BIG voluntarily caps school NIL at $49 MM

[Dawgzilla2]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-cap-nil-spending-protect-college-sports-act/

BIG has announced a new conference rule capping total school assisted NIL at $49MM, effective immediately. This mirrors the cap in the pending college sports legislation.

OSU's football NIL alone reportedly exceeds this already. Other schools, too.

The loophole is that athletes can still pursue their own outside NIL deals without school or booster assistance. Not sure exactly how that will be policed, but boosters can still hire athletes to promote their business.

Attorneys are lining up, with the first allegation being this violates the House settlement.

But, holy carp this is huge. Scratch BIG schools off the list of suitors for KT, among many others.

 

[RebelRH]

I was all for a salary cap once the NIL started getting out of control but it won't work. Boosters will invest the cap money and then go back under the table just like they used to. No way to control or stop it. IMO the way to fix it is to get the transfers under control. Once a player signs a contract they should not be allowed to become a free agent every year unless the school allows it. That is where the fans are getting frustrated. A player you support this year becomes your rival next year. That needs to be stopped for the fans. It can't just be all about the player. Without fans there would be no players. There needs to be some middle ground in there for both parties.

 

[Howiefeltersnstch]

They need a hard cap. One thats enforceable. Otherwise its just impossible for average schools to compete

 

[Rebchuck_]

Where there's a will there's a way.

 

[mstateglfr]

Not interested enough to search for why- $49MM was selected but not $50MM? What...is $50MM just outlandish and unjustifiable?!

How does the cap move year to year with inflation? COLA is a real need...even for millionaire teenagers. <--typing that made me throw up a little bit.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

$49MM is a laughable number, and still irresponsible

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Attorneys are lining up, with the first allegation being this violates the House settlement.

If the schools choose not to spend the money, nobody can make them. They are just at a competitive disadvantage (theoretically, if say, the SEC decides to spend more. House settlement only mandates 20.5M, correct? I mean nothing says you HAVE to even do that. You simply can spend up to that if you so choose.

So who would actually be doing the suing here, the boosters? Mad because they can't blow more money? The schools, who just chose to cap? Makes no sense. Players won't have a leg to stand on. I think you just made that part up.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Sounds to me like they just capped the legal way to pay players so now the schools that were good at cheating will simply restart their cheating network to deliver the additional funds. Finally a break for unemployed bagmen!

 

[RocketDawg]

$49MM is a laughable number, and still irresponsible

Pretty much an average of $500K per player on the team isn't it, even if the player never plays? Seems like a lot to me, especially when it was all under the table not too long ago. Not to mention, the higher paid players might get more by other schools every year. And it's still no expenses at all while enrolled.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Pretty much an average of $500K per player on the team isn't it, even if the player never plays? Seems like a lot to me, especially when it was all under the table not too long ago. Not to mention, the higher paid players might get more by other schools every year. And it's still no expenses at all while enrolled.

$49 MM is the entire budget for all sports.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

If the schools choose not to spend the money, nobody can make them. They are just at a competitive disadvantage (theoretically, if say, the SEC decides to spend more. House settlement only mandates 20.5M, correct? I mean nothing says you HAVE to even do that. You simply can spend up to that if you so choose.

So who would actually be doing the suing here, the boosters? Mad because they can't blow more money? The schools, who just chose to cap? Makes no sense. Players won't have a leg to stand on. I think you just made that part up.

Couple things: This isn't a school "choosing" to do it. It's a group of schools agreeing to do it, which is collusion.

Second, the House settlement has been interpreted to allow the collectives to provide unlimited NIL to players. By capping their own collectives, they could be violating that settlement.

Setting the collusion aside, it might avoid anti trust scrutiny since athletes can just go play in another conference. It just depends on how a court defines the BIG's market share.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Not interested enough to search for why- $49MM was selected but not $50MM? What...is $50MM just outlandish and unjustifiable?!

How does the cap move year to year with inflation? COLA is a real need...even for millionaire teenagers. <--typing that made me throw up a little bit.

They are copying the pending PCSA. They probably also copied the annual increases, but I haven't seen the rules they are adopting.

