NIL

Liquid I.V. is giving its marketing an F1 injection

It’s shaping up to be a hot one in Miami this weekend. That could be good news for Liquid I.V., which for the second year in a row is serving as the electrolyte drink mix and “functional hydration partner” of Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix taking place in the city. Liquid I.V.’s hydration sticks are […]

Published

1 month ago

May 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Liquid I.V. is giving its marketing an F1 injection

It’s shaping up to be a hot one in Miami this weekend.

That could be good news for Liquid I.V., which for the second year in a row is serving as the electrolyte drink mix and “functional hydration partner” of Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix taking place in the city.

Liquid I.V.’s hydration sticks are meant to help athletes (and anyone in need of hydration, like, say, people with hangovers) replenish their electrolytes, making Miami’s already hot and humid climate and an event featuring athletes who are known to lose a lot of water during races an ideal opportunity for the brand to tell its story and get product into people’s hands, CMO Stacey Andrade-Wells said.

“The more we can offer that experience [of using Liquid I.V.] to people in real time when they’re dehydrated, we’re far more likely to convert them to loyal users of the brand,” Andrade-Wells told Marketing Brew. “For 2025, our big theme is we’re going bigger, we’re going better.”

Stick the landing

Last year, Liquid I.V. introduced its field marketing initiative at the Miami Grand Prix, where brand ambassadors handed out samples during race weekend and at subsequent events like college sports games, marathons, and pickleball tournaments, Andrade-Wells said. Since then, the brand has “scaled it out quite significantly,” she said.

During the weekend of the Miami Grand Prix last year, Liquid I.V. ambassadors handed out 190,000 sticks around the city, according to Andrade-Wells. This year, the goal is to hand out a quarter of a million, she said.

In addition to the giveaways, Andrade-Wells said brand awareness is a major KPI for the two-year partnership, which is now in its second year. Given the growing US audience for F1, she said she’s looking to build brand equity not just in Miami, but across the country. That audience includes an increasing share of women, which was part of what made the partnership attractive to the Liquid I.V. team; more than half of the brand’s customers are women, Andrade-Wells said.

“Professional racing has just become such a cultural phenomenon,” she said. “It’s this really interesting intersection of sports, entertainment, and hospitality, and for us, it created an opportunity to position Liquid I.V. as a frontrunner in that space.”

With last year being Miami’s hottest May on record, Liquid I.V. was able to demonstrate how its product works—not only for professional athletes, but also for the pit crews, workers, fans, and broader Miami community who were sweating it out.

Heating up

This year, Andrade-Wells said Liquid I.V. is turning up the heat. Beyond upping the ante on sampling, the brand is making a few other adjustments for this year’s race weekend. For one, Andrade-Wells’s team is focused on highlighting the science behind the product, with “far more of an immersive sensory experience” that shows people how Liquid I.V. helps with dehydration, she said. Liquid I.V. also created a co-branded product with F1 for the first time, Andrade-Wells said, an “mystery flavor” with F1 branding that’s available online and that race attendees will be able to taste over the weekend.

The brand team is looking to make the F1 experience accessible to fans who aren’t on the ground, too. In an effort to do that, the brand is creating behind-the-scenes social media and influencer content with partners including Williams driver Alex Albon and former Haas principal Guenther Steiner.

“If you’re at home and you’re enjoying F1 digitally, we want you to be able to see what it’s like on the grounds,” Andrade-Wells said.

But one F1 fan will get to experience race weekend in person. After someone spent the past year commenting on Liquid I.V.’s social posts asking for the chance to attend, the brand opted to cover expenses for her and a plus-one to come to Miami, Andrade-Wells said.

Though this weekend marks the end of Liquid I.V.’s deal with the Miami Grand Prix, the brand isn’t done with F1 for the year, as it’s off to the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. Andrade-Wells said she’s not quite sure exactly how Liquid I.V. will show up at that race yet, but hinted that it will be “very similar to our approach to Miami.” After that, Liquid I.V. doesn’t have any further F1 deals locked in just yet—but that doesn’t mean motorsport fans have seen the last of the brand.

