South Carolina women's basketball: Players Era Championship announces podcast partnership

Details about the Players Era Championship, which South Carolina will participate in over Thanksgiving, continue to come into focus.

The Players Era Championship debuted with a men’s tournament last season. This season, a women’s event was added, with Duke, Texas, and UCLA joining the Gamecocks in Las Vegas.

The appeal of the championship, in addition to playing two games against top ten opponents, comes from the NIL opportunities for players.

According to organizers, “the Players Era Men’s and Women’s Championships will feature over $20 million in guaranteed sponsor NIL activities for participating teams. These NIL activities will take place during ancillary events that are separate from the players’ participation in the Players Era games.”

Exact information remains elusive, but some details are becoming clearer. That includes a media partnership announced on Friday.

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A strategic content partnership between the Players Era Championships and “All the Smoke” podcast, hosted by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, will “deliver must-see content from Las Vegas.”

The agreement promises “behind-the-scenes access, exclusive interviews, player profiles, game-day features, social media drops, and live tournament storytelling.” Content featuring Dawn Staley is also specifically mentioned in the announcement.

According to Players Era CEO Seth Berger, the partnership is a way of “supporting college athletes’ rights to monetize their NILs.”

South Carolina plays Duke on November 26 and then either Texas or UCLA on November 27. Both games are at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and will be televised by TNT Sports.

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