NIL

Greg McElroy compares Nico Iamaleava's money situation to Isaiah Bond

The fallout between quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Volunteers ended up happening in the public and largely over NIL. It’s not the first time that kind of falling out has occurred and it likely won’t be the last. However, it is one that appears to have cost him money in the long run. Analyst […]

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3 weeks ago

May 4, 2025

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Greg McElroy compares Nico Iamaleava's money situation to Isaiah Bond

The fallout between quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Volunteers ended up happening in the public and largely over NIL. It’s not the first time that kind of falling out has occurred and it likely won’t be the last. However, it is one that appears to have cost him money in the long run.

Analyst Greg McElroy compared the situation to that of former Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond on Always College Football. Transferring to try and get more money immediately might work in the short run, but it could potentially cost a player money in the long run.

Bond made a historic catch in the Iron Bowl, building a legacy there. However, that was lost when he chose to transfer out of the program. Essentially, there’s long-term money and benefits that come from the play and being a legendary player in a program. However, transferring makes it much more difficult to capitalize throughout your life in exchange for money made in the short term. That’s a difficult to quantify amount of lost money.

“That catch has been immortalized by Alabama fans and in many by art,” Greg McElroy said. “People are drawing paintings of it. People are profiting off of that. You know who’s not profiting off of that? Isaiah Bond. Because Isaiah Bond after the fact went from an Alabama legend, where he’d never have to pay for another drink in Tuscaloosa the rest of his life, and probably would have had many opportunities to potentially make money because of having participated in that play. Instead, he leaves to go to Texas the following year and now Alabama wants nothing to do with him. That’s how much money was potentially left on the table.

“Yeah, you can’t measure it. You can’t put a price tag on it right now, but yes, maybe $1 million was lost by Isaiah Bond or $1 million was lost by Nico Iamaleava or gained — in Isaiah Bond’s case, he made more at Texas than he would have at Alabama, but because he left Alabama he now no longer has earning potential in Tuscaloosa.”

Nico Iamaleava was reportedly making $2.2 to $2.5 million annually from NIL at Tennessee. That number is already reportedly set to decrease at UCLA, though will still be better than $1.5 million. Beyond that, however, McElroy is concerned that had Iamaleava made himself a program legend at Tennessee, there would be more long-term value. That’s not something he believes is as possible or as lucrative at UCLA.

“What kind of money was left on the table by Nico Iamaleava? Had he gone out, had an incredible year this upcoming year, made the Playoff, made it to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist, and graduate as an all-time great Tennessee quarterback, what would that contract have actually been worth? There’s no telling, but I would imagine it’s significantly more than what could be earned at UCLA… People are walking away from good situations where they could have a lifetime of earnings from one specific school, in favor of the hey, I gotta get mine today,” McElroy said. “And, ultimately, that’s a very short-sighted viewpoint, especially when taking into account what Nico could have been or what Isaiah Bond could have been or what several other players could have been for their school had they just stayed put for a little while longer.”

In the end, Nico Iamaleava was negotiating for himself and Tennessee on its own behalf. They weren’t able to come to a deal and he was forced to find one elsewhere. It’s part of the modern system of college athletics, even if it does change how many fans view their connection to players.

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JACKS HAVE 5 TABBED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT

Story Links South Dakota State had five student-athletes recognized as Academic All-District selections, the College Sports Communicators organization announced on Tuesday. The five Jackrabbits chosen were Akayla Barnard, Alli Boyle, Brooke Dumont, Mia Jarecki and Emma Vike. The 2025 Academic All-District® Softball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s […]

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2 minutes ago

May 27, 2025

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South Dakota State had five student-athletes recognized as Academic All-District selections, the College Sports Communicators organization announced on Tuesday. The five Jackrabbits chosen were Akayla Barnard, Alli Boyle, Brooke Dumont, Mia Jarecki and Emma Vike.

The 2025 Academic All-District® Softball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Dumont and Jarecki are both three-time Academic All-District performers. Barnard, Boyle and Vike are all first-time recipients of the academic honors.