“We are committed to continuing to focus on sports partnerships as a key space within our marketing strategy,” Andrade-Wells said. “The environment is changing so quickly that it’s hard for me to commit to something right now. I think we’ll have to see how Year 2 goes.”

NIL

Chipper Jones calls out disrespectful college baseball coaches, teams ahead of Super Regionals

After a riveting round of regional action, there was more than a bit of controversy. And at least one prominent voice in the sport, Chipper Jones, is speaking up. Jones called out some aberrant behavior that he believes is bad for the sport, pledging only to view teams that play the right way going forward. […]

Published

1 minute ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

After a riveting round of regional action, there was more than a bit of controversy. And at least one prominent voice in the sport, Chipper Jones, is speaking up.

Jones called out some aberrant behavior that he believes is bad for the sport, pledging only to view teams that play the right way going forward. He won’t be a party to some of the nonsense he saw from various teams over the weekend.

“Spent quite a bit of time watching college baseball this weekend,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “I will only watch a select few teams from here on out. Reason? They have coaches that respect the game and their opponents and demand the same of their players.”

Chipper Jones would delve further into his reasoning, but he’s clearly advocating for a cleaner version of the sport. One in which things are done the correct way.

He outlined what he meant a bit more thoroughly. He explained.

“Any team that doesn’t wear the uni correctly, taunts the other team, and has a coach that condones this behavior, is a disgrace to the game,” Chipper Jones said.

He did, however, have one team that certainly fit his criteria for doing things the right way. That was one of the 16 regional host teams.

“Big fan of coach (Kevin) Schnall at Coastal Carolina!” Chipper Jones wrote. “Him and his team represent what college baseball should be like. Well done, sir! U stand for proper behavior.”

That, in and of itself, is interesting, because Schall was adjacent to arguably the biggest controversy of the week. That came when Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan was caught on camera multiple times berating NCAA Tournament staffers and Coastal Carolina officials over a game time being moved.

Schnall went off on O’Sullivan, though he didn’t call him out by name. He did note that the behavior was “absolutely unacceptable,” likely the exact kind of thing Chipper Jones was referring to.

“I believe in standing up for what’s right, and what transpired this morning on our field, another coach disrespected our associate AD, who works as hard as anybody in our entire program,” Schnall said. “He disrespected our field crew, who are the salt of the earth. These guys would do anything for our program. It’s not OK. And this needs to be brought up.

“Absolutely disrespectful. As a coach it’s our job to mentor young kids,” Schnall said. “And the way he treated the two site reps, the way he treated our associate AD, the way he treated our field crew is absolutely unacceptable. And I’m really, that’s what I’m most disappointed about.

“This is a national champion coach who thinks he can come in here and try to bully people around. Disappointed. Disappointed somebody that a lot of coaches look up to, for him to act that way, really disappointed. He disrespected a Hall of Fame coach who’s the site rep here. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Coastal Carolina will certainly have a viewer in Chipper Jones. And if his message gets through, hopefully the sport will see fewer antics in the Super Regional round.

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Level Out the Playing Field

It’s no secret that men have overshadowed and dismissed women, throughout history. The past shows that women were never seen as equal, especially in sports. However, women’s sports have recently started to rise. If you ask anyone now about athletes like Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese, they’d most likely know things beyond the simple facts […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

It’s no secret that men have overshadowed and dismissed women, throughout history. The past shows that women were never seen as equal, especially in sports.

However, women’s sports have recently started to rise. If you ask anyone now about athletes like Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese, they’d most likely know things beyond the simple facts – what position they play, which WNBA team they’re a part of, what college they played at – and that’s just within the scope of professional basketball. Imagine what people can say now about Olympians like Simone Biles, Trinity Rodman or even college stars with name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.

Women’s sports have truly taken over and are gaining more viewership than ever. According to the National Women’s Soccer League, their total viewership in the postseason garnered around 18 million views, five times more than in 2023.

