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Explosion of NIL money adds new wrinkle to 2025 NBA draft decisions

Dwyane Wade shares thoughts on Dallas Mavericks getting first pick NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade shares his thoughts on the NBA and whether or not the Mavericks getting the first pick in the draft is a “coincidence.” Sports Seriously CHICAGO − Yaxel Lendeborg rubbed his hands together seated inside Wintrust Arena, a wave of […]

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CHICAGO − Yaxel Lendeborg rubbed his hands together seated inside Wintrust Arena, a wave of excitement and anxiety coursing through him as he laid out the options again before his first official NBA audition was set to begin. The former UAB star is an intriguing figure among the group of players taking part in this week’s 2025 NBA Draft Combine. He’s facing the sort of decision prospects invited to this annual league event never did in the past. 

Lendeborg is a potential late first-round draft pick, according to draft experts, who could also slide into the second round – when contracts are not guaranteed – depending on how his pre-draft workouts go. The 6-foot-10 big man also committed to Michigan in April as one of the country’s most coveted transfers amidst an explosion of money being paid to college football and basketball players through name, image and likeness compensation and the anticipated implementation of revenue sharing by the NCAA for the 2025-26 season.    

The 22-year-old has until the NCAA’s May 28 withdrawal date to pull out of the draft and retain his college eligibility. And sounds torn about it right now. More torn than any of the other college hopefuls around him this week.

“The NBA is ultimately the goal for a lot of guys. It’s just college is so tempting because of the money,” Lendeborg told USA TODAY Sports. “I’m 50-50 between the NBA and Michigan, and I just hope that a team can let me know early so I don’t mess anything up.”

How NIL changed the 2025 NBA draft

The dynamics and financial implications of the traditional NBA draft decision tree have changed because of the money players can now make at the college level. There were only 106 early entrants in the 2025 NBA draft, which is the lowest figure in a decade and down from 353 in 2021. There were also more players (18) from the Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-draft event for college seniors, invited to the NBA Draft Combine than recent years.  

The trends are in direct correlation to the rapid increase in NIL money being doled out by college basketball programs. For one season, the starter for a power conference team in college will often make more than an NBA player on the first year of a rookie deal. For many, it might be the most money they ever make in one season playing basketball.

The attempts to thread that needle, of maximizing money made in college and in the NBA, has infused chaos into the college ranks through the transfer portal and constant roster churn. It played out this week in Chicago as numerous college coaching staffs were on hand to both support their participating players at the NBA draft combine, and quietly hope the feedback convinces them to come back to college for another season. 

“A case of food poisoning – nothing serious – would be good for the University of Michigan right now,” Wolverines assistant coach Mike Boynton joked on Tuesday before explaining they always knew there was a chance Lendeborg would go to the NBA.

It’s yet another ripple effect of the power shift within college sports.

“We’ve got the best of both worlds,” said St. John’s star R.J. Luis, who entered the NBA draft and the NCAA’s transfer portal this offseason. “We’re basically like semi-pros. We got like one-year contracts basically (in college). It’s just about trying to find the best opportunity at the right moment.”

‘Good for the basketball ecosystem’

The NBA doesn’t seem to mind this, either.

Five league executives told USA TODAY Sports at the draft combine that the implementation of name, image and likeness at the college level has produced minimal disruptions for the league and its draft process. Some view it as a positive development despite the issues NIL created for college basketball teams. As one NBA general manager put it, “The guys will come into the draft eventually.”

“You’re still getting the top-end guys, but you’re not going to get sophomores and juniors,” said an NBA front office executive who runs his team’s college scouting operation. “You’re going to see a gap in the draft the next couple years, especially in the second round. But most guys choosing to go back (to college) would struggle to stay (in the NBA) anyways. Now these guys can build brands in college. In the long run, it might be better.”

“It’s good for the basketball ecosystem,” added another NBA team executive.  

But there will still be players like Lendeborg placed in a precarious spot, hoping the measurements, scrimmage performances and meetings with NBA officials at the combine and a flurry of workouts the next two weeks provide more clarity. 

The Pennsauken, New Jersey native only played 11 varsity basketball games in high school and had to go the junior college route before arriving at UAB. There is no precedent for what he’s going through because a fringe first-round pick five years ago wouldn’t also be mulling NIL deals worth millions of dollars. 