The five Jackrabbits were also integral pieces to the 2025 squad. Three of the honorees in Barnard, Dumont and Jarecki were First Team All-Summit League awardees, while Vike was a Second Tam selection. Boyle was one of two Jackrabbits to start and play in all 55 games during the 2025 season.

Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. Two SDSU student-athletes in Dumont and Jarecki were selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists and advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 17.

-GoJacks.com-

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Maddi Rutan commits to Tennessee softball out of transfer portal

Tennessee softball’s season isn’t even over, but the Lady Vols already scored their first commitment out of the transfer portal. Eastern Kentucky pitcher and utility player Maddi Rutan, a two-way player, announced her commitment to Tennessee on May 27, the same day the Lady Vols left for Oklahoma City to play in the Women’s College […]

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8 minutes ago

May 27, 2025

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Maddi Rutan commits to Tennessee softball out of transfer portal

Tennessee softball’s season isn’t even over, but the Lady Vols already scored their first commitment out of the transfer portal.

Eastern Kentucky pitcher and utility player Maddi Rutan, a two-way player, announced her commitment to Tennessee on May 27, the same day the Lady Vols left for Oklahoma City to play in the Women’s College World Series. No. 7 seed Tennessee (45-15) will play No. 2 seed Oklahoma (50-7) to open the WCWS on May 29 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Rutan was named the ASUN Pitcher and Freshman of the Year in 2024, and she took impressive leaps in both pitching and hitting as a sophomore. Rutan went from 158 strikeouts in 180⅔ innings as a freshman to 227 strikeouts this season in 176 innings, which ranked No. 13 in the country for total strikeouts.

She also went from hitting .295 as a freshman to hitting .413 this season. Rutan owns career marks of 100 RBIs, 21 home runs, 15 doubles, 72 runs scored and 72 walks – she had 61 RBIs and 13 home runs this season. Rutan had a .559 on-base percentage and a .790 slugging percentage as a sophomore.

The Columbus, Indiana, native had a 2.09 ERA with a 25-5 record as a freshman, starting in 21 of her 37 appearances. She threw 158 strikeouts in with 34 walks, 42 earned runs and seven shutouts. Rutan held opposing hitters to a .188 batting average.

Rutan had a 2.91 ERA this season with an 18-10 record. She started in 28 of her 33 appearances for EKU, and she had an impressive jump in strikeouts as a sophomore. Rutan threw She also ranked No. 25 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.13) and No. 28 in hits allowed per seven innings (5.01).Rutan held opposing hitters to a .192 batting average this season with 55 walks, 57 earned runs and four shutouts.Rutan is the first addition out of the transfer portal for Tennessee. She will add even more pitching depth for the Lady Vols, who will only lose one pitcher to graduation in Charli Orsini, and a boost to their offense.Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s bold prediction for future College Football Playoff champions

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Alert the statue makers. Their services would be needed in January, if a college football team navigates this season undefeated. That’s the way Steve Sarkisian sees it, anyway. The Texas coach boldly predicted Tuesday that college football might have seen its last undefeated national champion. And in the off-chance that another […]

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1 hour ago

May 27, 2025

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MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Alert the statue makers. Their services would be needed in January, if a college football team navigates this season undefeated.

That’s the way Steve Sarkisian sees it, anyway.

The Texas coach boldly predicted Tuesday that college football might have seen its last undefeated national champion. And in the off-chance that another perfect team emerges, bust out the bronze, Sarkisian says.

Michigan most recently pulled off perfection with its 2023 team. The Wolverines went 15-0, emerging victorious from a four-team College Football Playoff.

Now, with a 12-team playoff in place and a bigger playoff likely on the horizon, national champions play more than 15 games.

This season’s national champion will play a minimum of 16 games. Ohio State captured glory with a 14-2 record last season. The Buckeyes lost twice during the regular season before winning the national championship from the No. 8 seed line.

Ohio State became the first two-loss champion since 2007 LSU. Get used to more of that, says Sarkisian.

