Last Updated on May 21, 2025

Syracuse head football coach Fran Brown has become the first coach to sign with Network, a sports marketing agency. While high school and collegiate athletes build their brands to capitalize on name, image, and likeness opportunities during their playing careers and beyond, Brown has taken a similar approach as a coach.

Brown believes Network will be instrumental in helping build his brand off the field.

“I’m thrilled to work with Network and take the next step in building my personal brand, exploring new partnership opportunities and business ventures,” the Syracuse coach said.

Brown’s coaching philosophy has been essential to his success on the field and in his brand. He is well known for characterizing the acronym D.A.R.T., which stands for detailed, accountable, relentless, and tough. Network collaborated with Brown to produce merchandise with the acronym he sported on the sideline at the Orange’s Spring Game. The idea of Network partnering with a coach came from legendary sports agent David Falk.

“When we started Network, we weren’t pretending to, nor considering to get into the coaching world,” Network’s Chief Strategy Officer Doug Scott told Front Office Sports. “It really was the energy and essence of who Fran was, to where we decided that, yes, this is somebody that we really want to see be successful. And we think there’s a little bit of a void in the marketplace right now.”

Additionally, Coach Brown has gone viral on social media for his wildly entertaining quotes during his interviews. One in particular that had the college football buzzing was when he revealed how he handles losing football games.

“Like, when we lose, I ain’t even get in the shower til earlier this morning,” Brown told CBS Sports. “I just be mad. I just brush my teeth. It’s like I don’t deserve soap. I don’t deserve to do all that.

“Winners get washed,” he added. “I’m a loser, so I just kinda waited a little bit.”

Regardless of how you feel about how Brown holds himself accountable, he is authentic and holds himself and his players to a high standard of excellence. Syracuse finished 10-3 last season and capped off the 2024 season with a 52-35 victory over Washington State in the DIRECTV Holiday victory.

Like many college football coaches in the NIL era, Brown has been outspoken about how players navigate NIL and the transfer portal. Brown has voiced his opinions about how there should only be one portal period for players to transfer and how players should set aside a portion of their NIL earnings. Beyond Brown’s pursuit of expanding his brand, he hopes to have a continued influence over the evolving landscape of college athletics.

A familiar face will return to Allen Fieldhouse next season as a member of Bill Self’s staff. Jacque Vaughn has accepted a position on Self’s coaching staff. He will serve as an assistant coach and will fill the role vacated by Norm Roberts.

Vaughn — whose No. 11 jersey is retired by KU — will join the KU staff with over 10 years of coaching experience in the NBA, including two stints as a head coach. Vaughn most recently served as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets between 2022 and 2024. During his time coaching in the NBA, Vaughn worked for the San Antonio Spurs (assistant coach), Orlando Magic (head coach) and the Brooklyn Nets (assistant coach and later head coach).

“We’re very excited to welcome Jacque and (his wife) Laura into the fold,” Self said in a release. “I’ve known Jacque from a distance for several years now and have always admired how he has conducted himself professionally and how he has treated people. I think he will be an excellent addition to our program, while also serving as a great mentor, coach and representative of Kansas basketball. We lost an awesome coach in Norm (Roberts) when he retired but feel very fortunate to have replaced him with a tremendous Jayhawk that has a unique and impressive resume.”

As a player, Vaughn remains one of the greatest point guards to ever play at KU. He ended his KU career as the program’s all-time assist leader with 804 assists. At the time that also was the record in the Big Eight conference. He was a second-team All-American as a senior.

Vaughn was selected in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft. He spent nine years in the NBA before he moved into coaching.

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Zakai Zeigler has never backed down on the court. Now, he’s taking his toughest shot yet—this time, at the NCAA.

The former Tennessee Volunteers star is suing college sports’ governing body, challenging a rule that he says unfairly blocks him from returning for a fifth season. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, argues that the NCAA’s “Four-Seasons Rule” is not only arbitrary but costly—potentially to the tune of $2 to $4 million in NIL earnings.

“This valuation reflects the market value of an upperclassman with a proven performance record and high visibility,” the complaint reads, citing projections from Spyre Sports Group, Tennessee’s NIL collective.

