How an injunction in NCAA vs. Tennessee/Virginia case could impact NIL moving forward

There’s a question if Tennessee and Virginia can win their injunctions against the NCAA. The schools, particularly Tennessee it seems, are under investigation for multiple NIL violations.

 William “Bill” Burck has been brought in to represent the Volunteers. Part of this investigation involves the recruitment of Nico Iamaleava, the prized five-star QB that is seen as the future of Tennessee football.

On3’s Pete Nakos joined Andy Staples On3 to discuss where this case goes moving forward and if the schools can actually win against the NCAA.

“Obviously the NCAA is investigating Tennessee for these NIL allegations and obviously, Tennessee set the standard in the NIL era with its $8 million deal with Nico Iamaleava,” Nakos said. “So yeah, I mean, everything has been happening, the last like two, three years in the background, and if this comes to pass, then everything’s gonna be public. 

“And all of a sudden … (you talk two or three years ago), people are like, Oh my God, and like, that’s gonna be the norm guys. Like we’re gonna hear the contract numbers. It’s gonna be very public. And from where I sit, it’s gonna be quite fun.”

Tennessee, Virginia NIL case vs. NCAA could open up floodgates

If Tennessee and Virginia should win, perhaps individual states across the country are going to look to change their laws and rules when it comes to NIL. At that point, some would have an advantage over others.

“Then the other thing too, right like Tennessee, just the easiest example here,” Nakos said. “NIL is allowed in high school in Tennessee. So they do have collectives in Tennessee, actually signed contracts from high schoolers who are going to go to a state institution before they enroll, because they’re really just gonna say to the NCAA ‘come and get us.’”

This is just the beginning though. If fans thought NIL was nuts leading up to this Tennessee investigation, you haven’t seen anything yet. Especially when it comes to dollar figures.

“I guess the last thing I want to mention to Andy is like, I know a lot of people have been like, this is not going to be the end all be all of the NCAA,” Nakos said. “I’m not trying to over hype this but at the same time, right, this Big 10, SEC advisory group like in my personal opinion, things will get much more expensive, if it goes through, because all of a sudden you’re gonna have a governing body that that really can’t oversee NIL.”