NIL

Clearinghouse Denial of NIL Deals to Be Limited by Arbitration

One of the more controversial features of the approved House settlement is a clearinghouse review of NIL deals that exceed $600 to ensure they are legitimately about use of an athlete’s right of publicity and not veiled payments to convince an athlete to attend and remain at a school. Some have speculated that the denial of proposed NIL […]

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2 months ago

June 8, 2025

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Clearinghouse Denial of NIL Deals to Be Limited by Arbitration

One of the more controversial features of the approved House settlement is a clearinghouse review of NIL deals that exceed $600 to ensure they are legitimately about use of an athlete’s right of publicity and not veiled payments to convince an athlete to attend and remain at a school.

Some have speculated that the denial of proposed NIL deals will motivate athletes and the businesses with whom they seek to partner to sue the clearinghouse, and perhaps other defendants. Possible claims could include alleged violations of state NIL statutes, tortious interference with prospective NIL contracts and suppression of economic opportunities as protected by state and federal antitrust laws.

There’s an important factor being overlooked: The role of arbitration, which will make it far more difficult for an athlete or a company with which the athlete seeks to sign an NIL deal to wage a successful lawsuit.

The narrow means of challenging arbitration awards will likely deter attorneys who would otherwise jump at the chance to bring a lawsuit that would attract media attention. The prospect of overcoming judicial deference to an arbitration award is an important and often overlooked factor.

Deloitte, in partnership with the new College Sports Commission, will oversee NIL Go. The clearinghouse will use a fair market algorithm to assess if an NIL deal has a plausible relationship to the value of the athlete’s right of publicity in the context of a proposed deal. Hypothetically, an athlete being offered $1 million to sign with a local car dealership that typically pays endorsers less than $10,000 would need to explain the logic of the $1 million amount.

While NIL is a relatively new term, it reflects a longstanding legal principle–the right of publicity–that is protected by states’ laws. This right has played an instrumental role in protecting actors, musicians and pro athletes from misappropriation of their unique and marketable personal qualities. College athletes have always had the right of publicity, but until the NCAA’s hand was forced by Ed O’Bannon’s case over the unlicensed use of athletes’ likenesses in video games and states enacting NIL statutes, NCAA rules had conditioned eligibility on (among other things) athletes not profiting from their identity.

Since 2021, NIL has sometimes morphed into a vehicle to pay athletes to attend and remain at a school. Even if those arrangements are called “NIL deals,” they’re substantively not about NIL. They are pay-for-play arrangements, which remain prohibited by NCAA rules.

NIL Go will be charged with clearing or not clearing NIL deals. In instances where more review is needed, the College Sports Commission will conduct its own screening. Athletes whose deals are rejected will have the chance to revise those deals and submit revisions for review. They can also file an appeal to neutral arbitration.

Arbitration is a private dispute resolution forum that parties contractually assent to use in lieu of litigation. Although arbitration and litigation are sometimes discussed interchangeably, they are quite different. Arbitration is conducted behind closed doors, meaning that–unlike in litigation– writing filings, evidence, testimony and transcripts are shielded from public review. There is no judge or jury in an arbitration. Instead, the arbitrator is typically a subject matter expert, who is usually an attorney with relevant expertise and is sometimes a law professor or retired judge. The arbitrator issues a decision, known as an “award,” and it is an order that the parties have contractually agreed to follow.

As repeatedly seen in sports law in recent years, whether it’s when NFL coaches sue the NFL over employment disputes, when NFL agents sue one another over client recruitment or when NBA teamssuing each other over trade secrets, judges who are asked to vacate arbitration awards are very reluctant to do so.

The Federal Arbitration Act and the Labor Management Relations Act instruct that judges are generally expected to sustain arbitration awards when the loser challenges them in court. There are only exceptional circumstances, such as when the award was procured by fraud or when the arbitrator refused to consider relevant evidence or follow basic legal principles, that warrant vacating an award. Some estimates find that judges vacate awards only around 10% of the time. Even when a judge vacates an arbitration award, the “winner” of that court ruling doesn’t necessarily “win” the dispute. Instead, they ordinarily get another shot at arbitration—where they might lose again.