He doesn’t want to stay in school just because of the money. But he also doesn’t want to go to the NBA and not have a chance to be a rotation player quickly. He only needs one team to promise he will get one to stay in the draft. He just needs to know before May 28.

“If it doesn’t happen by then,” Lendeborg said, “then the decision is going to be really hard to make.”



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Athlete NIL Deals with Donor-Backed Collectives Being Rejected by New Agency

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness (NIL) 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, […]

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The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness (NIL) 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 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 in 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 and is being run by the auditing group Deloitte.

In its letter to the athletic directors, 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 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.

Sports attorney Darren Heitner, who deals in NIL, said the guidance “could disproportionately burden collectives that are already committed to spending money on players for multiple years to come.”

“If a pattern of rejections results from collective deals submitted to Deloitte, it may invite legal scrutiny under antitrust principles,” he said.

On a separate track, some college sports leaders, including the NCAA, are seeking a limited form of antitrust protection from Congress. 

The letter said a NIL deal 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.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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K-State Baseball Summer Update – July 10

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A summer update of current and former Wildcats.   MLB Will Brennan – OF – Cleveland Guardians Years at K-State: 2017-19 Brennan played 35 games for the Guardians Triple-AAA squad before he was recalled on May 12. In six games with Cleveland, Brennan is slashing .091/.231/.091 over 11 at bats. He was put […]

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – A summer update of current and former Wildcats.
 
MLB
Will Brennan – OF – Cleveland Guardians
Years at K-State: 2017-19
Brennan played 35 games for the Guardians Triple-AAA squad before he was recalled on May 12. In six games with Cleveland, Brennan is slashing .091/.231/.091 over 11 at bats. He was put on a 60-day injured list on May 22.
 
Jordan Wicks – LHP – Chicago Cubs
Years at K-State: 2019-21
On July 4, the Cubs recalled Wicks from Triple-A Iowa Cubs. With Chicago, Wicks boast a 5.06 ERA with a 0-1 record. He has struck out four in 5 1/3 innings and posts a 1.69 WHIP. His longest outing with Chicago came on July 6, logging 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.
 
TRIPLE-A
Carson Seymour – RHP Sacramento River Cats (SF, AAA)
Years at K-State: 2020-21
Seymour is in his second season with the Giants Triple-AAA affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. This season, he boasts a 3.89 ERA with a 3-8 record and opponents hitting .228 against him. He has struck out 83 against 37 walks, that included striking out a season-high nine over 5 2/3 innings against Tacoma on June 13. Seymour made his MLB debut on June 29, logging one scoreless inning against the Chicago White Sox and was sent back to Sacramento a few days later.
 
Nick Martini – OF – Las Vegas Aviators (OAK, AAA)
Years at K-State: 2009-11
Martini played 43 games with the Colorado Rockies, slashing .225/.288/.294 with four doubles, one home run and four RBI before he was elected to free agency. He signed as a free agent with the Athletics and is hitting .282 with eight extra-base hits, including three home runs with 16 RBI for the Las Vegas Aviators.

DOUBLE-A

Blake Adams RHP Hartford Yard Goats (CO, AA)

Years at K-State:2022

In 14 starts, Adams is 4-5 with a 5.88 ERA (39 ER, 59.2 IP). He has struck out 60, while registering a 3.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Adams recorded a season-high five strikeouts over five scoreless innings on April 9, picking up his first win of the season.

 

Kaelen Culpepper – INF – Wichita Wind Surge (MIN, AA)

Years at K-State: 2022-24

Following a strong start to the season with High-A Cedar Rapids, the 6-foot shortstop was quickly promoted to Double-A Wichita Surge. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Culpepper is slashing .349/.431/.460 with an .891 OPS for Wichita. He went 2-for-4 in his Double-A debut and homered in both his third and fourth games.  

 

Brendan Jones – OF – Somerset Patriots (NYY, AA)

Years at K-State: 2022-24

Jones produced a slash line of .236/.349/.362 with 41 hits, including four home runs, before his promotion to Double-A Somerset. In 28 games with the Patriots, Jones is hitting .253 with 11 extra-base hits and 21 RBI. Jones went 2-for-2 on July 9 with a home run and triple, driving in four RBI.

