NIL

NFL Draft Fashion: Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter Stand Out

Hours before Ashton Jeanty, a running back with Sonic the Hedgehog speed, was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the sixth pick at Thursday’s first round of the N.F.L. draft, he clomped onto the red carpet in a pair of never-worn-before Crocs with shimmery Swarovski crystals across the toe. The crystaled clogs were teased […]

Published

3 weeks ago

April 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The crystaled clogs were teased hours earlier on Crocs’s Instagram, accompanied by a droll caption: “yes, they’re real Swarovski.” Per the Crocs website, the Liberaced clogs aren’t available until May 6. Yet, if ever there was an occasion to introduce them, it was draft night.

In recent years the N.F.L. draft has mutated from an annual ritual with all the theatrics of a plumber’s convention, to a runway show for the freakishly fit.

It’s now taken on a new dimension in the post-N.I.L. era (referring to name, image, likeness, the 2021 change in N.C.A.A. policy that allowed college athletes to earn money). To watch the N.F.L. draft now is to detect just how adept these barely-20-somethings are at personal branding. If Deion Sanders (whose son Shedeur became the story of the night, falling out of the first round, well below his projection) was ahead of his time when he was drafted in 1989, challenging the league’s conservatism by wearing blocky sunglasses and several gold chains, that look-at-me tendency is all too pervasive now.

Today, college players that ascend to the N.F.L. enter the league with an acute understanding of themselves not just as players, but as brands — with all the promotional value that comes along from that.

“Every player is now realizing and learning that they’re their own big machine,” said Kyle Smith, the N.F.L.’s fashion editor, who helps the league and its players build relationships in the fashion industry. For top prospects, Mr. Smith said the draft “is the first time that the public really gets to see them and obviously they use fashion to express who they are.”

Often, that expression came through literally: Matthew Golden, who went to the Green Bay Packers with the 23rd pick, was Mr. Midas in a golden “G” necklace and a rococo-gilded suit as abashed as Versailles wallpaper. As he told a reporter from GQ, “My last name Golden, it just made too much sense to me.”

There was a “read my chest” theme emanating from the many players who brandished Hershey’s-bar-scaled gold chains etched with their nicknames. If nothing else, the pirate’s bounty of gold at the draft reflected the staggering amount of money sloshing around the college ranks, likely shepherded by the N.I.L. adjustments.

The evening’s self-marketing maestro was Shemar Stewart, who went to the Cincinnati Bengals with the 17th pick and wore not only a snowball-sized chain depicting an irate gorilla, but custom smoking slippers with the same menacing simian logo. A quick Google reveals that same emblem sitting at the top of his website: It is evidently never too early for a defensive end to mint his own Jordan-like logo in today’s N.F.L. If Mr. Stewart works out in Cincinnati, expect to see much more of that logo.

Occasionally, something more personal peeked through amid all this cocksure branding. There was something touching about Tetairoa McMillan, the Hawaiian wide receiver who went to the Carolina Panthers with the eighth pick, tossing a lei over his Joker purple suit. Will Johnson, one of just two players invited to attend the draft in person who did not get selected in the first round, showed off a ring made by his mother that he said contained the names of his deceased family members.

Within the cavalcade of tailored suits, Abdul Carter, who ended up being selected by the New York Giants with the third pick, stood out in his obsidian thobe, a traditional ankle-length garment. “Just paying homage to my religion,” Mr. Carter told a reporter on the carpet. “I wouldn’t be here without being a Muslim.” (Though it was his father’s oversized Adidas chain that really went viral online later in the night. The younger Mr. Carter has already landed a deal with the German sportswear company.)

The night though was conspicuously light on big luxury brands Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton, a signal that the globe-stomping industry remains oddly bearish on the N.F.L.’s marketing potential. Instead, the name mentioned most during the N.F.L.’s red carpet coverage was Brian Alexander, a Washington, D.C., tailor who has found his niche producing custom suits for football players, but who doesn’t have much of a profile beyond the sporting world.

“Some brands are really waking up,” said Mr. Smith. “Some brands, you know, take a little bit more time.”

Mr. Alexander is then at least partially responsible for the amount of achingly shrunken suits that hit the stage on Thursday. The fear of stumbling back into tarp-sized suits, a la say, Eli Manning at the 2004 draft, has players parking themselves too far in the other direction. And if fulsome pants are returning to fashion, that message certainly didn’t reach the draft, where bare ankles remained the norm.