To be sure, there are variables with arbitration review of clearinghouse decisions regarding NIL deals. Arbitration ordinarily arises in circumstances where the parties are in an employment or consumer relationship. When an NFL coach signs an employment contract, the contract will contain an arbitration provision. When a consumer buys a new computer, the fine print usually details an arbitration provision.

Under current applications of law, a college athlete is not an employee. The athlete is also not acting as a consumer when signing an NIL deal. The athlete is instead a student who wishes to sign an NIL deal with a third party wherein they would be an independent contractor. That NIL deal is not what gives rise to arbitration—it is instead the approved House settlement’s procedure for injunctive relief. The settlement governs the athlete like other class members and, as a contract, the settlement has a nexus to the athlete. But it is a different relationship from employment or consumer contexts and different from, say, an NBA team owner contractually agreeing to the league commissioner having authority to review team-to-team disputes.

Whether distinctions in the college sports context prove to be distinctions without making a legal difference remains to be seen. But those predicting an avalanche of college athletes suing over denied NIL deals should be a factor in the role of arbitration as a major deterrent to litigation.

NIL

Tom Brady questions priorities in college football’s NIL era

College football looks different from Tom Brady’s days at Michigan, when the future Hall of Fame quarterback played in an era where athletes couldn’t capitalize off their name, image and likeness. Now, college athletes can make millions of dollars. That, coupled with the frequent use of the transfer portal, has Brady thankful he didn’t need […]

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45 minutes ago

August 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Now, college athletes can make millions of dollars.

That, coupled with the frequent use of the transfer portal, has Brady thankful he didn’t need to deal with some of what athletes do now.

“My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive,” Brady said on “The Joel Klatt Show.” “Those traits transformed my life as a professional. I was ready to compete against anybody, because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence in myself that whatever I faced, I could overcome that.

“I think if we take that away from a young student athlete, to say, ‘You know what, I know, it’s tough to compete, but what we’re going to do before you have to compete, we’re actually going to put you somewhere else so that you don’t have to compete,’” he continued. “That is absolutely the wrong thing to do to a young child.”

Brady didn’t blame the athletes, but rather challenged their parents to “teach your kid the right values.”

“The value isn’t always about the last dollar,” he said. “We’re valuing the wrong things. I’m not saying it’s not important. It’s one of 10 things that are important, and certainly to me, it’s not the most important. So when kids do go through that the right way, they’re actually learning the right values. When you have the right values in life, that’s going to sustain you as you move on through the rest of your life.”

This isn’t the first time Brady has been critical of where college football is going. During a 2024 appearance on the “Stephen A. Smith Show,” Brady said the current state of the NFL has been “dumbed down” because there are no longer college programs, just college teams.

Brady played at Michigan from 1995-1999. His path to become the Wolverines’ starter was an uphill climb. But things are different now in the college football landscape. Athletes want to go where they’ll have a chance to not only play, but make money during their college years.

And Brady wonders if they’ll prioritize making money over learning sustainable traits.

“Their frontal lobes aren’t even fully developed yet, and now we’re tempting them with real-life, adult situations and their parents, and now they have agents,” Brady said. “I’m sure it’s a very confusing time, and I’m sure a lot of parents are confused. I’m sure a lot of kids are confused, but because we’re just talking about money, money, money, money, like, that’s the only value in college. Is that what we’re saying? That, to me, the priorities are a bit messed up.”

