NIL

[TigerHorn 1,385]

So, we need offensive linemen, do we? Welp, here's what my other alma mater is doing. Whatcha got AU?

[TigerPAC 1,021]

^^^^this has gone beyond ridiculous.  I guess more “unintended consequences”.   I just want college football!!!

[Maverick.AU 13,291]

Posted this a few hours ago 

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

42 minutes ago, TigerPAC said:

^^^^this has gone beyond ridiculous.  I guess more “unintended consequences”.   I just want college football!!!

It is really quite sad indeed. The sport is going to look radically different in the coming years because of this stuff. Well maybe it won't look radically different but there is about to be stupid amounts of money unloaded to buy players.

Edited December 7, 2021 by ThurstontheWelshCorgi

[W.E.D 11,071]

19 minutes ago, ThurstontheWelshCorgi said:

there is about to be stupid amounts of money unloaded to buy players

Good

[aubaseball 2,819]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

Good

Serious question.   Why good?

[IronMan70 3,322]

6 hours ago, TigerHorn said:

So, we need offensive linemen, do we? Welp, here's what my other alma mater is doing. Whatcha got AU?

 

 

.....and the Horns with Hearts is all part of the larger NIL program they have going on down in Texas, The Clark Field Collective. As the saying goes, get on board or get left behind. 

 

Texas supporters launch NIL program that other schools likely will copy

Eric Prisbell•6 days

 (Tim Warner/Getty Images)

Prominent University of Texas donors, former Longhorns athletes and veteran sports marketer Nick Shuley launched an eight-figure NIL program Wednesday that should become the template for deep-pocketed supporters of blue-blood schools nationwide.

The Clark Field Collective has secured an initial pledged commitment of $10 million for Texas NIL activities, an attention-grabbing starting figure for a program whose goal is nothing short of possessing the largest dedicated fund in the nation for college athletes. On the NIL front, consider the nationwide arms race among well-heeled boosters well under way.

“It is the game-changer,” said Shuley, who will serve as CEO with a board of directors composed of business leaders and former athletes connected to the university, including former men’s basketball star T.J. Ford and former All-American safety Kenny Vaccaro. “This is the program that Texas deserves, and if we’re going to do something at the University of Texas, it needs to be done right.”

The collective, which is unaffiliated with the university, was created to assist the school’s athletes in 17 varsity sports in cultivating and facilitating NIL opportunities in conjunction with businesses, donors and fans. Shuley, who for years has run successful marketing efforts for the likes of Bo Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Lollapalooza, believes the university maintains the largest and wealthiest alumni donor base in the nation, an asset that needs to be tapped into during the new NIL era.

Shuley said the collective aims to serve as a one-stop fund to be disseminated among all sports for NIL activities, which include endorsements, autographs, appearances and more. It establishes a universal basic earnings program based on services provided by Texas athletes. Exactly how much each athlete would receive is yet to be determined by the boards representing each specific sport. 

There is a broader executive board as well as sport-specific boards that include a mix of donors and former athletes. For instance, Ford, a former nine-year NBA veteran, will serve as a basketball board member; Vaccaro will serve on the football board; and Juliann Johnson, a three-time All-American, will serve on the volleyball board. 

Vaccaro, an eight-year NFL veteran, noted in a statement that Texas perennially is one of the highest-grossing athletic programs in the country (with annual revenue typically exceeding $220 million) and that the collective intends to ensure that all athletes at the school “have a way of participating in these immense financial opportunities” through NIL.

An easily adaptable NIL idea for other schools

The Clark Field Collective will surely be copied by donors of other blue-blood programs. But few schools nationwide possess the wide swath of boosters that Texas boasts, a vast collection of supporters with the financial muscle to match their passion for their school. When the NIL era dawned July 1, it allowed fervent burnt orange boosters to not only fill the pockets of current athletes in an over-the-table manner — provided athletes endorse a brand or provide a service — but also create an enticing recruiting pitch for talented prospects who are considering making the Forty Acres their home.

