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Colorado Buffaloes’ Julian Lewis Defines Separation Between NIL, Football

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis is one of the more decorated high school recruits to come out of Georgia in recent memory, and Lewis seems to be taking advantage of his success and cashing in on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. Lewis was originally a member of the recruiting class of 2026, but […]

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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis is one of the more decorated high school recruits to come out of Georgia in recent memory, and Lewis seems to be taking advantage of his success and cashing in on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals.

Lewis was originally a member of the recruiting class of 2026, but he re-classified and graduated ahead of schedule so that he could enroll early in college. As a former four-star recruit, Lewis was committed to the USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley before eventually flipping his commitment to the Colorado Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders.

Lewis was recently interviewed by USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer as part of an NIL opportunity with Fanstake, a company that lets fans raise NIL funds for their favorite student-athletes on their favorite college teams.

“I’m blessed to be a part of this era in college and high school sports. There are thousands of great athletes who came before us who didn’t have the opportunities today. NIL has nothing to do with my college career; football and NIL are two very separate things,” Lewis said to Schrotenboer.

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) and defensive end Arden Walker (53) during the spring game at Folsom Field.

Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis (10) and defensive end Arden Walker (53) during the spring game at Folsom Field. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

“Football is my priority. I have a responsibility to myself, my teammates, and my university to become the best player that I can be,” Lewis continued. “NIL is going well, I’m thankful for the opportunities that I have. My dad and my team have done a really good job creating opportunities for me.”

While the expectations are high surrounding Lewis in Colorado’s offense, he will have to compete with transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter to lead the Buffaloes in 2025. Regardless of his status as the starting or backup quarterback for Colorado, Lewis has one of the highest NIL valuations on the Buffaloes’ roster, according to On3.

MORE: Cleveland Browns Coach Addresses Shedeur Sanders’ Work Ethic At OTAs

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MORE: Cleveland Browns Quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ Stats From OTAs Released

Sitting behind only Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, Lewis has a $1.1 millon NIL valuation from On3.

Lewis revealed some of the advice he has received from his father regarding NIL and football:

“He’s always reminding me that I have two jobs: QB and entrepreneur,” Lewis told Shcrotenboer.

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the spring game at Folsom Field.

Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the spring game at Folsom Field. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The advice has paid off, with Lewis becoming one of the more popular high school recruits for his class. Additionally, Lewis lands in a great spot to build his brand with Colorado. “Coach Prime,” with the help of Deion Sanders Jr. and Well Off Media’s social media presence, has given fans unprecedented access to the Buffaloes’ program, helping to grow the star power of former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

Schrotenboer asked Lewis if NIL played a factor in his decision to flip his commitment from USC to Colorado, but Lewis clarified his goals:

“No it wasn’t. It really came down to where I wanted to live and the opportunity to follow Shedeur who everyone knew was leaving for the NFL,” Lewis answered.



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Paul Finebaum picks USC’s Lincoln Riley as college football coach under the most pressure in 2025

Career offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Lincoln Riley emerged as one of college football’s elite once he was promoted to Oklahoma’s head coach in 2017. With Riley at the helm, the Sooners compiled a 55-10 (37-7) record, made trips to three consecutive College Football Playoffs (2017-2019) and boasted two Heisman-winning quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray). Near […]

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Career offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Lincoln Riley emerged as one of college football’s elite once he was promoted to Oklahoma’s head coach in 2017. With Riley at the helm, the Sooners compiled a 55-10 (37-7) record, made trips to three consecutive College Football Playoffs (2017-2019) and boasted two Heisman-winning quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray).

Near the end of his fifth season in Norman, however, it was announced prior to Oklahoma‘s 2021 Alamo Bowl matchup against Oregon that Riley would be heading west for the USC job. The program, which was once at the forefront of the college football landscape, had struggled immensely as of late. The Trojans posted a lowly 22-21 record in Clay Helton‘s final four seasons (2018-2021).

Great things were expected immediately from Riley at USC, but that just hasn’t been the case. Although quarterback Caleb Williams became the third arm to win the Heisman Trophy under Riley, the Trojans are just 26-14 (17-10) with one top-25 finish in his three seasons at the helm.

This is why ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum labeled Riley as the coach under the most pressure in 2025. He did so on Thursday morning’s edition of “Get Up.”

Lincoln Riley,” Finebaum said in confidence. “And you asked the question, why? Because he has simply underperformed. He had a pretty decent first year, but since then, it has been very rocky. And quite frankly, I think he would already be gone if it wasn’t for about an $80 million buyout. Even for Southern Cal, that might be too much money.”

Promising season went south fast for USC in 2024

The 2025 season will mark the second for USC in the Big Ten conference following its jump from the sinking ship that was the Pac-12. Its 2024 campaign opened strong with a 27-20 win over No. 13 LSU in the Vegas Kickoff Classic, but it went just 4-5 in Big Ten play en route to an appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl.