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NIL is Now Approved for WV High School and Middle Schoolers

CHARLESTON- In the latest episode of things we thought we would never see, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) has now been approved for high schoolers and middle school athletes in West Virginia which means players can be paid to play high school–and yes, middle school– sports in the Mountain state. The WVSSAC approved the policy […]

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1 hour ago

August 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NIL is Now Approved for WV High School and Middle Schoolers

CHARLESTON- In the latest episode of things we thought we would never see, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) has now been approved for high schoolers and middle school athletes in West Virginia which means players can be paid to play high school–and yes, middle school– sports in the Mountain state.

The WVSSAC approved the policy last month and went into full effect last Friday.

Things are a little confusing because if a player participates in a local commercial and receives funds from that company or business, they cannot mention their school name or wear any clothing with their school’s logo because THAT would damage their eligibility as an amateur athlete.

Also, no school employees of any kind, including coaches can be involved in the student’s NIL’s use. The WVSSAC encourages students and parents to reach out to the Director of Compliance for eligibility questions and concerns.

How it Started:

NIL began at the college level in 2021 and was actually spearheaded by former WVU running back Shawne Alston. He disagreed that a school could make millions of dollars off an athlete’s name and the athlete received nothing. Well, legally.

When NIL started, it was meant for players to receive a portion of funds for autographs, memorabilia sold, and things like that. However, it has turned into a free-for-all with almost literally no end in sight, although there have been discussions about dollar limits, but that is most likely a few years down the road.

NIL

NIL Oversight Tightens as Athlete Payments Reach New Scale

Last Updated on August 11, 2025 More than $1.6 billion in NIL money is expected to paid out to college athletes this year according to Opendorse, much of it managed by outside parties with little direct supervision. The arrangement has added pressure on athletic departments already dealing with contract disputes, confusing tax requirements, and uneven […]

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2 hours ago

August 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Last Updated on August 11, 2025

More than $1.6 billion in NIL money is expected to paid out to college athletes this year according to Opendorse, much of it managed by outside parties with little direct supervision. The arrangement has added pressure on athletic departments already dealing with contract disputes, confusing tax requirements, and uneven application of existing rules. Federal agencies may soon be stepping in to reassert control.

An executive order from President Trump has asked the The Department of Education, Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Trade Commission to get involved by providing guidance and clarifications focused on issues ranging from the application of Title IX with regards to revenue sharing to athletes’ status as non-employees.

As athletic departments begin to implement revenue sharing, some compliance departments have started pointing to industries where large sums move cleanly, without delays or extended oversight. According to Esports Insider payout speed insights, top betting platforms now process user withdrawals in minutes through fully automated systems built for simple, secure, and instant payments. With the gap in speed and certainty growing, these differences in infrastructure are reshaping how programs weigh reliability and turnaround speed.

New guidelines put in place by the NCAA this July place direct responsibility on schools to manage funding streams with reporting guidelines in place. Instead of relying on third-party organizations, institutions will soon be required to structure NIL payouts under a regulated cap, with up to $20.5 million annually permitted for direct distribution to athletes.

That figure, which sits outside the scholarship budget, marks the beginning of a phased system expected to reach $33 million per year, per institution, over the next decade. Most of the money will still concentrate on football and men’s basketball, but that may change if there are future Title IX challenges or guidance from the federal government.

In response, several Division I universities have started building their own NIL tracking tools, borrowing from fintech models that show payments as they happen. These systems are still in early stages, but what once felt like a chaotic experiment is settling into a $1 billion system that demands precision, and those adjusting in motion are already setting the pace.

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NIL

Rick Pitino speaks on coaching future, eventual retirement plans

Rick Pitino is entering the 37th season of his career as a head coach in college basketball. However, in turning the age of 73 next month, retirement naturally continues to come up with Pitino. Pitino addressed his future in coaching and eventual retirement in an interview with Jon Rothstein on ‘Inside College Basketball Now’ on […]

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2 hours ago

August 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Rick Pitino is entering the 37th season of his career as a head coach in college basketball. However, in turning the age of 73 next month, retirement naturally continues to come up with Pitino.