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Zeigler, who averaged 13.6 points and a league-leading 7.4 assists last season, led Tennessee to a second straight Elite Eight. He became the program’s all-time assists leader and the first SEC player ever to log 1,550 points, 700 assists, 350 rebounds, and 250 steals. Despite his accolades, Zeigler didn’t receive an invite to the NBA Draft Combine or G League Elite Camp.

Now, he wants to return to college hoops—and cash in on his peak value.

The suit takes aim at the NCAA’s policy that allows student-athletes five calendar years to play four seasons—unless they redshirt. Zeigler, who never redshirted, argues that this system unfairly penalizes players for choices made by coaches, not students.

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“All NCAA athletes should be eligible to compete and earn NIL compensation during each year of the five-year window—not just those selected to redshirt,” the complaint states.

Zeigler is represented by Litson PLLC and Garza Law Firm. The legal team is pushing for an injunction to let him play during the 2025–2026 season while pursuing a graduate degree.

“This is about fairness,” one NIL advisor familiar with the case said. “Zakai isn’t asking for extra eligibility—he’s asking to use the window the NCAA already gives, just like everyone else.”

If the court rules in Zeigler’s favor, the implications could rock the NCAA and redefine the market for upperclassmen athletes overnight.

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Related: Boogie Fland shocks college basketball with NIL power move

Related: NFL QB sends strong message after losing NIL millions

There’s still plenty of good in the world of college football. With NIL opportunities changing the game, stories like this one are worth celebrating.

Keelon Russell, the No. 2 ranked quarterback in the class of 2025 and the 2024 Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year, made headlines this week for a heartfelt gesture toward his mother.

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It’s a great reminder that beyond the field, these young athletes are using their platforms to support their families, give back and lead by example.

The NIL-focused outlet On3 shared a photo of Russell’s generous surprise:

“NEW: Alabama QB Keelon Russell gifted his mom a new Mercedes Benz with NIL dollars.”

Russell’s current NIL valuation stands at $1.3 million. His first partnership was with Panini America. He ranks 37th among all college football players in NIL valuation, and 2nd among freshmen behind Michigan’s Bryce Underwood. Across all college athletes, he’s currently 78th according to On3’s rankings.

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Russell will enter fall camp with a shot at winning the starting quarterback job under new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. He’ll be competing with experienced returner Ty Simpson and promising youngster Austin Mack.

Back in February, Russell spoke with On3 Sports about his focus on staying grounded amid rising expectations and NIL attention:

“The best advice was to understand what’s coming towards you,” Russell said. “Understand that your profile is your profile. Understand that your name is your name. Building that is the most successful thing that you can do, especially with how the NIL space is getting bigger. The performances of the platforms are getting way more advanced. NIL is something that takes away from the aspects of football. Somebody told me, focus on the key things.”

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Russell originally committed to SMU, but after a standout senior season at Duncanville High School in Texas, he flipped his commitment to Alabama. One of the key reasons? The development of Michael Penix Jr. under DeBoer at Washington, a path Russell hopes to follow.

This story of Russell’s gift to his mother stands out as an awesome example of how NIL is already helping student-athletes make life-changing decisions for themselves and their families.

Related: LSU Football Makes Historic Academic Announcement Under Brian Kelly

Related: Urban Meyer Calls for Rule That Would Get Michigan Coach Fired

The NCAA is currently embroiled in multiple class action lawsuits, most notable among them House v. NCAA, an anti-trust suit that could reshape the landscape of college sports if a proposed settlement is approved.

Compensation for student-athletes has been a major point of emphasis in many of the suits leveled against the NCAA, but second to that issue have been eligibility issues.

Junior college transfers have, at times, been successful in securing additional years of eligibility at the Division 1 level with lawsuits. The most high-profile example is Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

A new kind of bid at additional eligibility has now been made by Tennessee basketball’s Zakai Zeigler.

Zakai Zeigler lawsuit

Zeigler signed with Tennessee out of high school in 2021 and proceeded to play immediately and often for the Volunteers over the past four years. He didn’t redshirt, which is the crux of his issue with the NCAA.

Zeigler is seeking a fifth year of eligibility while he pursues a graduate degree at Tennessee. He believes he is being “arbitrarily barred from doing so by an NCAA rule that limits athletes to participating in only four seasons of intercollegiate competition within the five-year window.”

Zeigler wants five years of eligibility across that five-year window.