“This idea of somebody is going to go 16-0 in college football, man, put a statue up somewhere of that team,” Sarkisian said before the SEC’s spring meetings began here this week, “because I just don’t know if that’s going to happen again.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian watches his team's game against Texas-San Antonio at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian watches his team’s game against Texas-San Antonio at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Interesting opinion.

Count me among the skeptics, though, that we’ve seen the last of the undefeated national champions. This sport isn’t known for parity. It’s known for a small batch of schools dominating.

Sarkisian himself built a roster that could be poised to do some dominating this year.

FOOL’S GOLD: Big Ten trojan horse lures SEC toward lame playoff format

BIGGER BETTER?: Keep rivalries, or cupcake games? SEC weighs schedule options

Kirby Smart explains why perfection remains possible

Consider Georgia coach Kirby Smart skeptical of Sarkisian’s prediction that we’ve seen the sport’s last undefeated team.

Smart’s 2022 squad went undefeated, one of five teams to achieve the feat during the 10 years of the four-team playoff.

Smart’s thinking goes like this: Unless some framework is put in place to keep a team from outspending everyone else in this pay-for-play era, what’s to stop the emergence of an undefeated super team filled with highly paid players?

“You could end up with some haves and have nots out there,” Smart said, “and ultimately teams could drive prices and go buy a championship with a super team. I think we could see that if there’s not parity. We don’t really know if there’s going to be or not.”

A federal judge is considering whether to approve a legal settlement that would unlock revenue-sharing with athletes. That settlement would cap how much revenue each institution could share with athletes, functioning as something of a salary cap on rosters. However, even in that revenue-sharing landscape, separate NIL deals outside the school framework still could be brokered, allowing a roster to exceed the revenue-sharing cap.

College football’s landscape started evolving after NIL deals launched in 2021. Transfer rules also loosened that year. Those changes made it more difficult for one team – say, Alabama or Georgia – to stockpile a three-deep of all-stars.

“The portal and the lack of the depth” made going undefeated more difficult, Smart acknowledged.

Also, a longer season increases the runway for injuries. Both Texas and Georgia dealt with injuries to their starting quarterbacks last season. Georgia lost in the CFP quarterfinals to Notre Dame while starting a backup quarterback, after Carson Beck injured his elbow in the SEC championship game.

Texas is top candidate to be next undefeated national champion

Sarkisian ranks among the likeliest coaches to produce an undefeated champion within this structure.

The Longhorns possess the necessary ingredients to go undefeated:

∎ A lush bankroll. A handsomely paid roster doesn’t guarantee success, but let’s not kid ourselves, no pauper is winning a title in this pay-for-play model. Ohio State won with the help of spending $20 million to improve its roster. Texas, with its deep war chest, is believed to be among the teams driving up the market price this season.

∎ A good quarterback. Ohio State’s Will Howard peaked at the right time last season and delivered some of his finest performances throughout Ohio State’s four playoff victories. Texas will hand its quarterback reins to Arch Manning. He’s among the preseason favorites for the Heisman Trophy.

∎ A coach (and a school) that attracts talent and develops it. Ohio State’s Ryan Day can recruit and develop. So can Sarkisian. Day entered last season on the shortlist of best coaches without a national championship. Sarkisian heads up that list this season, after Texas’ consecutive trips to the CFP semifinals.

Arch Manning leads a talented Texas team that’s transitioning

Perfection talk aside, it’s evident that Sarkisian likes his roster. Texas must transition to new starters at key positions, including quarterback, but fresh starters doesn’t equate to a youthful roster.

“We’re not necessarily young. We’ve just got some new faces (starting),” Sarkisian said, “guys who have been in our program, who have been working on their craft, who have been developing, and now it’s their opportunity.”

Take Manning, for example. He’s no pup, after two seasons as Quinn Ewers’ backup.

Manning started two games last season while Ewers recovered from an injury, and Sarkisian kept using Manning in select situations after Ewers returned.

The toughest roadblock to Texas achieving perfection probably isn’t the season’s length, but rather the location of its toughest regular-season games.

The Longhorns will play at Ohio State in the season opener and at Georgia in November.

If Manning and the Longhorns beat the Buckeyes at The Horseshoe, the victory would trumpet a message that Texas perfection is possible.