There were also suits of shocking colors. The jolt from one of them was delivered by Travis Hunter, a player who hopes to break convention by playing offense and defense in the N.F.L. He tore onto the carpet in the exact shade of a Pepto Bismol bottle and told an interviewer before the draft that he didn’t want to pick a hue that might’ve hinted at his eventual destination later in the evening. The Heisman Trophy-winner was selected second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, his flamingo jacket pairing well with the teal brim of the team’s cap.

The strongest message of the night, though, was one made by doing the least. Cam Ward, the quarterback who, as predicted, was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the first overall pick, entered Lambeau Field humbly in a tan, single breasted suit with a white T-shirt underneath and a slight chain around his neck.

When you go first, who cares what you wear?

NIL

‘I don’t really know’ what presidential commission on college athletics would do

While speaking with the media on Wednesday at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, former Alabama football coach Nick Saban said he wasn’t sure what the rumored presidential commission on college athletics would be tasked with doing. Saban, who is reportedly set to co-chair the commission after recently meeting with President Donald Trump, emphasized his commitment […]

Published

38 minutes ago

May 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Saban, who is reportedly set to co-chair the commission after recently meeting with President Donald Trump, emphasized his commitment to help college football be better.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really know much about this commission. I don’t really know what this commission would do,” Saban told reporters. “You know, I think we know what needs to be done, I just think we’ve got to figure out who’s got the will to do it.”

“I learned one thing about coaching for all these years, that, you know, when you get into a subject like this, that’s very complex. It’s probably good not to talk about it off the cuff,” he continued. “So, I’ll find out more about it, and if there’s something I can do to help college football be better, I’m always going to be committed to do that. I was committed to do that as a coach, to help players be more successful in life, and I would continue to do the same thing now.”

Saban left Alabama’s head coaching gig abruptly in January 2024. He later cited the landscape of college football with NIL, the transfer portal and other aspects for retiring.

The legendary coach reportedly told Trump that he believed the influx of money had damaged college sports.

To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].

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NIL

Big offense powers Harrisburg over Mitchell softball

May 13—MITCHELL — Harrisburg, the top team in the Class AA softball standings, unleashed 18 runs and 13 hits in three innings, cruising to an 18-2 victory over Mitchell on Tuesday at the Cadwell Sports Complex. Harrisburg scored four runs in the first, five more in the second inning and blew open the game with […]

Published

41 minutes ago

May 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Harrisburg scored four runs in the first, five more in the second inning and blew open the game with nine runs in the third inning to lead 18-0 after 2 1/2 innings. Mitchell committed seven errors in the loss.

The Tigers, who had won 12 of the last 13 games prior to Tuesday, had four RBIs from Anna Simunek and a three-run home run from Kennedy Kokenge. Ava Gross posted four hits and Jersee Thomas and Maleia Knutson each had two hits for Harrisburg. Kylie Visker was the winning pitcher with three hits and two runs allowed and one strikeout in three innings of work.

The Kernels’ Matteah Graves had an RBI triple and scored a run, while Lauren Van Overschelde also drove in a run and Jasmine Dirkes had a double and a run scored. Mitchell had Rylee Jennings, Brooklyn Schlimgen and Macey Linke pitch in the game, with Jennings taking the loss with 2 1/3 innings pitched, seven hits and 10 runs (seven earned) and three walks.

Harrisburg (13-2) takes on Rapid City Stevens at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 in Sioux Falls.

Mitchell (5-9) will travel to Brookings on May 16 in a makeup game from earlier in the season before closing the regular-season schedule on May 23 by hosting Tea Area.

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NIL

First Ever Fan-Driven NIL Platform Seeks to Even Playing Field in College Sports

While the NIL deals for top college football and basketball stars dominate the headlines, the majority of student athletes aren’t inking lucrative contracts. Naturally, that correlates with top Power Four schools dominating the resources needed to compete in the landscape while smaller programs struggle to have a seat at the table—particularly in the transfer portal. […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

While the NIL deals for top college football and basketball stars dominate the headlines, the majority of student athletes aren’t inking lucrative contracts.

Naturally, that correlates with top Power Four schools dominating the resources needed to compete in the landscape while smaller programs struggle to have a seat at the table—particularly in the transfer portal.

Rather than accept that bleak outlook, FanStake, a fan-driven NIL platform, is offering fans a chance to change the game.

FanStake CEO Greg Glass spoke exclusively with NIL Daily On SI about the first-of-its-kind platform and how it highly resonates with fans of smaller college sports programs who are capitalizing on the chance to fight back.

FanStake’s mission is at the heart of many name, image, and likeness debates: how can the landscape be evened?

While it can’t achieve true parity, the fan-driven platform allows fans to participate in the recruiting process to make their favorite teams more competitive.

Fans can pledge money to a certain athlete in the transfer portal or allocate it to stars they want to retain. They have the flexibility to select a whole team or a specific player, including high school recruits.

