Mark Stoops Believes JMI NIL Partnership will help Kentucky "Tremendously"

Before the 2025 Kentucky football season kicked off, there was a major structural shake-up behind the scenes.

The University of Kentucky announced an extension with JMI Sports through 2040 that was valued at approximately $465 million. As a part of the deal, JMI would take over all of Kentucky’s NIL Collective efforts.

That part of the deal was met with skepticism. After the House settlement was ratified, it required all NIL deals to pass through the NIL Go clearinghouse. In theory, bringing them in-house made sense if everyone played by those rules. Nobody is playing by those rules. NIL Collectives filed lawsuits to stay in business. As far as we can tell, Kentucky is the only SEC school operating under this structure.

Can that structure work to fund the Kentucky football program? Mark Stoops is optimistic.

“Well it’ll help me, us, tremendously, that’s the hope, right? So, we need everybody to support that,” Stoops said on Monday. “And all of us, as a university, all of our student-athletes, need that to work. For me personally, it takes another job off my plate. So, that in itself is enormous.” 

Ahead of the 2024 Kentucky football season, Mark Stoops lamented the time and energy required of him to raise funds for the Kentucky football roster budget. The addition of revenue-sharing alleviated some of those stresses. In his mind, the in-house JMI NIL suite does as well.

Some schools have anonymously shared concerns about the effectiveness and efficiency of the NIL Go clearinghouse. Stoops was unwilling to echo those concerns.

“I think it’s better that I stay away from that,” said the Kentucky head football coach. “In general, I think the clearinghouse is getting its footing. There’s a lot of latitude in there right now.”  

There’s still an air of uncertainty surrounding the Kentucky football roster-building budget. That must be cleared up as quickly as possible, with the Early Signing Period just eight days away, and the transfer portal looming on Jan. 2. Player retention is the top priority for the Kentucky football program. That requires funding, and Stoops is optimistic it will work for the Wildcats.

“We’re working on it hard. We are working hard. The university, the administration, myself, JMI, everybody is working very hard to get this done,” said Stoops. “That I really appreciate.”

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