The numbers in the PCSA were negotiated by the conferences, but didn't include the players' input.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Sounds to me like they just capped the legal way to pay players so now the schools that were good at cheating will simply restart their cheating network to deliver the additional funds. Finally a break for unemployed bagmen!

I agree that once the money has started flowing, its going to be hard to stop. But we are talking about millions that would have to be paid under the table, which is hard to hide. They will need Marty Byrd from Ozark.

 

[triton28]

Sounds to me like they just capped the legal way to pay players so now the schools that were good at cheating will simply restart their cheating network to deliver the additional funds. Finally a break for unemployed bagmen!

I remember when the cap was $0. Went well.

 

[The Peeper]

Sounds to me like they just capped the legal way to pay players so now the schools that were good at cheating will simply restart their cheating network to deliver the additional funds. Finally a break for unemployed bagmen!

That, or the REAL reason that NIL was supposedly created (remember the words 'name image likeness'?) for athletes to go actually do a commercial or sit at a table and sign an autograph, will take over. For example purposes ONLY, Cannon Chevrolet in Oxford will now pay Trinidad Chambliss $8 million to stand in front of a new Silverado pickup holding a football and have his picture made with a "booster".

 

[The Peeper]

I agree that once the money has started flowing, its going to be hard to stop.

It's very hard to put that toothpaste back in the tube after its been squeezed out................

 

[Perd Hapley]

This is a complete nothing-burger.

School assisted NIL doesn’t include the revenue share, and doesn’t include outside NIL deals. The revenue share by itself is already at over $20 million total ($15 million for football), and will be even bigger in the future. Outside NIL deals are still unlimited.

In summary, you now have a “cap” of $70 million for anything associated with the school, but no cap for outside deals. It’s just going to move more of the money to private, booster-backed faux NIL deals that will still pass the clearinghouse.

Basically it’s like the state of Montana coming out with a law that the speed limit on the interstates will now be strictly enforced at 200mph.

 

[Anon1684630174]

olemiss would love an nil cap; then they just start passing money under the table.

 

[ckDOG]

 

[Perd Hapley]

Attorneys are lining up, with the first allegation being this violates the House settlement.

How does it violate the house settlement?

Players still have unlimited NIL earning potential. All this is doing is putting a cap on how much schools themselves will assist with directly, because they have actual athletic departments to run that have to remain solvent.

And who is even going to sue, and how? The only case to be made is if a single player tried to argue that their NIL by itself was worth more than $49 million per year, which is absurd. Again, to be clear, NIL legally has zero to do with how good they are at a sport, or even if they play a sport at all.

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

I remember when the cap was $0. Went well.

Yep. I’d rather go back to the cheating and under the table payments where occasionally the NCAA shows its teeth and penalizes the have nots for trying to level the playing field. Maybe the school loyalty could even come back by players if they know the only way they will get funding is by alumni handshakes

 

[OG Goat Holder]

This is a complete nothing-burger.

School assisted NIL doesn’t include the revenue share, and doesn’t include outside NIL deals. The revenue share by itself is already at over $20 million total ($15 million for football), and will be even bigger in the future. Outside NIL deals are still unlimited.

In summary, you now have a “cap” of $70 million for anything associated with the school, but no cap for outside deals. It’s just going to move more of the money to private, booster-backed faux NIL deals that will still pass the clearinghouse.

Basically it’s like the state of Montana coming out with a law that the speed limit on the interstates will now be strictly enforced at 200mph.

I'll be honest, who in their right mind, that would be posting on this message board of a bunch of average joes, would actually give to NIL? This shlt is insanity. If you aren't giving millions you aren't moving the needle.

 

[ckDOG]

I'll be honest, who in their right mind, that would be posting on this message board of a bunch of average joes, would actually give to NIL? This shlt is insanity. If you aren't giving millions you aren't moving the needle.

I'll never get this info but I'd love to have the contributions data by donor and their net worth. Curious to see how much rich people really have and how much they throw away because they can and how many regular joes tie their happiness into football and potentially give way more money that they can afford.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

$49 MM is the entire budget for all sports.