Pitino addressed his future in coaching and eventual retirement in an interview with Jon Rothstein on ‘Inside College Basketball Now’ on Monday. He referenced other older coaches across sports that proved that, so long as he is willing able to do it, he’ll have what it takes to remain on the sideline until he decides otherwise.

“Yeah, you know, you hit the nail on the head,” said Pitino. “As long as you’re physically and mentally able to do it, there’s no reason (to retire)…As long as you have great passion, as long as you have great passion, you love the game, you love coaching.”

Pitino is already one of the greatest coaches in the history of collegiate ‘hoops. He’s top-five all-time in wins, with a chance to move into third as early as this season, with 885 victories while, in leading all six of his programs to the NCAA Tournament, being the only coach to win a national title at two separate schools with one apiece at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (Vacated – 2013). That includes his latest, current tenure in turning around St. John’s at 51-18 (.739) overall the last two years while, this past season, coming off conference titles in the Big East and one of the program’s highest-ever seeds in March Madness to earn himself the honor as Co-AP National Coach of the Year.

With that, not even including his professional experience in the states and overseas, Pitino is going to retire at some point as an all-time great. It’s just a matter of if he ends his career in college with the Red Storm, pending what continues to happen across the sport as a whole, or if he’d decide to go back for another stint in Europe.

“I get asked this all the time – Would you want to coach anywhere else? Would you want to go back to professional basketball?” said Pitino. “I love the EuroLeague. I could see myself possibly coaching there again. But I don’t see myself coaching anywhere else in college basketball. Last year, two or three schools called me to see if I had any interest in moving on, and I said, nah, I don’t really have any interest in moving on because I’m really enjoying playing at Madison Square Garden. But, I don’t think I’d want to coach in the NBA ever again. It’s too many games. So, I think I’m pretty much (here).”

“You don’t know what’s going to happen landscape-wise. I wanted to go three years at St. John’s minimum. I wanted to try to complete my contract. But, I’ve got the three years in and let’s see what develops with college basketball, how much is it going to change,” Pitino said. “I don’t know right now.”

Back in April, Pitino gave himself three to five more years, which could mean he would at most finish out this decade. Still, all things considered right now, especially not knowing what else he’d do besides coach, he’s in a great place, and has even been reenergized in the job, with his present work in Queens.

“(St. John’s) is just a thrill for me,” said Pitino. “(Coaching) keeps you young. It really does keep you young. You know, (Richard Pitino) and I had a huge discussion the other night. He said, ‘Why would you ever retire?’. And I said, well, you get on in age. And he said, ‘Yeah, but, what would you do?’, he said, ‘You suck at golf. What else would you do?’…I said I agree with you. You know, I don’t know what else I would do. I think the blessing for me is, I was two years out of the game and, boy, did I miss it. Boy, did I miss it…If I’m without basketball, I think I would age considerably.”

“When you’re around 13, 14 young players? Like, I’ve had the greatest summer this year I could have,” Pitino said. “Professionally, as far as basketball is concerned, it was the best summer I’ve had in a long time because these athletes…wanting to learn so much about the game was so refreshing. These guys were absolutely great.”

We probably only have a handful of seasons left to see Pitino coach, specifically so in the college game. That said, as long as he’s able to, Pitino will stay on the sideline until the time comes that he can’t or won’t any longer.

“If you’re healthy, if you’re with it? Just make it happen,” said Pitino. “Make it happen.”

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Verma to guide Mizzou through NIL and roster planning |

Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz has made one thing clear on Missouri’s hire of Gaurav Verma: He is not a general manager. While the GM position is becoming a more prevalent role across other programs and sports — including Tim Fuller for Mizzou men’s basketball — it isn’t something Drinkwitz is currently seeking. Instead, Verma […]

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3 hours ago

August 12, 2025

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Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz has made one thing clear on Missouri’s hire of Gaurav Verma: He is not a general manager.

While the GM position is becoming a more prevalent role across other programs and sports — including Tim Fuller for Mizzou men’s basketball — it isn’t something Drinkwitz is currently seeking.

