NIL collectives, NFL agencies set for summit during combine

NIL collectives from a dozen institutions will convene for a summit in Indianapolis later this week with more than 20 established NFL agencies. An invitation-only event, the hope to is to bring the two parties together to “discuss best practices in a collaborative, collegial environment.”

Dubbed as the NIL Summit, the event is being hosted by Athliance’s Peter Schoenthal and Inside the League’s Neil Stratton. Agent Live 360, a software designed specifically for sports agents and agencies, is serving as the presenting sponsor.

A social event is scheduled for Wednesday night, followed by a 90-minute summit Thursday morning.

It is one of the first known gatherings with multiple NIL collectives. Adding agents into the fold makes sense with the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week. According to a document obtained by On3, representatives from collectives focused on Auburn, California, Florida State, Iowa, Kansas, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia are expected to be in attendance.

Nearly 20 months into the NIL era, collectives have come to define the space. There’s just one problem: Nobody appears to have a clear-cut definition for what they are.

Most are booster-led, but each organization’s day-to-day activities look widely different. Some facilitate brand deals; others cut checks in return for a a social media post. Another crop have registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3) organizations, accepting tax-deductible donations while creating partnerships with charities.

In the past two weeks, the collective space has seen one of the first official booster groups funding NIL at Texas A&M.

“I think we’ve all seen that collectives have become a very large player in the name, image and likeness space,” Schoenthal told On3 via phone. “I think agents are going to continue to become a bigger actor and bigger player in this space, especially because we need that. We need reputable agents and reputable representatives in the name, image and likeness space.

“One of the problems that we’re all dealing with when it comes to representing athletes, there’s no barrier to entry. There’s no transparency on who some of these people are. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can come in and represent athletes, and no one is policing them. So having the way to come together from a booster side but also from a reputable agency side to make the space safer for athletes while working within the confines of the rules is absolutely paramount to the success of name, image and likeness.”

NIL collectives trying to navigate portal, agents, boosters

While collectives operate with different models and levels of fundraising, they’re all trying to fulfill the same mission. The race is to stockpile the most cash to distribute to current players so recruits know what they can make once they enroll. Since December, another another trend has emerged: Collectives are expected to provide opportunities for athletes who are contemplating entering the transfer portal.

More and more athletes are also starting to bring on representation, too, which makes life for collectives even for more complicated. Some are reputable, others are trying to get their start by using name, image and likeness.

“What we’ve seen, last year and a half, the kids we got in the portal expected some form of significant NIL compensation,” an SEC collective operator recently told On3. “When I say significant, I’m saying $40,000 to $50,000 and up. This year, it was 100 percent. The trend we saw in the portal was 50 percent wanting something, to now every one of them. There’s not one portal kid we got where there wasn’t compensation.

“The cost has gone up in the portal.”