That would make better sense

 

[The Cooterpoot]

I'll be honest, who in their right mind, that would be posting on this message board of a bunch of average joes, would actually give to NIL? This shlt is insanity. If you aren't giving millions you aren't moving the needle.

Go buy the bourbon, you're a State fan, you need it. They sold out of it first round, so the average joe is making a difference. When you throw in all the things like rounding up to the nearest dollar for concessions, apparel, concerts etc, the average joe does help.

 

[dawgstudent]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/big-ten-cap-nil-spending-protect-college-sports-act/

BIG has announced a new conference rule capping total school assisted NIL at $49MM, effective immediately. This mirrors the cap in the pending college sports legislation.

OSU's football NIL alone reportedly exceeds this already. Other schools, too.

The loophole is that athletes can still pursue their own outside NIL deals without school or booster assistance. Not sure exactly how that will be policed, but boosters can still hire athletes to promote their business.

Attorneys are lining up, with the first allegation being this violates the House settlement.

But, holy carp this is huge. Scratch BIG schools off the list of suitors for KT, among many others.

But they will still give $$$ under the table. It's all a farce unless their are severe consequences for being caught.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I agree that once the money has started flowing, its going to be hard to stop. But we are talking about millions that would have to be paid under the table, which is hard to hide. They will need Marty Byrd from Ozark.

Yeah, $100 handshakes won't cut it any longer.

 

[8dog]

How does it violate the house settlement?

Players still have unlimited NIL earning potential. All this is doing is putting a cap on how much schools themselves will assist with directly, because they have actual athletic departments to run that have to remain solvent.

And who is even going to sue, and how? The only case to be made is if a single player tried to argue that their NIL by itself was worth more than $49 million per year, which is absurd. Again, to be clear, NIL legally has zero to do with how good they are at a sport, or even if they play a sport at all.

House plaintiffs argue that the settlement does not allow for a cap on Insitutional related (“collectives”) NIL. This rule puts that within the cap.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Go buy the bourbon, you're a State fan, you need it. They sold out of it first round, so the average joe is making a difference. When you throw in all the things like rounding up to the nearest dollar for concessions, apparel, concerts etc, the average joe does help.

That's a different deal than just straight donations.

 

[Seinfeld]

I'll be honest, who in their right mind, that would be posting on this message board of a bunch of average joes, would actually give to NIL? This shlt is insanity. If you aren't giving millions you aren't moving the needle.

This exact point was brought up during the interview that I posted of the Memphis athletic director last week. I can't remember whether he or the host(Gary Parrish) mentioned this, but they said that there is zero point in doing golf tournaments, auctions, etc anymore because raising $50k doesn't even slightly move the needle. They're spending all their time these days at dinner with the big boys

 

[triton28]

I'll be honest, who in their right mind, that would be posting on this message board of a bunch of average joes, would actually give to NIL? This shlt is insanity. If you aren't giving millions you aren't moving the needle.

Millionaires don’t even do that sh*t man. Come on. It’s gambling revenue funneled through the collectives.

 

[mstateglfr]

View attachment 1506876

Wow, pulling out a meme that only works once a year is impressive.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

This is a complete nothing-burger.

School assisted NIL doesn’t include the revenue share, and doesn’t include outside NIL deals. The revenue share by itself is already at over $20 million total ($15 million for football), and will be even bigger in the future. Outside NIL deals are still unlimited.

In summary, you now have a “cap” of $70 million for anything associated with the school, but no cap for outside deals. It’s just going to move more of the money to private, booster-backed faux NIL deals that will still pass the clearinghouse.

Basically it’s like the state of Montana coming out with a law that the speed limit on the interstates will now be strictly enforced at 200mph.

No, the $49 MM is the revenue share PLUS any money from a Collective. In the PCSA, the cap also includes money from any business owned by a booster. I don't know if the BIG went that far, but if they are implementing the PCSA, then they may have.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

How does it violate the house settlement?

Players still have unlimited NIL earning potential. All this is doing is putting a cap on how much schools themselves will assist with directly, because they have actual athletic departments to run that have to remain solvent.

And who is even going to sue, and how? The only case to be made is if a single player tried to argue that their NIL by itself was worth more than $49 million per year, which is absurd. Again, to be clear, NIL legally has zero to do with how good they are at a sport, or even if they play a sport at all.