This offseason, Riley promoted quarterbacks coach Luke Huard to offensive coordinator following the departure of Josh Henson to Purdue. USC also returns quarterback Jayden Maiava, who will replace Miller Moss (transferred to Louisville). Maiava passed for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions in seven games last season.

Maiava shined in marquee games against Notre Dame and Texas A&M, passing for a combined 655 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. However good he ends up being will be instrumental for a successful season at USC.

The Trojans open the season against Missouri State on August 30. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kick.



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The new college sports agency is rejecting some athlete NIL deals with donor-backed collectives | National

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools. Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and […]

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The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering today’s version of the collective, groups that are closely affiliated with schools and that, in the early days of NIL after July 2021, proved the most efficient way for schools to indirectly cut deals with players.

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Already, collectives affiliated with Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others have announced they’re shutting down. Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois are among those that have announced plans with Learfield, a media and technology company with decades of licensing and other experience across college athletics, to help arrange NIL deals.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established by the new College Sports Commission.

In its letter to the ADs, the CSC said more than 1,500 deals have been cleared since NIL Go launched on June 11, “ranging in value from three figures to seven figures.” More than 12,000 athletes and 1,100 institutional users have registered to use the system.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.

A deal, however, could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.

“In other words, NIL collectives may act as marketing agencies that match student-athletes with businesses that have a valid business purpose and seek to use the student’s NIL to promote their businesses,” the letter said.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.



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Ryan Clark takes aim at Robert Griffin III amid public spat with Angel Reese

Ryan Clark and Robert Griffin III are getting after it on social media again. The two former NFL players turned analysts rekindled their beef after some drama pertaining to the former Heisman Trophy winner and Angel Reese. It all started when Griffin III claimed to have spoken with Reese’s inner circle about her rivalry with […]

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Ryan Clark and Robert Griffin III are getting after it on social media again. The two former NFL players turned analysts rekindled their beef after some drama pertaining to the former Heisman Trophy winner and Angel Reese.

It all started when Griffin III claimed to have spoken with Reese’s inner circle about her rivalry with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. On X/Twitter, the Griffin III told Reese that she should “tighten” her circle instead of “trying to check” him.

“I spoke up in support of Angel Reese against racism not to start drama,” Griffin III wrote. “But I won’t let anyone twist the truth just because it’s inconvenient to them. Instead of trying to check me, just tighten up your circle.

“They calling me and saying you hate Caitlin Clark, not the other way around. I have zero interest in being the villain in anyone’s story. I just want to have fun, tell the truth and celebrate sports. But I won’t pretend or lie just to protect feelings.”

The story centered around Griffin III going after the fans who were attacking Reese for being on the cover of NBA 2K26. In the social media post, Griffin III said people in Reese’s inner circle talked to him about her relationship with Caitlin Clark, which ticked off the Chicago Sky star.

“People in Angel’s inner circle called me and told me I was right and Angel Reese has grown to hate Caitlin Clark because of the media always asking her about Caitlin and being constantly compared to her,” Griffin wrote. Reese saw the post later in the morning, and decided to go after Griffin III.

“Lying on this app when everybody know the first and last name of everybody in my circle for clout is nastyyyy work,” Reese wrote. It’s clear Reese doesn’t believe that Griffin spoke to anyone close to her about her peer in the Indiana Fever star.

That prompted the aforementioned Ryan Clark to take aim at Griffin III. He claimed the former pro quarterback was a liar and that he should just admit his mistake and move on from the situation.

“Desperation will force you to make things up!” the former NFL defensive back wrote. “It’s ok to take the L & move on some times. Lying just makes it worse.”

Alas, this is par for the course, as Ryan Clark has been a staunch defender of Reese throughout her rise to fame. In defending her and getting a shot off at someone he’s had issues with in the past in Griffin III, he killed two birds with one stone.

More on Ryan Clark, Robert Griffin III

Additionally, the duo has found themselves embroiled in a social media war due to a situation regarding Reese before. In May, Ryan Clark had an issue with Griffin III, claiming that Reese hated Caitlin Clark, and his explanation on the matter.

“It could be the fact that Aliyah Boston had to save Angel Reese from ending her career,” Griffin said about an incident between Clark and Reese during a Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game. “After the foul, Caitlin Clark put on Angel Reese, and Angel Reese tried to hit her. But if it wasn’t for Aliyah Boston putting her arms in the way, Angel Reese would not be playing basketball anymore, because she was going to sucker punch Caitlin Clark.

“Now, you tell me a time when you’ve seen somebody get fouled on a basketball court in a professional league, where they try to almost sucker punch somebody that they were friends with, because of a hard foul?”

All told, Angel Reese, who played at LSU, is having a strong start to her WNBA career. The 23-year-old is averaging 13.3 points and 12.8 rebounds this year. In 2024, Reese finished second in Rookie of the Year voting (behind Clark) after averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds.

She’s hoping to keep the focus on her play on the court. Meanwhile, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Clark seem to love to use her to argue with each other. It seems like this rivalry is going to be an everlasting one.

— On3’s Brian Jones contributed to this article.