 

Zach Kokoska – OF – Hartford Yard Goats (CO, AA)

Years at K-State: 2019-21

Kokoska is slashing .189/.275/.400 with 34 hits, including nine home runs in his fifth season in the minors and second in Double-A.

 

Tyson Neighbors – RHP – San Antonio Missions (SD, AA)

Years at K-State: 2022-24

After a hot start with High-A Fort Wayne where he owned a 1.18 ERA and averaged 15.49 strikeouts per nine innings, Neighbors was promoted to Double-A San Diego on June 11. With the Missions, Neighbors is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA, striking out 15 in 12 innings with two holds.

HIGH-A

Nick Goodwin IF Vancouver Canadians (TOR, A+)

Years at K-State: 2020-23

Goodwin is in his third season in the minors. In 57 games, the Overland Park product is slashing .231/.359/.418 with 42 hits, including 10 homers. He produced a multi-home run game on June 3 against Tri-City, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI.

 

Wesley Moore – LHP – Jersey Shore BlueClaws (PHI, A+)

Years at K-State: 2020-22

Moore has split time between High-A and Double-A in 2025. In High-A with Jersey Shore, he is 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA.

 

Dylan Phillips – RHP – Tri-City Dust Devils (LAA, A+)

Years at K-State: 2019-22

Phillips has split time between High-A and Triple-A in 2025, making his Triple-A debut on May 11. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Phillips boasts a 3.92 ERA this season with a 2-3 record and 40 strikeouts over 41 1.3 innings. He fanned a season-high four batters with Triple-A Salt Lake on May 13.

 

Christian Ruebeck – RHP – Great Lakes Loons (LAD, A+)

Years at K-State: 2022

Ruebeck boasts a 9.43 ERA in 2025 with a 1-2 record, striking out 28 over 21 innings.

 

Jackson Wentworth – RHP – Vancouver Canadians (TOR, A+)

Years at K-State: 2023-24

In his first season in the pros, Wentworth has a record of 1-4 with a 5.13 ERA. He has struck out 72 batters over 73 2/3 innings in his 16 starts with a 1.47 WHIP. Wentworth logged six innings of one-run ball with a season-high nine strikeouts on June 24 against Tri-City.

SINGLE-A

Brady Day INF – Clearwater Threshers (PHI, A)

Years at K-State: 2022-24

Day is slashing .255/.341/.340 in his second season with Clearwater, registering 54 hits and driving in 24 RBI. Day has produced nine multi-hit games, including three-hit performances on May 8 and May 10, both against St. Lucie.

 

REHAB ASSIGNMENT

German Fajardo RHP Modesto Nuts (SEA, A)

Years at K-State: 2020-23

Fajardo, who signed as a free agent with the Mariners organization in 2023, was placed on the 7-day injured list.

 

Connor McCullough – RHP – Birmingham Barons (CHW, AA)

Years at K-State: 2020-22

McCullough was placed on rehab assignment to the ACL White Sox on May 1.

 

2025 MLB DRAFTEES

The 2025 MLB Draft will take place in Atlanta, Georgia on July 13-14, 2025, as part of MLB’s All-Star Week festivities. The draft will assign amateur baseball players from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico to Major League Baseball teams.

 

WILDCATS IN SUMMER BALL

 


















Player Position Year in ’26 Hometown League Team
Adam Arther LHP JR Altadena, Calif. Cape Harwich
Tazwell Butler RHP R-SR Sandy Springs, Ga. Cape Harwich
AJ Evasco INF/OF SO Lincoln, Neb. NECBL Newport
Austin Haley INF/RHP JR Howe, Texas Northwoods St. Cloud
Shintaro Inoue INF SR Yamaguchi, Japan Cape Harwich
Cadyn Karl OF R-JR Edmond, Okla. Appy Elizabethton
Dee Kennedy INF JR Fort Worth, Texas Cape Harwich
Donte Lewis RHP/OF SO Pearland, Texas Appy Elizabethton
Adan Longoria RHP JR Plant City, Fla. Cal Ripken Alexandria
Chandler Murray INF R-FR Honolulu, Hawaii Appy Tri-State
Rohan Putz OF R-SO Loch Lloyd, Mo. Valley Purcellville
Jack Quetschenbach OF FR   Futures Westfield
Miles Smith RHP R-SR Flintville, Tenn. Appy Bristol
Ty Smolinski INF SO Gretna, Neb. Appy Tri State



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

By EDDIE PELLS – AP National Writer 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 […]

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By EDDIE PELLS – AP National Writer

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.


AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports



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Angel Reese calls out Robert Griffin III, claims he’s lying ‘for clout’ in wake of Caitlin Clark take

Angel Reese called out Robert Griffin III for his take on her not liking Caitlin Clark. Without saying Griffin’s name, Reese went after him, who said he talked to people in her inner circle. “Lying on this app when everybody know the first and last name of everybody in my circle for clout is nastyyyy […]

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Angel Reese called out Robert Griffin III for his take on her not liking Caitlin Clark. Without saying Griffin’s name, Reese went after him, who said he talked to people in her inner circle.

“Lying on this app when everybody know the first and last name of everybody in my circle for clout is nastyyyy work,” Angel Reese wrote. This came after Griffin called out people who attacked Reese after she was named a cover athlete for NBA 2K26. In the X/Twitter post, the former NFL quarterback mentioned that he spoke to Reese’s inner circle about the Chicago Sky star not liking Cark.

“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. “Some people made it about race, but I never did and never will. Instead of becoming the villain in anyone’s story, I decided to just not.”

What Robert Griffin III said about Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark

Robert Griffin III originally shared his take on Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark in May after Clark fouled Reese in the Sky vs. Indiana Fever game. Reese went after the Clark before she was calmed down by the Sky coaches.

“So why do I think Angel Reese hates Caitlin Clark? It could be the fact that Aliyah Boston had to save Angel Reese from ending her career… After the foul, Caitlin Clark put on Angel Reese, and Angel Reese tried to hit her,” Griffin said at the time. “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?”

Reese and Clark have been competing against each other since they were in college. Reese played at LSU, and Clark played at Iowa. Reese and LSU defeated Clark and Iowa in the 2023 National Championship Game, and the two went on to enter the WNBA in 2024. Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Year last season, and Reese finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.



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NCAA basketball committees consider March Madness expansion

The idea of expanding the tournament picked up steam in the spring when NCAA President Charlie Baker said it could add value. WASHINGTON — The committees for men’s and women’s Division I basketball met this week to discuss possible expansion of the March Madness tournaments, but made no immediate decisions or recommendations. “The still viable […]

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The idea of expanding the tournament picked up steam in the spring when NCAA President Charlie Baker said it could add value.

WASHINGTON — The committees for men’s and women’s Division I basketball met this week to discuss possible expansion of the March Madness tournaments, but made no immediate decisions or recommendations.

“The still viable outcomes include the tournaments remaining at 68 teams or expanding the fields to either 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2026 or 2027 championships,” Dan Gavitt, the NCAA senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement Thursday.

The idea of expanding the tournament picked up steam in the spring when NCAA President Charlie Baker said it could add value and that he’d like to see the issue resolved in the next few months.

He said the NCAA has had “good conversations” with TV partners CBS and Warner Bros., whose deal runs through 2032 at the cost of around $1.1 billion a year. Baker also mentioned increasingly difficult logistics involved with adding teams to what is now known as the “First Four” — a series of four games played on Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week to place four teams into the 64-team bracket.

Though there has been no concrete plan for how expansion would work, speculation has centered on bringing more at-large teams, likely from major conferences, into the 64-team bracket. Such a move that would come at the expense of champions of lower-level conferences.

Currently, two of the First Four games involve 16 seeds — teams that automatically qualify by winning lower-ranked conferences — while two more involve at-large teams often seeded 11 or 12. For instance, in 2021, UCLA made the Final Four as an 11 seed that also played in the First Four.

“I don’t accept that that model just continues in the future,” Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said at league meetings in May.

He used the example of North Carolina State advancing to the Final Four as an 11 seed in 2023 as how bubble teams from big conferences can make long runs in the tournament.

“You could go ask my colleagues in the (automatic qualifier) conferences what should happen, and I’m certain they want that split to continue for life,” Sankey said. “But you’ve got some really, really good teams … that I think should be moved into the tournament.”

Any recommendation for expansion would have to be approved by the NCAA’s Division I board, which next meets in August.

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball



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New college sports agency is rejecting some athlete NIL deals with donor

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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New college sports agency is rejecting some athlete NIL deals with donor

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.

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