Matt Jones: Kentucky's new deal with JMI is a financial win, but a strategic gamble

It’s been a day since UK announced its $465 million contract extension with JMI Sports through 2040. It was a lot to take in at the time — JMI is now in charge of UK’s NIL deals — but after a day of reflection and some conversations, Matt Jones had some more thoughts to share on this morning’s episode of Kentucky Sports Radio.

Let’s start with the positives: Kentucky now has the money to be competitive in the revenue-sharing era. This deal will fund the school’s revenue-sharing budget. That figure is $20.6 million this year, but will increase by 4% annually. Not having to scramble to find that money every year is a relief and a luxury most schools do not have. Hopefully, it will also allow Kentucky to keep all of its sports and staff members.

That said, it comes with some drawbacks. After talking to those involved with the deal, Jones remains pessimistic because JMI will be responsible for negotiating UK’s NIL deals with athletes, which could be particularly worrisome in basketball. If a player wants an amount that can be covered by the rev-share budget, no problem, but what happens when they ask for more? As Jones explained it, JMI will have to go find the money from its official partners (Paul Miller Ford, BHG restaurant groups, Central Bank, etc.). There is no longer a private collective that can search for resources elsewhere. In that sense, this deal sets Kentucky apart from any other school in the country. He used Learfield, another collegiate sports marketing company, as an example. Unlike JMI, Learfield is allowing its schools to have private collectives in addition to in-house collectives, essentially giving them an out or alternative to find money for NIL deals.

“We are the only school that I can find that is getting rid of their private collective and giving it all to one company, and we’re giving it to one company that doesn’t have any other schools.”

Players will be allowed to pursue deals outside of UK/JMI’s umbrella, but will have to abide by UK/JMI’s rules when it comes to branding and the rules set forth by the NIL Go clearinghouse. Add in continued concerns about JMI’s lack of access for the media and its track record of being behind the times when it comes to content, and it feels like you’re putting a lot of eggs in one basket. And that basket will be around for 15 more years in an industry that feels like it’s changing by the minute.

“I had multiple people write me from other schools, and say, ‘You should be a little worried about this,'” Jones said. “I’m talking coaches from other SEC schools. I think it’s nerve-wracking. Now they’re gonna get a ton of money. I would guess that UK is going to get more money from its local media deal than probably any school in the country. That’s good. Some of the worries we’ve had about, are we going to have the revenue to compete? That’s probably taken care of, so that’s good.

“But are we going to be able to be — in a world where the rules can change overnight, we are locked into a 15-year deal with JMI, and the one thing I’ve always worried about them is, are they modern? That’s where I am. That’s my concern.”

You can hear the complete segment below. Jones is going to meet with some of the JMI executives later this week, so this topic isn’t going anywhere.

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