NIL
Can This 14
Brittany Coleman’s son Kaden had just turned 10 when youth football coaches started pressing envelopes with thousands of dollars into her hand. They wanted Kaden to play for their club teams in Maryland, in New Jersey and across the Mid-Atlantic. Ms. Coleman always refused. Payments for top players, an open secret in youth sports, weren’t […]


Brittany Coleman’s son Kaden had just turned 10 when youth football coaches started pressing envelopes with thousands of dollars into her hand. They wanted Kaden to play for their club teams in Maryland, in New Jersey and across the Mid-Atlantic.
Ms. Coleman always refused. Payments for top players, an open secret in youth sports, weren’t allowed, and she didn’t want to tarnish her son.
But as Kaden has grown to become one of the best eighth-grade football players in the country, there is now a legal, and potentially far more lucrative, way for him to profit from his talent.
Just as college athletes can now be paid for their athletic talent through so-called name, image and likeness, or N.I.L., deals — which compensate players for the use of their image in commercials and other promotional material — so can students as young as middle school.
Last summer, Ms. Coleman allowed Kaden to sign sponsorship deals with a local fashion brand, Second N Six, and an athletic gear company. Kaden also has an agent to help him with future deals.
Ms. Coleman declined to say how much money her son had received so far, but she’s clear about her aspirations for him. “I’ll tell you what the goal is,” said Ms. Coleman, a counselor in the District of Columbia’s public school system. “The goal is for him to reach a million dollars his freshman year of high school.”
NIL
Josh Heupel drops truth bomb on Nico Iamaleava’s departure at Tennessee
The post Josh Heupel drops truth bomb on Nico Iamaleava’s departure at Tennessee appeared first on ClutchPoints. Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel has had a lot on his plate this offseason, as the team lost their starting quarterback. Nico Iamaleava decided to leave the program, after a dispute over NIL compensation. Now, Heupel is commenting […]

The post Josh Heupel drops truth bomb on Nico Iamaleava’s departure at Tennessee appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel has had a lot on his plate this offseason, as the team lost their starting quarterback. Nico Iamaleava decided to leave the program, after a dispute over NIL compensation. Now, Heupel is commenting on that entire incident.
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“It’s never about who is not in your building. It’s about who is in your building,” Heupel said, per ESPN.
Iamaleava is now at UCLA, after entering the transfer portal. He threw for 2,616 passing yards last season with the Volunteers. He also finished the season with 19 touchdown passes.
The situation also made waves across college football. It caused a national discussion about new guardrails for NIL. NIL stands for name, image and likeness. It allows college players to get paid.
The Volunteers made the College Football Playoff last season, before losing to Ohio State. Tennessee won 10 games on the campaign.
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Tennessee football has competition at quarterback for 2025
The Volunteers currently have three quarterbacks that are fighting for the starting spot. They are: Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre. Aguilar is considered the top man to beat for the job. He has the most experience at the college level, although he has never started a game for a power 4 program.
Aguilar came to Tennessee in the transfer portal. He spent last season at Appalachian State, but had briefly been with UCLA after his time with the Mountaineers. Last season with App State, Aguilar threw for 3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has thrown for at least 3,000 yards the last two years.
MacIntyre is considered a top prospect, who was highly ranked by college football recruiting services in the 2025 class. He is from the state of Tennessee and was considered the top recruit in the state this past year by many scouting services.
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Merklinger was used sparingly in the 2024 season by the Volunteers. He ended up taking a redshirt after playing a few games. The young quarterback is also a highly regarded prospect.
Tennessee football starts their 2025 season against Syracuse. The two schools meet on August 30.
Related: Georgia football QB Gunner Stockton confidently brushes off Paul Finebaum criticism
Related: Steve Sarkisian reveals major point of emphasis that cost Longhorns national titles
NIL
Tyler Atkinson announces commitment between Oregon, Texas, Georgia
One of the top-ranked players in the 2026 recruiting cycle came off the board on Tuesday morning, with 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson announcing his commitment live on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN. Unfortunately for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks, it was not the Oregon hat that Atkinson pulled on. Instead, the 5-star LB, […]

