinguishing the difference between a recruit negotiating an NIL offer, which is not allowed by the NCAA, while at the same time engaging in conversations with collectives about their NIL market value, which is clearly allowed by the organization."

We should soon have an order from the judge.

LSU And Its Athletes Benefit From Amazon Docuseries.

The Money Game, an NIL-focused documentary series, will generate $1 million for LSU as well as separate compensation for participating athletes at the school.

GATSBY Chocolate Enters Into 1st NIL Deal With Cavinder Twins.

It's another strategic relationship for The Cavinder Twins, and I enjoyed being a part of the negotiation process.

Texas Tech Athletes Have Made $14 Million In NIL Thus Far.

"Over the two and a half years of NIL being permissible, our student athletes have earned over $14 million in two and a half years. That’s incredible," said Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt. "Think about how that impacts young people and their families. So we’ve been a leader and we’re going to continue to remain aggressive and active in this space to be able to maximize opportunities for our student athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness, as well as provide them the very best experience that we can."

Florida's NIL Collective Says It Needs More Money.

“We cannot guarantee that if we have NIL we will win championships,” Florida Victorious CEO Nate Barbera told the Orlando Sentinel. “I can pretty much guarantee that if we don’t have NIL we will not.”

The original article included a quote that said, "We just don’t have enough money to attract talent and win."

Michigan Is Creating In-House NIL Executive GM Position.

A new relationship with Altius Sports Partners supports the creation of the new position.

“That person is going to be a senior leader on Michigan’s campus, living in Ann Arbor, and being the center of the wheel for all things NIL and stakeholder management,” Altius CEO Casey Schwab said.

Southern Miss Football Coach Tweets For 1st Time In 2 Years.

About NIL. He is promoting the school's collective, asking for more than 1,000 members by the end of the year. This is now part of a coach's job duties.

4 Overtime Elite Athletes Sign With Adidas.

Ian Jackson, Karter Knox, Mikel Brown Jr., and Adam Oumiddoch will endorse Adidas, which is the exclusive apparel and footwear sponsor of Overtime Elite.

Belzer: Stop Hiring Analysts; Fund Your NIL.

Jason Belzer , whose company manages many NIL collectives across the country, said that he has told every Athletic Director in the U.S. that they have to tell their coaching staff, "No more hiring analysts. Stop spending money and figure out how to fund your NIL program. Period, end of story. We have to pay the labor, and the bill is only going to get bigger and bigger."

College Sports Lobbying Is Up Since NIL Prohibitions Have Been Erased.

The ACC spent more than $1 million lobbying Congress in 2023 and the SEC was at $790,000 that same year, per Daniel Libit at Sportico. That's almost triple what the ACC spent the prior year and more than double for the SEC.

Final Thoughts.

That is it for Vol. 67 of Newsletter, Image, Likeness. Thanks to the more than 8,195 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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