“The bigger idea for us has always been, it’s not stake as a verb, as in, I’m going to put money on the athlete,” Glass said. “It’s stake as a noun in terms of, I have a stake in my team. I can participate in a way that will be impactful.”

What’s unique about FanStake is that fans contribute on a contingent basis.

Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball recruit Nate Ament was one of the top prospects in the country. The star received $88,000 from the Louisville Cardinals fanbase and nearly $50,000 from the Kentucky Wildcats.

He declined those offers in favor of a smaller endorsement of $13,000 from Volunteers fans, which he will receive once he is enrolled and on the roster.

Cardinals and Wildcats fans will receive a full refund of their contributions.

“It’s low risk for the fans,” Glass explained. “You’re either getting a better team, or if it doesn’t convert, it gives you the opportunity to invest in someone else.”

As fans, it can be demoralizing to continue donating to a school’s NIL funds without seeing any payoff. The money does not return to the fans, which can lead to bitterness and ultimately stop their contributions.

“It’s difficult today as a fan to just give money and not have any insight as to what the impact is and who it went to,” Glass said. “Fans have very strong opinions, and they feel like they have a sense for what their team needs and who they want to keep.”

While Ament posed an extreme example, Glass finds that the platform resonates best with Group of Five schools and smaller programs.

“They tend to be a little more desperate in seeking ways to be competitive,” Glass said. “While big school names and athletes do well on the platform, it’s the smaller fan bases who are just as passionate that are trying to figure out how to stay afloat. We’re seeing a lot of those schools figuring out, If we could tap into our 50,000 to 100,000 fans, this is a way for us to compete with some of the big dogs in the ecosystem.”

Fans of Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball star Cooper Flagg have pledged over $95,000 to retain him.

However, the better stories are the ones like Montana State football, whose fans raised over $60,000 for their athletes in just weeks.

“It’s hugely impactful because they know that they’re being poached by some of the bigger schools out there,” Glass said. “Everyone is trying to figure out the portal as well, but if you can keep the core squad together, it gives you an opportunity to see continued success.”

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2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament Bracket

It’s getting to be crunch time in the college baseball regular season. For the second time in as many weeks, an SEC team dropped from Baseball America’s latest Field of 64 projection, but the conference still produced its replacement, allowing it to maintain its nation-leading 13 bids. The ACC increased its total from nine to […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

It’s getting to be crunch time in the college baseball regular season.

For the second time in as many weeks, an SEC team dropped from Baseball America’s latest Field of 64 projection, but the conference still produced its replacement, allowing it to maintain its nation-leading 13 bids.

The ACC increased its total from nine to 10 bids while the Big 12 (seven), Big Ten (four) and Sun Belt (three) also received three or more bids. The Big West and Conference USA received two bids in the latest projection, including their automatic qualifiers.

Additional Field of 64 notes:

Alabama, which was projected as a No. 2 seed last week, stepped into a hosting position while West Virginia moved behind the hosting line and into a two-seed position.
Texas A&M and Xavier were the only at-large teams included in last week’s projected field to not make the cut after Week 13. Southeastern Louisiana, which was projected to win the Southland, was also removed from the field, making the conference a one-bid league with UTRGV the projected winner.
Kentucky, Western Kentucky and Virginia joined the field.
Northeastern and Duke moved up from projected three-seeds to two-seeds while Southern California, Arizona and Troy shifted in the other direction to accommodate them.

Below you’ll find the complete Field of 64 partway through the final week of the regular season. Note that our projected hosts do not reflect the top 16 of the Top 25 rankings and are instead a blend of standings and metrics.

Austin, Texas		Knoxville, Tenn.
1. (1) Texas ^* (SEC)		1. (16) Tennessee ^ (SEC)
2. Dallas Baptist (CUSA)		2. UTSA* (American)
3. UTRGV (Southland)		3. East Tennessee State* (SoCon)
4. Bryant* (America East)		4. Tennessee Tech* (Ohio Valley)

Baton Rouge, La.		Fort Worth, Texas
1. (2) LSU^ (SEC)		1. (15) TCU^* (Big 12)
2. Louisville (ACC)		2. Oklahoma (SEC)
3. Arizona (Big 12)		3. Cal Poly (Big West)
4. Central Connecticut* (Northeast)		4. Sacramento State* (WAC)

Auburn, Ala.		Clemson, S.C.
1. (3) Auburn^* (SEC)		1. (14) Clemson^ (ACC)
2. Northeastern* (CAA)		2. Ole Miss (SEC)
3. Virginia (ACC)		3. Kansas (Big 12)
4. Holy Cross* (Patriot)		4. Rhode Island* (A10)