One of the top-ranked players in the 2026 recruiting cycle came off the board on Tuesday morning, with 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson announcing his commitment live on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN. Unfortunately for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks, it was not the Oregon hat that Atkinson pulled on.
Instead, the 5-star LB, ranked as the No. 9 overall player and No. 1 LB in the 2026 class, announced that he would be committing to the Texas Longhorns, choosing Steve Sarkisian’s team over both the Ducks and Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
The commitment to Texas comes as a bit of a surprise in the grand scheme of things, seeing as Atkinson is rated as the No. 1 player from the state of Georgia, and pulling a 5-star defender out of the Peach State is nearly impossible. However, there are talks of a massive NIL deal from Texas that neither Georgia nor Oregon was willing to compete with in the end.
For the Ducks, this is a tough loss on the recruiting trail, but not one that will break things. On Wednesday, 4-star linebacker Nick Abrams II will announce his commitment, with Oregon and Georgia as finalists for his pledge. Beyond that, there are several other players on Oregon’s board that the Ducks will look to land when all is said and done.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
NIL
Chris Webber on how NIL would’ve changed Fab 5 history
The Michigan basketball program is currently gearing up for what they hope will be a successful 2025-26 season. The Wolverines are coming off of a 2024-25 season in which they made the Sweet 16 under first year head coach Dusty May but saw considerable talent head to the NBA Draft this past June. Wolverine fans […]

The Michigan basketball program is currently gearing up for what they hope will be a successful 2025-26 season. The Wolverines are coming off of a 2024-25 season in which they made the Sweet 16 under first year head coach Dusty May but saw considerable talent head to the NBA Draft this past June.
Wolverine fans likely can’t help but reminisce about the days of the “Fab Five,” led by Chris Webber in the early 1990s. Recently, Webber stopped by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter’s podcast and discussed what impact that NIL rules (Name, image, and likeness) may have had on the Fab Five’s success three decades ago.
“If somebody could have paid you now multiple millions of dollars to stay in school…” wondered Schefter.
“To stay with Jalen, Juwan, Ray, and Jimmy? What are you talking about, yes we could’ve extended and we would have gotten an NIL for all of our players. We would’ve had our 12th man with an NIL deal because we loved our teammates that much,” said Webber. “You know, almost like a quarterback giving his offensive linemen go-karts or whatever. Two more years to be able to be kids? Yeah.”
Webber himself was caught up in an incident where he was accused of borrowing money from Michigan booster Ed Martin, something that never would have been an issue now with the current name, image, and likeness rules in place.
Joining Webber as members of the Fab Five were Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, who helped lead the team to championship game appearances in both 1992 and 1993.
Unfortunately, those Final Four appearances were vacated due to Webber’s incident with Martin.
Today’s college sports landscape is drastically different, with players routinely inking deals in the millions to allow themselves to benefit off of their name and image, and with the transfer portal now affording players an opportunity to take their talents elsewhere much more easily.
Jackson Stone is a sports journalist for ClutchPoints with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, and CAA Football. The Mercer University senior from Atlanta is on track to graduate with a BA in communications, and he has bylines at FanSided and USA Today Sports’ Georgia athletics website.
NIL
Men’s Soccer 2025 Schedule Higlighted By 10 Home Contests
Story Links Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop head men’s soccer coach Daniel Ridenhour announced a 20-game slate for 2025 that includes three exhibitions. The Eagles will have 10 home contests that consists of two exhibitions and eight regular season matches. Winthrop kicks off its exhibition schedule on Saturday, Aug. […]

Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop head men’s soccer coach Daniel Ridenhour announced a 20-game slate for 2025 that includes three exhibitions.
The Eagles will have 10 home contests that consists of two exhibitions and eight regular season matches.
Winthrop kicks off its exhibition schedule on Saturday, Aug. 9 as it travels to Statesboro, Ga. to take on Georgia Southern. The next two exhibitions will be on Eagle Field as the Eagles host Mercer (Aug. 11) and UNC Wilmington (Aug. 16).
The regular season begins with three consecutive home games starting with Coastal Carolina on Aug. 21 followed by Campbell (Aug. 24) and Georgia State (Aug. 30). The remainder of the non-conference home slate includes Wofford (Sept. 13) and College of Charleston (Oct. 14).
The non-conference road schedule begins Sept. 5 with a trip to Queens followed by a trip down to Columbia, S.C. to take on South Carolina on Sept. 9. The remaining non-conference road games are ETSU (Oct. 8), Virginia Tech (Oct. 22) and Furman (Oct. 28).
Eagles begin Big South action on the road at Gardner-Webb on Sept. 20. Winthrop will also travel to Presbyterian College (Oct. 11), Longwood (Oct. 17) and High Point (Nov. 1) in league play.
The conference home opener is Sept. 27 against USC Upstate. The Eagles will also host Radford (Oct. 4) and UNC Asheville (Oct. 25).
The Big South Conference Championship will be Nov. 5-15 with the Top 6 teams of the regular season standings qualifying for the tournament. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game will all be played on the home field of the higher seed.
For the 2025 season, all home games at Eagle Field will be free admission.
Watch The Eagles Live
Select home and away Big South matches will air live through the Big South Network on ESPN+. To watch live on ESPN+ you must be a subscriber. For more information on how to subscribe, click here. Select non-conference games on the road will be available to watch on various platforms. Links will be made available on the women’s soccer schedule (when made available) on winthropeagles.com.
Follow The Eagles On Social
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men’s soccer program follow the Eagles on X (@Winthropsoccer), Instagram (@WinthropSoccer) and Facebook (/WinthropUniversitySoccer)
NIL
Michigan football listed as top NIL spender
The Michigan Wolverines established themselves as one of the premiere NIL spenders when they reportedly signed quarterback Bryce Underwood to a $10.5 million deal last November to get him to flip his commitment from LSU to Michigan. Now, they are being recognized for their deep pockets. According to a survey conducted by Pete Nakos of On3, […]

The Michigan Wolverines established themselves as one of the premiere NIL spenders when they reportedly signed quarterback Bryce Underwood to a $10.5 million deal last November to get him to flip his commitment from LSU to Michigan.
Now, they are being recognized for their deep pockets. According to a survey conducted by Pete Nakos of On3, the Wolverines are one of the top ten NIL spenders in the country. On the list, Michigan was tied for 7th with USC.
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The Wolverines and Trojans come in just ahead of noted SEC spenders Tennessee and Auburn. The list is led by Texas, Texas Tech, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M, and Miami.
Regarding the Wolverines’ spending, Nakos wrote:
“Michigan’s highest-paid player on this year’s roster is well documented. The Wolverines flipped On3’s No. 1 overall recruit from LSU in November. The quarterback inked a multi-year deal that is expected to pay out over $12 million in his career at Michigan. The Wolverines are another program that is expected to cross the $20 million threshold in 2025.”
With this type of spending, the Wolverines are able to keep themselves on the same playing field for top-end recruits and transfers. Coach Sherrone Moore can use this expanded budget to seek out more players like Bryce Underwood and Alabama transfer running back Justice Haynes.
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The Wolverines finished with the 6th-best 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. It is safe to assume the extra funds played a role in Michigan achieving that ranking by being able to offer competitive payouts to top recruits.
NIL
Duke legend drops fiery praise on Mikel Brown Jr. as Louisville hype hits full blast
Mikel Brown Jr. has gone viral this offseason after his performance in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. Brown secured his second gold medal for Team USA and was a crucial piece in the United States’ gold medal run. The 5-star point guard averaged 14.9 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting […]