Instead, Verma will step into a role as director of football strategy and finance.

“I just want to make it clear: he’s not a GM. … That’s not even kind of what we did,” Drinkwitz said Saturday in a news conference. “It’s really just roster construction; he doesn’t have the ability to fire me.”

Verma will be the business guru of sorts for Missouri, or as Drinkwitz likes to call it, “G-Money.” The idea of his role is navigating the program through revenue sharing and contract management amid the expansion of NIL with the $2.8 billion House settlement.

With plenty of experience under his belt in the finance world, Verma has the credentials to take on such a role.

What is Verma bringing to Mizzou?

Verma received a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Johns Hopkins in 2017. He later earned an MBA in finance from MIT in 2023.

Verma’s experience primarily consists of investment banking and data science. However, his most recent position came with the Denver Broncos as a salary cap specialist, per a Mizzou Athletics news release. According to his LinkedIn profile, it was also an administrative role.

Although the NFL salary cap is different than that of college football, Verma seems to be tackling a similar job with Missouri. Now that athletic departments can share up to $20.5 million of revenue with student-athletes, having someone with his background can help ensure the football program’s share is distributed properly.

What Verma provides isn’t going to directly translate on to the field, but he will be an important part of what the Tigers can build in the future.

“With college football evolving rapidly through revenue sharing and strategic roster management, I’m excited to apply my background in finance and the NFL to help Mizzou build sustainably competitive teams on the sport’s biggest stage — the SEC,” Verma said Friday in a news release.

What does the role mean?

Verma is the first-ever director of football strategy and finance at Mizzou, so there isn’t much groundwork to estimate what his impact could look like. However, there are enough details to get an idea.

These following job responsibilities are stated in the news release:

Roster, scholarship and revenue cap planning
Talent evaluation and scouting operations
Recruiting calendar and logistics
Analytics and recruiting infrastructure
Compliance, NIL and interdepartmental collaboration

Verma will be reporting directly to Drinkwitz on any matters, while also collaborating with the “recruiting staff, compliance department, athletics administration and Every True Tiger Brands.”

So, what does that all mean?

Unlike Fuller, Verma isn’t expected to handle much of the player and agent relations. His job ultimately comes down to strategic planning for the program’s finances — an area that Drinkwitz can now take less of a responsibility in. The NIL expansion brings a lot of question marks, but he can help answer them.

As Drinkwitz mentioned Saturday, Verma will be able to inform the program on what the contracts of players look like. The third-string running back, a second-year returner and incoming recruits all bring different value, and he can determine what the designated salary for each should look like. In roster building, this should ensure stability and continuity.

As college athletics undergo substantial changes, Verma’s hire puts Mizzou in a position to be ready for them.

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NIL

Michigan legend Tom Brady on current college athletics landscape: ‘The priorities are a bit messed up’

Former Michigan Wolverines football quarterback Tom Brady went 20-5 as a starter in college, before going on to win seven Super Bowls in the NFL. Having retired following the 2022 season, Brady will undoubtedly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028. Brady often credits his career at Michigan for setting up […]

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4 hours ago

August 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Former Michigan Wolverines football quarterback Tom Brady went 20-5 as a starter in college, before going on to win seven Super Bowls in the NFL. Having retired following the 2022 season, Brady will undoubtedly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028.

Brady often credits his career at Michigan for setting up the success he had in the pros. He was buried on the depth chart to start, persevered, earned a starting job but was continued to be pushed, got drafted in the sixth round and learned how to climb the ranks in the NFL, too.

The 48-year-old joined Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt on ‘Big Noon Conversations,’ discussing, among many other topics, the current landscape of college football and how it relates to his time at Michigan.

The five-time Super Bowl MVP has been vocal about his concerns with how the unlimited transfer rule and NIL are shaping college athletics. He believes today’s youth may be missing out on experiences and lessons that they could benefit from long term.