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College Football Has a New NIL Powerhouse and Coaches Are Calling it ‘Ridiculous’

College Football Has a New NIL Powerhouse and Coaches Are Calling it ‘Ridiculous’ originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As of July 1, schools are able to pay their athletes directly, thanks to the June 6 House v. NCAA settlement. Advertisement This monumental ruling allows schools to distribute $20.5 million however they’d like among their athletes. […]

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College Football Has a New NIL Powerhouse and Coaches Are Calling it ‘Ridiculous’ originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

As of July 1, schools are able to pay their athletes directly, thanks to the June 6 House v. NCAA settlement.

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This monumental ruling allows schools to distribute $20.5 million however they’d like among their athletes. For some programs that didn’t have the strongest NIL backing, this helps level the playing field. For those who were already spending large amounts on their roster, it only makes them stronger.

The latter would apply to programs such as the Texas Longhorns, Ohio State Buckeyes, Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines, among other perennial powers. However, over the past year, the Texas Tech Red Raiders have also been known to throw around some cash.

They put together the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country, and according to a report by The Athletic, are spending so much that it is frustrating other coaches.

“Ridiculous. … They’re not just outbidding, they’re outbidding (other teams) by 3X,” one coach told The Athletic. “Wild, but it will be interesting. If the players are good kids, about the right things and about winning, I think it’ll go great. If they’re about themselves, the first time adversity hits will define them.”

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Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire, center, looks on.

Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire, center, looks on.

One coach even went as far as to admit they were “jealous.”

The report confirmed that Texas Tech will spend $55 million in the 2025-26 season in NIL across all sports. While many may be wondering where this large influx of cash flow is coming from, the answer is quite simple. The surge in funds comes via oil tycoon Cody Campbell.

According to On3, the Texas Tech booster sold his oil and natural gas company in February for approximately $4.08 billion in cash and stock.

While this is exciting for Tech fans and threatening to those around the country, the pressure is only growing for a program that has never appeared in a Big 12 Championship Game. Only time will tell if the investment pays off, but clearly, Campbell is looking to change the trajectory of the program.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.



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Deion Sanders says he wishes college football had a salary cap

University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders called for a salary cap for college football, saying the name, image, and likeness (NIL) space in the NCAA has “gone crazy” while speaking at Big 12 Media Days. “I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said, according to ESPN. “Like, the top-of-the-line player makes this, and if […]

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University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders called for a salary cap for college football, saying the name, image, and likeness (NIL) space in the NCAA has “gone crazy” while speaking at Big 12 Media Days.

“I wish there was a cap,” Sanders said, according to ESPN. “Like, the top-of-the-line player makes this, and if you’re not that type of guy, you know you’re not going to make that. That’s what the NFL does … So the problem is, you got a guy that’s not that darn good, but he could go to another school and they give him a half million dollars. You can’t compete with that. And it don’t make sense.”

The June 6 settlement of the House v. NCAA class action lawsuit, which accused the NCAA of illegally limiting athlete compensation, allows schools to pay athletes directly. It instituted a revenue-sharing cap, set at $20.5 million for the 2025-26 school year. Sanders doesn’t believe that’s enough to level the playing field.

“I wish it was truly equality,” he said. “Now they go back to doing stuff under the table. They go back to the agents. Now you’ve got parents trying to be agents, you’ve got the homeboys trying to be agents, you’ve got the friends trying to be agents. You got a lot of bull junk going on. And quite frankly, we’re sick of it. I’ll say it for everybody: We’re sick of it.”

Sanders claimed that he sees college players get offers from other schools despite not being in the transfer portal.

“How is that possible when the guys isn’t in the portal? How is that?” Sanders said, according to The Athletic. “Now, if that was one of my players, y’all would be all over it. I’m trying to figure out how can somebody say, ‘You’ve got a $5 million offer.’ How? And the kid isn’t in the portal. We need to be upright and upstanding.”

After going 4-8 in Sanders’ first season at the helm, Colorado improved to 9-4 with an Alamo Bowl appearance last year. The Buffaloes are moving on from stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, and had a solid recruiting class with 13 enrollees from the class of 2025, led by four-star quarterback Julian Lewis. They also have 33 incoming transfers, according to 247Sports.



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Avoli’s Top NIL Volleyball Athlete Partnerships

Data provided by Student Athlete Score (July 10th, 2025) – Avoli, a leading volleyball performance brand, continues to make waves in the college sports world with its impressive roster of NIL athlete partnerships. Known for its focus on empowering the next generation of volleyball players, Avoli has strategically aligned with some of the top collegiate […]

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Data provided by Student Athlete Score

(July 10th, 2025) – Avoli, a leading volleyball performance brand, continues to make waves in the college sports world with its impressive roster of NIL athlete partnerships. Known for its focus on empowering the next generation of volleyball players, Avoli has strategically aligned with some of the top collegiate talent across the country. From Texas to Virginia and USC to Dayton, these partnerships reflect a growing trend of niche sports brands leveraging NIL to build deeper connections with athletes and fans alike.



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