Mikel Brown Jr. has gone viral this offseason after his performance in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. Brown secured his second gold medal for Team USA and was a crucial piece in the United States’ gold medal run.
The 5-star point guard averaged 14.9 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from beyond the arc. He led Team USA in points, assists, efficiency, and made 3-pointers, and was blatantly snubbed for the MVP award.
A former Duke star and NBA first-round pick went on air and stated Brown was snubbed, but went even further to say Louisville basketball’s incoming freshman has a chance to be the best player in college basketball next season and a future NBA All-Star.
Related: Mikel Brown Jr. brings Louisville exactly what they’ve craved since Donovan Mitchell
Louisville basketball’s Mikel Brown Jr. earns Duke legend’s fiery praise
Brown is emerging as everyone’s favorite point guard in college basketball, and the whole nation has been drooling over him for months now. The 5-star guard is ranked as high as No. 6 in the country and the No. 1 point guard in the 2025 cycle.
Entering the 2025-26 season, it is no surprise that Louisville fans are excited to see the elite point guard play. However, now the whole nation is counting down the days to see Brown in action, as he truly is fun to watch.
Former Duke legend and No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Austin Rivers, went on his podcast and gave Brown the biggest praise yet, and hearing it come from a former top 10 pick and a Duke All-American like Rivers has Louisville fans smiling from ear to ear.
“Mikel has talent, bro, like, he shoots the ball like three or four feet behind the line. I’m talking about NBA range now. You don’t see that in high school. His athletic ability has just skyrocketed over the past couple of years. He used to not have that, and now he can go to the lane and punch on you.”
It is no secret that Brown is going to make an immediate impact, but what separates him from other 5-stars is his 3-point shooting, as Rivers stated. When watching his film with Team USA, he was splashing 3-pointers from well beyond the arc, and was able to do it with hands in his face. He won the McDonald’s All-American 3-point contest and shattered the previous record.
The only negative thing people had to say about Brown was his size, and well, they simply can’t anymore.
“He also had a growth spurt,” Rivers stated on Brown. “He went from being this undersized point guard, he is like 6-foot-4 now. He has a size 14 shoe, man, I think the kid might have another inch or two to grow. He can shoot the (expletive) out of the ball, and he has feel, he can pass, this guy has vision, you can’t teach these things. He went to USA, he was the best player there. They gave AJ the MVP. Everybody who knows, who was there, knows Mikel played better than everybody, and was the best player on that team.”
Austin Rivers 🤝 Mikel Brown Jr
High praise for Louisville’s PG 🙌🔥
(🎥: offguardpod) pic.twitter.com/V45KMqRCRO
— Floyd Street Media (@FloydStMedia) July 13, 2025
The praise doesn’t just stop there. The former Duke Blue Devil went so far as to say Brown has the chance to be the best college basketball player and an NBA All-Star.
“I truly believe going to a program like Louisville, it is his show. They are going to give him the ball and be like, ‘We are going as far as you take us.’ And he is going to run the show there, man. Mikel Brown has the chance to be the best player out of college next year, and I think he has a chance to be a perennial NBA All-Star. I think he has the chance to be one of the most successful, decorated players in Orlando history.”
Rivers knows what it takes to be successful at the collegiate and pro-level. The Duke legend was a McDonald’s All-American who went on to win ACC Rookie of the Year, earn First-Team All-ACC honors, and be a top-10 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
He played 11 seasons in the NBA, with his best season coming in 2017-18, when he averaged 15.1 points, 4.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Brown’s praise from the former Duke star and NBA vet proves the Cardinals’ 5-star phenom is poised for not only a breakout season but a historic one. As Rivers said, Louisville will go as far as Brown takes them, and after watching his gold medal run, the Louisville fans are hoping for a similar result.
Related: Duke expert just admitted Louisville’s 5-star phenom is a walking nightmare
For all the latest on Louisville basketball’s offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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