“We have a unique setup here at Texas where we have the biggest and best and most prominent donors, in my opinion,” said Shuley, who lives in Austin. “That definitely sets us apart from other universities. There is no reason we shouldn’t line all that up so everyone benefits. . . . There are so many opportunities to work with some of the best brands just in our backyard.”

In the technology space alone, Austin is fast become a booming tech hub, with more than 100 tech companies relocating to the Austin metropolitan area just in the past two years. In 2020, Austin earned the top spot in the Tech Town Index as the best metro area nationwide for businesses in terms of opportunity and livability. 

The launch of this collective comes on the heels of two Texas supporters in September launching the innovative “Burnt Ends” program, which enabled all Texas tight ends to monetize their NIL by tapping into the zealous community within the popular Texas message board, Surly Horns, and beyond. It was hyped as the nation’s first fully crowdsourced NIL program, with all of the profits funneling directly to the Texas tight end room.

More broadly, several Longhorn players have taken advantage of NIL opportunities, including running back Bijan Robinson and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. In addition, Texas and The Brandr Group partnered three months ago to launch group licensing for Longhorns student-athletes, creating the opportunity for their NIL to be paired with official UT trademarks and logos.

And now with this collective, Texas supporters and alums have set a new “gold standard,” as Shuley called it, in the fast-developing NIL landscape, offering partial basic income to athletes in all sports.

“You have this incredible donor base and alumni base and an insane athlete base — let’s tap into that,” Shuley said. “It is going to be an ever-changing thing that is going to continue to evolve as we figure out the right way to really maximize this. NIL is such (a young) space, so we are going to have to be willing to move and change and be smart about how we do things.”

https://www.on3.com/news/university-of-texas-supporters-nil-program-other-schools-likely-will-copy/

[cbo 8,728]

7 hours ago, aubaseball said:

Serious question.   Why good?

Because players are the key element of an industry that produces massive amounts of money, so they deserve to finally get their fair share. Whether any of us like the end result or not. 

[bigbird 60,939]

11 minutes ago, cbo said:

Because players are the key element of an industry that produces massive amounts of money, so they deserve to finally get their fair share. Whether any of us like the end result or not. 

I agree, but it should be a divide-the-pot type of disbursement like the NFL does. That way it's equal across the sport and doesn't have serious influence on where a player signs, keeping the competition across the game.

As is, the smaller market teams will be relegated to begging for scraps.

[wcware 1,365]

25 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I agree, but it should be a divide-the-pot type of disbursement like the NFL does. That way it's equal across the sport and doesn't have serious influence on where a player signs, keeping the competition across the game.

As is, the smaller market teams will be relegated to begging for scraps.

Serious question. Are we a smaller market cap? I would think we are 

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,473]

3 minutes ago, wcware said:

Serious question. Are we a smaller market cap? I would think we are 

Seems to depend on the effort/task at hand, if you ask me. We get on board when we need to.

IMHO, this needs to change to full support ALL OF THE TIME.

Edited December 7, 2021 by WDE_OxPx_2010

[ChristoThor 70]

I am not against allowing the players to be paid since they are the whole reason we even have college sports to watch anyways. I am worried that Texas and a few other schools will dominate recruiting if there is not some sort of cap put out there. How many schools' boosters can afford to spend $800,000 on offensive linemen alone or a $10,000,000 collective? I don't see many schools pulling together those kind of funds. I could be wrong though. This is all very new and it feels like the current state of the NIL is going to benefit a few schools and leave everyone else in the dust.

[Auhud08 596]

We need 4-5m annually  Thats $50k per 85 scholarships

[wcware 1,365]

2 minutes ago, ChristoThor said:

I am not against allowing the players to be paid since they are the whole reason we even have college sports to watch anyways. I am worried that Texas and a few other schools will dominate recruiting if there is not some sort of cap put out there. How many schools' boosters can afford to spend $800,000 on offensive linemen alone or a $10,000,000 collective? I don't see many schools pulling together those kind of funds. I could be wrong though. This is all very new and it feels like the current state of the NIL is going to benefit a few schools and leave everyone else in the dust.

