NIL
How much NIL money did KU basketball earn in Players Era?
After a chaotic finish, the Kansas Jayhawks walked away victorious from Wednesday’s Players Era Tournament showdown against the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday night.
KU earned not only the third-place finish, but a hefty cash prize: Kansas was awarded $300,000 in NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) compensation. Tennessee earned $200,000 for finishing fourth.
Seth Berger, the CEO of the Players Era Festival, said that all 18 teams in this year’s Players Era event will receive “over $1 million on average” in NIL funds.
The biggest winner is Michigan, who won the tournament late Wednesday night. The Wolverines earned $1 million in NIL compensation, while Gonzaga earned $500,000 for its second-place finish.
“With the NIL opportunities, the kids actually have to perform activations, marketing services, social media postings, and so we make sure that each kid, each athlete is meeting fair-market value for that,” Berger told media in Las Vegas. “And again, it’s in excess of a million dollars on average per team.”
Shreyas Laddha
The Kansas City Star
Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.