Athens, Ga.		Corvallis, Ore.
1. (4) Georgia^ (SEC)		1. (13) Oregon State^ (Independent)
2. Miami (ACC)		2. Kentucky (SEC)
3. Stetson* (ASUN)		3. Southern California (Big Ten)
4. Wright State* (Horizon)		4. San Diego* (WCC)

Fayetteville, Ark.		Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1. (5) Arkansas^ (SEC)		1. (12) Alabama^ (SEC)
2. Southern Miss (Sun Belt)		2. Wake Forest (ACC)
3. Western Kentucky (CUSA)		3. Connecticut* (Big East)
4. Kent State* (MAC)		4. Fairfield* (MAAC)

Tallahassee, Fla.		Los Angeles, Calif.
1. (6) Florida State^* (ACC)		1. (11) UCLA^* (Big Ten)
2. West Virginia (Big 12)		2. UC Irvine* (Big West)
3. Troy (Sun Belt)		3. Arizona State (Big 12)
4. Bethune-Cookman* (SWAC)		4. Nevada* (Mountain West)

Nashville, Tenn.		Eugene, Ore.
1. (7) Vanderbilt^ (SEC)		1. (10) Oregon^ (Big Ten)
2. Georgia Tech (ACC)		2. Duke (ACC)
3. Iowa (Big Ten)		3. Kansas State (Big 12)
4. Oral Roberts* (Summit)		4. Missouri State* (Missouri Valley)

Chapel Hill, N.C.		Conway, S.C.
1. (8) North Carolina^ (ACC)		1. (9) Coastal Carolina^* (Sun Belt)
2. Florida (SEC)		2. NC State (ACC)
3. Cincinnati (Big 12)		3. Mississippi State (SEC)
4. Yale* (Ivy)		4. High Point* (Big South)

* denotes automatic bid
^ denotes regional host

Last Four In

Cincinnati (Big 12)
Iowa (Big Ten)
Western Kentucky (CUSA)
Virginia (ACC)

First Four Out

Notre Dame (ACC)
Xavier (Big East)
Michigan (Big Ten)
Southeastern Louisiana (Southland)

Next Four Out

Texas A&M (SEC)
Virginia Tech (ACC)
Creighton (Big East)
UC Santa Barbara (Big West)

NIL

Nick Saban ‘not sure we really need’ President Donald Trump’s commission on college sports

Nick Saban was formally tabbed to be help solve all that’s ailing college athletics in the day and age of NIL and the transfer portal as co-chair of President Donald Trump‘s commission on college sports. But it appears the former Alabama coach isn’t exactly sold on need for the presidentially-mandated working group. “First of all, […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Nick Saban was formally tabbed to be help solve all that’s ailing college athletics in the day and age of NIL and the transfer portal as co-chair of President Donald Trump‘s commission on college sports. But it appears the former Alabama coach isn’t exactly sold on need for the presidentially-mandated working group.

“First of all, I don’t know a lot about the commission. Secondly, I’m not sure we really need a commission,” Saban said Wednesday afternoon on The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network. “I think that a lot of people know exactly what the issues are in college football and exactly what we need to do to fix them. The key to the drill is getting people together so we can move it forward.

“I’m not opposed to players making money, I don’t want anybody to think that. I just think the system that we (are using), the way it’s going right now is not sustainable, and probably not in the best interest of the student-athletes across the board or the game itself,” Saban continued. “I think we need to protect the brand, and the competitive advantages and disadvantages that are being created right now, and I think we can fix all that. But I think we know how to do it, and not just me but a lot of people, we just have to get everybody together to do it.”

Saban then revealed how the idea for a presidential commission even came about, originating during President Trump’s trip to Tuscaloosa for a special commencement ceremony late last month.

“I think first of all, the way all this started when President Trump spoke at the commencement at Alabama, he said: ‘All my friends are saying college football is really messed up. Let’s get together so we can figure out how to fix it.’ So that’s how all this got started,” Saban added. “But I really don’t want to get into the implementation of what I would do. I think the first thing is everybody’s got a different state law, which creates advantages and disadvantages. And everybody is trying to create advantages. So we probably need an interstate commerce type something that gets it all there. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the players to necessarily be employees. And I think authentic name, image and likeness is good for players, but I don’t think pay-for-play is necessarily what we want.”

Nick Saban to co-chair President Donald Trump commission on college sports

Yahoo! Sports insider Ross Dellenger first reported Trump’s plans to form a commission focused on college sports. The Athletic also added the president will be “very engaged” because of the national importance he sees in college athletics.