“You look at your own personal experience with college football and the blessing that college football was for me and how it really propelled me into a successful professional career,” Brady said. “There were so many lessons that I learned in college about competition, about growing up, about responsibility and accountability, about team, about decision-making, about work ethic, about leadership.

“All of those sustainable traits that I learned at Michigan, through not only my doing, my experience, but watching some of the other incredible men that I got to be a part of on that team and teams that I was a part of, for my entire life I can look back on that and be grateful.”

In college, and subsequently throughout life, Brady faced adversity head on.

“I didn’t go to three different colleges,” the Michigan legend continued. “I didn’t leave college when it seemed like I wasn’t gonna play. I wasn’t at college to do anything other than have a great college experience, to go to school, to have camaraderie with my teammates and to compete at a high level. That’s really where the focus was. And at a young age, that’s where I think the focus needs to be.”

The focus now, Brady implied, is on the money and finding the path of least resistence.

“The commercialization of what’s happened in college sports, I wonder whether many kids these days will learn those sustainable traits that I think are invaluable to their life and life experience,” he said. “Are we doing them a disservice because we’re tempting them with some money in their pocket?

“It’s very intriguing to get that quick dollar. Look, we had a $400 scholarship check, and it seemed like I was rich. It really did. I’m sure most kids felt like that. We got pizza cards to go to dinner, and we had training table, and it was an amazing experience. We didn’t think about the money.

“These kids are at such young ages. Their frontal lobes aren’t even fully developed yet, and now we’re tempting them with real life, adult situations — and their parents, and now they have agents. I’m sure it’s a very confusing time, and I’m sure a lot of parents are confused, I’m sure a lot of kids are confused.

“But because we’re just talking about money, money, money, money … that’s the only value in college? Is that what we’re saying? To me, the priorities are a bit messed up.”

Would Tom Brady have stayed at Michigan if current rules were in place?

In the past, Brady has discussed how he considered leaving Michigan for California, but decided to stick it out after conversations with head coach Lloyd Carr and athletic counselor Greg Harden, who’d hammer home the point of making the most of his opportunities and not worrying about those he was competing with.

In those days, a football player would’ve had to sit out a year before becoming eligible at a new school. But if the current rules were in place, he would’ve been able to play right away. Brady was asked if he would’ve stayed at Michigan given the new transfer freedom that current athletes have.

“It’s such a hypothetical situation or question to think about,” the former Michigan quarterback said. “The only thing I could answer is to say that based on what my experience was, I wouldn’t want it any other way than the way that I did it.

“My college experience was very challenging. It was very competitive. The lessons I learned in college — and certainly about competition — those traits transformed my life as a professional. I was ready to compete against anybody, because the competition in college toughened me up so much that I had a self-belief and self-confidence that whatever I was faced with, I could overcome that.

“If we take that away from a young student athlete to say, ‘You know what? I know it’s tough to compete. But you know what we’re gonna do: Before you have to compete, we’re actually going to put you somewhere else so that you don’t have to compete.’ That is absolutely the wrong thing to do to a young child.

“And I would challenge all the coaches and all the parents, they’re the ones that have to guide these kids. You can’t expect a 17- or 18-year-old to make these great decisions. They’re young. They don’t have life experience. It should be the parents. Be a good parent! Teach your kid the right values! What’s gonna sustain them in their careers over a period of time? Whether it’s football or whether it’s business or whether it’s teaching or law school or medical school or a trade, whatever you want to do.

“You’re gonna have to go through hard things in your life, you’re gonna have to make tough choices. And the value isn’t always about the last dollar. All of these things that are happening in college sports, we’re prioritizing the wrong things. We’re valuing the wrong things.

“I’m not saying it’s not important. It’s one of 10 things that are important. And certainly, to me, it’s not the most important. So when kids do go through that the right way, they’re actually learning the right values. When you have the right values in life, that’s gonna sustain you as you move on through the rest of your life.”

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