The schools will be limiting what the collectives can pay the players. Since the parties agreed the collectives are considered legitimate businesses, this would be the same as a school preventing a player from signing a deal with Nissan or whoever.

This will affect the lesser known athletes who cannot get real endorsement deals. Their only pay has been revenue share plus a little collective money, and now they all have to squeeze in under the cap.

The athletes as a group could sue for antitrust violations, or any single athlete who can show his earnings have been reduced. With respect to the House settlement, the attorneys for the Plaintiff class will take it to court.

 

[BTCMoonBoy]

I remember when the cap was $0. Went well.

Back when Saban was greatest coach of all time

 

[Dawgzilla2]

That, or the REAL reason that NIL was supposedly created (remember the words 'name image likeness'?) for athletes to go actually do a commercial or sit at a table and sign an autograph, will take over. For example purposes ONLY, Cannon Chevrolet in Oxford will now pay Trinidad Chambliss $8 million to stand in front of a new Silverado pickup holding a football and have his picture made with a "booster."

It won't be quite that easy. I agree boosters will find a way around it. But the NIL deals still have to go through the clearinghouse to be checked for FMV. And if the BIG really is mirroring the PCSA, then money from booster owned businesses also fall under the $49 MM cap.

 

[Dawgbite]

I'll never get this info but I'd love to have the contributions data by donor and their net worth. Curious to see how much rich people really have and how much they throw away because they can and how many regular joes tie their happiness into football and potentially give way more money that they can afford.

I know a few wealthy people and they don’t throw money away. They don’t spend money unless it has the potential to make more money. Now if you inherit daddy’s money and have no idea how to actually earn money then it might be a different story.

 

[Seinfeld]

I know a few wealthy people and they don’t throw money away. They don’t spend money unless it has the potential to make more money. Now if you inherit daddy’s money and have no idea how to actually earn money then it might be a different story.

 

[Perd Hapley]

The schools will be limiting what the collectives can pay the players. Since the parties agreed the collectives are considered legitimate businesses, this would be the same as a school preventing a player from signing a deal with Nissan or whoever.

As far as I can tell, it’s not the schools limiting anything. Technically, it’s the B1G conference doing it. Yes, the conference is the schools themselves as far as crafting the rule, but the enforcement of it is not handled by the schools.

The whole thing is a joke. Right now, there isn’t even a requirement for individual schools to report to the conference what they are paying in NIL. Now all the sudden, they are going to both have to report it, and keep it under some number? BS. And what if they do neither? What’s the punishment? How can anyone even verify the numbers being reported are real and factual?

The whole thing is a farce.

This will affect the lesser known athletes who cannot get real endorsement deals.

I’ve got news for you. None of them can get real endorsement deals that match what their faux deals are paying them. Not one. The whole thing is pay for play by another name.

The athletes as a group could sue for antitrust violations, or any single athlete who can show his earnings have been reduced. With respect to the House settlement, the attorneys for the Plaintiff class will take it to court.

How can any single athlete show his earnings have been reduced? Even at the $27.1 million collective cap, who can prove they are worth $28 million, and how? And also, this is only the B1G doing this. Even if they got it into a courtroom, the very simple retort is, “if you’re worth that much, just go get it in the SEC or B1G or whatever. No one’s stopping you”.

Caps exist in all sorts of enterprises (public and private) without legally causing anti-trust issues.

 

[Perd Hapley]

Couple things: This isn't a school "choosing" to do it. It's a group of schools agreeing to do it, which is collusion.

If it’s collusion, then simply being a member of an athletic conference is collusion in its own right. That’s ridiculous.

I could sue because I can’t suit up for LSU in Week 3 after playing for Alabama in Week 2, even though I’m inside the academic window allowing for it, because #SEC rules and #transfer portal rules.

The NCAA FBS is really just a gigantic conference when it comes to the universal rules. I can sue for “collusion”, because the “schools” are limiting the transfer portal windows to only certain times? I can sue for collusion because the “schools” say I have to pass half my classes to keep playing football, even though I don’t have to do so to remain enrolled? Where does it end?