Zakai Zeigler’s case against the NCAA

Zeigler’s argument boils down to a few major points:

• The NCAA’s redshirt system is flawed and skewed in favor of the schools.
• Because of that, NCAA programs essentially get to select which players get to benefit the most from NIL.
• Because Zeigler wasn’t redshirted as a freshman, he will miss out on an additional year of NIL compensation that is available to other student-athletes.

Redshirts allow NCAA programs to “largely control who gets access to the fifth year of eligibility, strategically ‘banking’ eligibility for some athletes while denying it to others, without consideration, based purely on institutional preference and benefit,” Zeigler’s complaint reads.

The fifth year of student-athletes collegiate careers has proven to be the most lucrative, based on projections from Spyre Sports Group.

Zeigler, who earned around $150,000 his freshman season, has had his NIL compensation grow each year. He would be in line to make around $2 million to $4 million next year if he was able to compete a fifth year.

“This valuation reflects the market value of an upperclassman with a proven performance record and high visibility, especially in a high-profile conference like the SEC,” the complaint reads.

By not being redshirted his freshman season, Zeigler argues that he is being prevented from collecting further NIL compensation that other student-athletes receive.

Zeigler isn’t trying to undo the NCAA’s five-year rule for student-athlete eligibility. Rather, the complaint states, he is arguing that there is no ”academic progress justification” to limiting student-athletes to only four year of eligibility over the five-year period. He says the five-year window in college sports should mean five years of eligibility.

“Indeed, the fact that the NCAA’s eligibility window is five years long demonstrates that allowing an athlete to play in each of the five years cannot conflict with any purported academic or other purpose the NCAA might claim supports the Four-Seasons Rule,” his complaint states.

It continues, “… The redshirt system also reveals that the Four-Seasons Rule lacks legitimate procompetitive justifications. The inconsistency exposes the pretextual nature of the NCAA’s claims: the Four-Seasons Rule cannot be about preserving amateurism, as both redshirt and non-redshirt fifth-year athletes exist within the same eligibility window. It cannot be about academic progress, as graduated athletes remain excluded. And it cannot be about competitive balance, as schools with greater resources can strategically redshirt more athletes. … Instead, the redshirt system demonstrates that the Four-Seasons Rule functions primarily as a market control mechanism. It allows institutions to strategically manipulate the eligibility window to their advantage, extracting maximum value from athletes while denying those same athletes the opportunity to realize their own market value when it peaks.”

Zeigler, who holds the record for most assists (747) and most steals (251) in Tennessee basketball history and was named the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC, is seeking a jury trial and a ruling finding that the NCAA’s four-seasons rule violates both the Sherman Act and the Tennessee Trade Practice Act.

He also wants a “preliminary and permanent injunction” that will enable him to play during the upcoming 2025-26 college basketball season. If he were to win his lawsuit, it could dramatically alter the college athletics landscape.

After transferring from Arkansas, Boogie Fland is set to receive a lucrative NIL deal at Florida, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported. His agreement is expected to be “north of” $2 million.

Fland arrives at UF as one of the best available players still in the transfer portal this cycle after withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft. He became the No. 10 overall player and No. 3-ranked point guard to hit the open market, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

Now, he’s heading to Florida after putting up strong numbers at Arkansas before suffering a hand injury. Fland’s addition provides a major boost for the Gators as they look to repeat as national champions in 2025-26.

As a freshman at Arkansas last season, Fland appeared in 21 games, including 18 starts, as the injury knocked him out for two months. He made his return during the NCAA Tournament, dropping six points in back-to-back games against Kansas and St. John’s after jumping back into the lineup.

Fland arrived in Fayetteville as a key recruiting win for John Calipari as he took over at Arkansas. A product of Harlem (NY) Archbishop Stepinac, he was a four-star prospect and the No. 18 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Fland was also the top-ranked point guard from the cycle.

Boogie Fland’s On3 NIL Valuation

Boogie Fland also holds a $1.4 million On3 NIL Valuation as he makes his way to Gainesville. That figure ranks No. 21 in the men’s college basketball NIL rankings and No. 60 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

“Despite what some fans and media believe, there is not an unlimited amount of money being deployed to manage rosters,” said Shannon Terry, the founder and CEO of On3. “Any model – whether it’s today’s broken NCAA ‘student-athlete’ construct or media rights sharing through employment, which is almost a certainty in the near future – demands efficiency based on the athlete and school knowing the athlete’s respective market value.”

The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value