State governments, especially in SEC footprint, relaxing their rules on NIL

On3 imageby:Eric Prisbell04/26/22

EricPrisbell

It started with the state of Alabama, which repealed its NIL law in February because it was more restrictive than the few NCAA rules that provide guardrails in this fast-evolving space.

Now other states are moving, as expected, to relax their NIL laws so that their universities are not at a disadvantage in retaining or recruiting athletes in this competitive NIL era.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed an amendment to his state’s NIL law last week that creates a much friendlier environment for all-important donor-led collectives. School-specific collectives, which pool funds from donors to create NIL opportunities for athletes, have fast become an indispensable tool to help schools recruit and retain elite players.

The changes are important on two fronts. The law initially stated that an entity like a collective could not provide compensation for a prospective athlete if the arrangement was contingent on the athlete’s enrollment or continued participation at an institution. That has been deleted from the state’s law.

The other relevant change empowers athletic department officials – coaches and other staff – to be able to be part of the process in helping to facilitate deals between collectives and athletes. 

As a result, it’s a good time to be a collective in the state of Tennessee. And it just so happens that Tennessee is home to Spyre Sports Group, which has boasted about attempting to raise $25 million annually in a war chest it hopes will attract top prospects to Knoxville. Hunter Baddour, the collective’s founder, told WVLT-TV in Knoxville that the amendment is a “game-changer.”

“I do think we’ll continue to see states make their NIL laws more permissive or just repeal them all together so that they aren’t more restrictive than the NCAA rules,” Mit Winter, a Kansas City-based sports attorney, told On3 on Monday.

In recent months, industry sources have told On3 that collectives have increasingly played a role in helping to lure elite football players to campus as well as keep borderline NBA draft picks on campus for another year. It should surprise no one that the states so far moving the fastest to loosen state laws surrounding NIL activities are those in the fertile recruiting region of the SEC footprint.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill last week that now will allow schools to talk with third-parties such as collectives that seek to sign NIL deals with athletes. In addition, prospects can sign endorsement deals when they make commitments instead of having to wait until they sign letters-of-intent.

The change is a significant benefit to in-state coaches such as Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, a proponent of NIL opportunities for athletes. Whether it’s recruiting from the transfer portal or from high schools, competing against other SEC schools is daunting. And players are starting to understand the dramatically changed landscape and how they can benefit, Kiffin said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

“A lot of them have figured it out,” Kiffin said, comparing players’ views on the transfer portal and NIL to NFL free agency. “I think you’ve seen a few of them – most of the time people are going in because they are not happy where they are at or they want to play at a bigger level. … Like, ‘Hey, I can, you know, maybe come back to where I am at, but let me see what I can get paid.’ ”

Because of the absence of any NIL enforcement entity, the free-for-all landscape is fast becoming friendlier terrain for donor-led collectives as more states move to amend state laws. The new state laws are much more conducive for ambitious collectives to do their thing, eliminating any pain points and friction in the process. Expect other states to follow the leads of states in the SEC footprint.

Learfield producing premium content for its partners

Learfield Studios will be launching a multitude of distinct, premium content for university partners. Two of the original productions – “The Blueprint” (Kansas) and “Granted” (Toledo is featured in the debut episode) – launch Tuesday.

“The Blueprint” is a four-episode series that gives Kansas fans an all-access look at Jayhawks football. “Granted” is a multi-episode series that features the experience and lead-up of awarding a walk-on a full scholarship, with Toledo the focus of the first show.

Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and UConn also are working with Learfield Studios on creating, distributing and monetizing premier content designed specifically for their fans. These are early adopters of custom content plans that Learfield says it has in collaboration with all its multimedia rights partners.