Anyone know any statue makers in Austin?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas’ Steve Sarkisian makes bold College Football Playoff prediction

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EA Sports Releases Covers for 'College Football 26' Video Game

EA Sports is set to release their newest video game this summer, highlighting the most talented college football players in the business. The upcoming release has generated excitement for players and programs, opening up plenty of opportunity for name, image and likeness business. EA Sports brought back their beloved game last year after things were […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 27, 2025

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EA Sports Releases Covers for 'College Football 26' Video Game

EA Sports is set to release their newest video game this summer, highlighting the most talented college football players in the business.

The upcoming release has generated excitement for players and programs, opening up plenty of opportunity for name, image and likeness business.

EA Sports brought back their beloved game last year after things were put on hold amidst some legal issues involving NCAA Football 14.

But now, progressive NIL rules and regulations have brought life back to EA Sports’ virtual football game, and fans have been excited about it ever since.

Ryan Williams (Alabama) and Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) will be starting their sophomore seasons in 2025. Both receivers had impressive freshman years, which helped earn their spots on the cover of EA Sports College Football 26.

Smith had an especially successful college football debut, leading the entire freshmen receiving class with 76 catches for 1,315 yards on his way to winning a national championship with the Buckeyes.

The evolution of NIL rules and regulations pioneered this new movement for EA Sports, giving each player that is featured in the game an estimated $600 and a copy of the video game.

The game is set to be released on July 10, 2025, carrying EA Sports’ new-found legacy after the success of “College Football 25.”

EA Sports will continue their promotion of their new game this week.

The trailer will be released on Thursday and is sure to generate even more excitement before the pre-order date approaches.

The special deluxe edition of the game will feature the coaching staff of teams on the cover, with reports that some coaches will be available during gameplay.

EA Sports is set up nicely and ready to build off the success of the video game from last year, and that should only create more interest in the sport and create a larger NIL platform for the players.

NIL

K-State Fans Skeptical About PJ Haggerty’s Potential NIL Package

Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty will cash in a substantial NIL package with his commitment to suit up for the program this fall. College Basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported Haggerty will receive a $2 million base NIL value and $500k in incentives. Although he won’t receive the $4 million he initially asked for, K-State still […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

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Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty will cash in a substantial NIL package with his commitment to suit up for the program this fall.

College Basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported Haggerty will receive a $2 million base NIL value and $500k in incentives. Although he won’t receive the $4 million he initially asked for, K-State still had enough to land arguably the top player left in the transfer portal.

Most Wildcats fans believe they got the All-American on a bargain and are ecstatic to welcome him on board. The 6-3 redshirt sophomore averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field. He was named the 2025 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Player of the Year.

However, some are skeptical of the move due to uncertainty about whether Haggerty will truly move the needle for the Wildcats.

“Congratulations to Kansas State for making a really dumb decision,” one user tweeted. “The kid is a pretty good player but is nowhere close to being worth that kind of money.”

The deal mirrors Coleman Hawkins from last season, who later revealed the deal was worth $2 million. Given the team’s underwhelming results after Hawkins’ addition, another transfer portal player reportedly receiving the same amount leaves fans a little worrisome.

Either way, Haggerty, alongside a talented transfer portal class put together by coach Jerome Tang, should at the very least be expected to help improve from the team’s 16-17 record from last season, when the program finished No. 9 in the Big 12.

Will Howard Should Be Elated By Former NFL GM’s Aaron Rodgers Take

K-State Gets Major Transfer Win With PJ Haggerty Commitment

Kansas State Fans Gush Over Transfer Marcus Johnson’s Rare Physical Build

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Bethune-Cookman To Play In Tallahassee Regionals

The 2025 NCAA Baseball Championship selection committee seeded Bethune-Cookman in the Tallahassee Regional. The 2025 SWAC Baseball Tournament Champions will open the tourney against No. 9 seed and host school Florida State. No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman (37-21) will play its first NCAA Tournament since 2017. The Wildcats will have the first pitch versus the […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 27, 2025

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