Gould, power conference commissioners pledge to follow NIL rules but details sparse

FOLLOWING THE HOUSE v. NCAA SETTLEMENT on Friday allowing schools to directly pay athletes, college commissioners expressed confidence in their ability to end the rules-breaking surrounding NIL. But details were few.

The news conference on Monday, as reported by Heather Dinich of ESPN, saw Teresa Gould of the Pac-12 join the four power conference members: the SEC’s Greg Sankey, the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti, Brett Yormark of the Big 12, and Jim Phillips of the ACC.  Gould was present at the meeting because the Pac-12 was a named defendant in the lawsuit.

“If I’m the Pac-12, I’d try to use that fact to argue that since the conference has been included in a detrimental outcome in one case, it should not be shut out from ‘Power’ conference benefits in other instances,” wrote John Canzano in an article today.

Meanwhile, rules breaking in the name, image, likeness world has been rampant since NIL came into being four years ago and penalties have been non-existent. Phillips said all the commissioners had ideas, but nothing they’re “ready to come forward with,” Dinich writes.

Ultimately, Phillips said, the rules and boundaries will be under the purview of Bryan Seeley, the former MLB executive who was just named CEO of a new enforcement organization called the College Sports Commission.

“Now that we have Bryan on board, I think we’ll be able to move a little bit quicker,” said Phillips. “But we want to get this right. It’s one of those areas that until you have somebody leading the College Sports Commission, it’s difficult to get together with that individual and start some of that framework that will be in place.”

In terms of paying athletes, “the annual cap is expected to start at $20.5 million per school in 2025-26 and increase every year during the decade-long deal,” Dinich writes. “Those payments will be in addition to scholarships and other benefits the athletes already receive. Starting June 7, players have to report NIL deals of $600 or more to the College Sports Commission.”

The distribution of $20.5 million to athletes starting July 1 won’t be determined at the conference level, Jon Wilner of the Mercury News reported HERE. “How much to allocate to football, men’s basketball and the Olympic sports will be a campus decision,” Wilner writes.

OBVIOUSLY, CERTAIN SCHOOLS will reach that $20.5 million cap and others will not. For example, Washington State even if it were not in a budget crisis is not going to suddenly be able to spend $20.5 million more.

“We’ve been in an unregulated environment with no rules and no enforcement,” said Phillips. “It has paralyzed the NCAA in Indianapolis, and we’re responsible for certainly some of that. We’re now going to have a foundation and structure laying out those rules. The new structure provides our student-athletes with more opportunities and benefits than ever before.”

The commissioners agreed, however, that in order to “make it work,” they need congressional help to codify rules and provide antitrust protections. What it will all look like with so many unanswered questions still looming is impossible to say. 

“But it’s difficult to ignore the leap-of-faith component built into their new world order,” Wilner writes. “College sports has too many athletes with financial needs, too many sources of cash and too many fans who care about winning above all else. The result is a revamped system that’s rooted in best intentions but dependent on a leap of faith.” Click here for Wilner’s article.

Also, here is how Wilner characterized the House settlement on Twitter: “A monumental step forward that’s also deeply flawed and won’t end the chaos. Consider the landmark case as merely the end of the beginning of the revolution.”

Click HERE for the full ESPN article.

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