The commission on college sports is expected to “deeply examine the unwieldy landscape of college sports, including the frequency of player movement in the transfer portal, the unregulated booster compensation paid to athletes, the debate of college athlete employment, the application of Title IX to school revenue-share payments and, even, conference membership makeup and conference television contracts,” according to Yahoo! Sports. It is expected to be a months-long endeavor.

News of Trump’s plan to consider an executive order and form a commission come with the backdrop of the House v. NCAA settlement, which continues to go through the final approval process. Attorneys filed an updated brief last Wednesday that sought to address Judge Claudia Wilken’s concerns about roster limits, and the plan would create a grandfather provision for athletes who lost their spots. A decision on final approval is expected in the coming weeks.

However, plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman called out Nick Saban and President Donald Trump’s discussions as the settlement seeks final approval. Legal experts say an executive order could create more problems, and Berman called for the conversations to cease while both sides work toward final approval for the House v. NCAA settlement.

“While he was a coach, [Nick] Saban initially opposed NIL payments to athletes, pushing to add restrictions and red tape through national legislation to add ‘some sort of control,’” Berman said in a statement. “During his time scrutinizing the athlete pay structure, he made tens of millions of dollars and was previously the highest-paid coach in college football.

“Coach Saban and Trump’s eleventh-hour talks of executive orders and other meddling are just more unneeded self-involvement. College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefitting massively from NIL deals. They don’t need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions.”

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.

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NIL

Has PJ Haggerty ruled out a return to Memphis? Draft hopeful says no

PJ Haggerty came to the NBA Draft Combine with a singular focus. The 6-3 guard, who earned consensus All-American honors as Memphis basketball’s leading scorer in 2024-25, is hoping to make a name for himself. So far, it’s working out for him. During individual drills on May 13, Haggerty was one of the top five […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PJ Haggerty came to the NBA Draft Combine with a singular focus.

The 6-3 guard, who earned consensus All-American honors as Memphis basketball’s leading scorer in 2024-25, is hoping to make a name for himself. So far, it’s working out for him. During individual drills on May 13, Haggerty was one of the top five shooters at the combine, hitting 73% of all shots. Only Mark Sears and Chaz Lanier were better.

Then, during a scrimmage on May 14, Haggerty put up 18 points and seven rebounds in a win for his team at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

But what does it all mean for Haggerty’s future? Will he keep his name in the NBA Draft and forego his remaining collegiate eligibility? Or, will he come back to college? If so, who will he play for − Memphis, NC State or somewhere else altogether?

PJ Haggerty: ‘I’m just focused on the (NBA) draft’

Following the scrimmage, Haggerty, who entered the transfer portal in April, made it clear his goal is to be drafted by an NBA team in June.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do,” he said during an interview on ESPN2.

Haggerty reiterated his stance with reporters shortly afterward. But he was also careful to not completely close the door on another season at the collegiate level.

“If I have to (go back to college), then I have to,” he said. “But right now, I’m just focused on the draft. I feel like it only takes one team to love you. Just seeing which team will take a chance on me. Which one will give me an opportunity to get drafted.”

Haggerty, who does not appear on ESPN’s most recent mock draft, has until May 28 to decide whether to take his chances and stay in the draft or return for another season in college. He said intends to use the remaining time to continue evaluating every option. Haggerty has multiple workouts planned upon the conclusion of the combine.

Once those are complete, he said he will huddle up with his family and agents to figure out what’s next.

PJ Haggerty on transfer portal, NIL reports

In the event Haggerty plays another season of college basketball, which team he will suit up for has been a hot topic.

Widespread reporting suggests his landing spot is most likely NC State. In April, college basketball insider Jeff Goodman reported Haggerty is seeking at least $4 million in NIL money to play the 2025-26 season, adding he also wants to play primarily point guard.

Haggerty downplayed much of what has been reported.

“You can’t believe the media,” he said. “I mean, I haven’t really talked to any schools. I’ve just been trying to focus on the combine and workouts. Just letting the media do what they do.”

If he decides to go back to school in 2025-26, Haggerty added a return to Memphis is still very much in play. He said he received a text message from Tigers coach Penny Hardaway not long after the scrimmage on May 14, which read “‘Good game, killa.'”

“But, yeah, we’ve talked. He’s just encouraging me to chase my dreams,” said Haggerty. “If I have to come back then he’ll take me with open arms, things like that. But he’s just 100% wanting me to chase my dreams and do what’s best for me.

“If that’s the best fit for me, that’s the best fit for me.”

USA TODAY Sports reporter Mark Giannotto contributed to this report.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X, and sign up for the Memphis Basketball Insider text group.

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