 

3 minutes ago, ChristoThor said:

I am not against allowing the players to be paid since they are the whole reason we even have college sports to watch anyways. I am worried that Texas and a few other schools will dominate recruiting if there is not some sort of cap put out there. How many schools' boosters can afford to spend $800,000 on offensive linemen alone or a $10,000,000 collective? I don't see many schools pulling together those kind of funds. I could be wrong though. This is all very new and it feels like the current state of the NIL is going to benefit a few schools and leave everyone else in the dust.

I have a few concerns about Auburn and our ability to handle NIL. I am going to shut up about it because it’s only speculation on my part. Let’s see how it goes. I predicted last year that we would never sign another 5 star recruit because of this. I know that seems crazy. So far I’m still right. Of course we haven’t signed anyone since I made that statement 

[jw 4 au 526]

59 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I agree, but it should be a divide-the-pot type of disbursement like the NFL does. That way it's equal across the sport and doesn't have serious influence on where a player signs, keeping the competition across the game.

As is, the smaller market teams will be relegated to begging for scraps.

Agree with bird!  Also, as usual the NCAA continues to be greedy. The grip was that the NCAA makes a ton of money off the backs of these student-athlete?  Well they still are and get to keep all of their money. The NIL as structured is being paid by boosters and schools apparently, with ZERO contribution from all that money the NCAA is making off of all those backs. Almost criminal if you ask me, and probably going to change the face of college football in a bad way over the long haul. 

[aucom96 1,652]

1 hour ago, cbo said:

Because players are the key element of an industry that produces massive amounts of money, so they deserve to finally get their fair share. Whether any of us like the end result or not. 

Ok. When 95% of the teams in college football can't realistically compete anymore, that massive amounts of money will get considerably less massive. I hope their "fair share" adjusts accordingly. 

[AUApostle 7,762]

Will donors be pressured even more to give towards athletics to prop up the insane coaching salaries and now player “salaries”, instead of donating towards academics or other efforts more central to a University’s mission?

For the value these players add to their program, they should be well-compensated…but why do we continue to marry minor league sports with higher education?  How would these sports programs survive without rah rah alumni spending money on everything that’s got our alma mater’s logo on it?  Without these 2 support structures we’re simply cheering for the Gwinnett Stripers.

College football is branded entertainment.

Edited December 7, 2021 by AUDevil

[wcware 1,365]

I watched the Locked on Auburn podcast this morning and they had a meeting with the Auburn NIL team yesterday. I feel much better. Watch the podcast 

[wcware 1,365]

If what they said on the podcast is true I will be putting my money where my mouth is and supporting these players.

[bigbird 60,939]

2 minutes ago, wcware said:

If what they said on the podcast is true I will be putting my money where my mouth is and supporting these players.

Mind summarizing?

[wcware 1,365]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

Mind summarizing?

It’s quite detailed but basically all athletes at Auburn will fall under one umbrella and us as fans will be able to subscribe to a sport, position group, or even and player, and depending on the amount of money you spend will determine the level of access you get. They mentioned things like monthly autographs all the way to personal telephone calls. Sounds really cool and they seem to think the players love the idea. I also think it gives the Auburn Family a chance to show out. We may not have the powerful boosters of a Texas but our collective fan base can rival anyone 

[wcware 1,365]

I did a terrible job of explaining it. It’s from today’s episode of the podcast 

[IronMan70 3,322]

Notice that the article mentioned that Nick Shuly, the CEO of the newly created Clark Field Collective, did major marketing campaigns for several pro athletes including, none other than Bo Jackson. Bo probably knows the guy who is one of the driving forces behind this entity very well.

Edited December 7, 2021 by IronMan70

[gr82be 14,912]

17 minutes ago, wcware said:

I did a terrible job of explaining it. It’s from today’s episode of the podcast 

No you didn't and thanks. 

[bigbird 60,939]

20 minutes ago, wcware said:

I did a terrible job of explaining it. It’s from today’s episode of the podcast