Yet a statistic came along comparing the rookie season salary of the number one 2024 draft picks between the Indiana Fever’s (WNBA) aforementioned Clark and the San Antonio Spurs (NBA) Victor Wembanyama. The gap was nothing short of appalling. How can there be a 12,023,500-dollar gap between these two?

It is important to fact-check this number. At first, a twelve-million-dollar gap sounds unthinkable, but these numbers prove to be slightly inaccurate. According to ESPN Wembanyama was actually making around $12.7 million during his rookie season while Clark was only making around $76,000.

Clark’s final and record-breaking season at Iowa was one that truly propelled her fame and brought light to the WNBA, despite their loss to the University of South Carolina in the NCAA national championship. Most refer to this as the “Caitlin Clark effect,” where she is credited with the impact on the popularity of women’s basketball. According to the WNBA, with the help of Clark and other prominent women’s college basketball stars, the league picked up viewership by 170% in just the 2024 season.

So yes, everyone really does watch women’s sports.

“If you’re not watching women’s sports, you’re truly missing out. Now is the time to tune in, as the sky’s the limit for women’s sports,” Clark said in a 2023 interview after winning Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

There are some missed research and plot holes to consider in regards to the pay gap. The comparison used seventy-five thousand, which was only part of Clark’s total earnings in her rookie year. This is part of a four-year contract with the Fever with a salary of around $338,000. In fact, her total 2024 salary was not twelve million dollars short of Wembanyama’s, but only around 1.6 million, funded mainly through sponsorships and deals.

The kicker is, Wembanyama’s rookie season salary still remains at around $12.7 million for the same contract – a four-year deal with a team, the Spurs – and this doesn’t include sponsorships.

So why is it that women continue to get paid less than men? And why does it still matter now?

Firstly, there are new opportunities for women’s sports that are emerging in the United States. The WNBA continues to make headlines, but what about other professional sports leagues here? The American professional volleyball situation is a perfect example.

Recently, two new pro volleyball leagues developed and began their inaugural seasons here in the United States. 2024 saw the rise of the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF), debuting with seven teams that recruited some of the most well-known volleyball stars at the college and professional level from their draft. And just a year later, League One Volleyball (LOVB) began their inaugural season with some of the best volleyball veterans.

Another female pro team that has been gaining attention is the Women’s National Soccer Team. The team recently won gold at the 2024 Olympics and despite winning multiple World Cup titles, they continue to get paid short compared to the men’s.

On average, the salaries for a player in these two leagues range from around $60,000 to $245,000. PVF has listed their salary range from between $60,000 to $175,000, while the U.S. national soccer team has raised their salary pay to $245,000 to $327,000. Additionally, an average WNBA salary is calculated at around $60,000 to $140,000.

The main difference between the disputed pay gap between male and female athletes, however, lies within the salary caps and media deals set by each league. One of the better examples to look at is between the main basketball leagues: the NBA holds a higher and softer cap, while the WNBA holds a harder and lower cap.

Essentially a softer cap simply means that more factors add to the total. The NBA’s salaries are typically more due to higher ticket sales, different broadcasting and media deals and merchandise sales.

Viewership for the WNBA has historically been lower, even with growing popularity. Due to a “lack of fan interest,” WNBA athletes find it difficult to make a salary even comparable to their NBA counterparts.

Another factor to consider is the length of the leagues. The NBA is referred to as having a “50 year head-start” compared to the WNBA, allowing the league to earn more deals, revenue and sponsorships.

Finally, the revenue shares that add to salaries differ between each league. NBA players receive half of all the revenue earned, while WNBA players receive half of all of the league’s incremental revenue, according to Just Women’s Sports. Players in the W only receive their share of the revenue that is earned above the league’s yearly target revenue.

Basically, men’s sports leagues have all the advantages in this situation. So how can the issue of the pay gap be fixed?

Simply put, the women’s leagues would have to be given the same opportunities as men’s leagues. This would include increasing the media coverage, brand deals, sponsorships and investments. However, it isn’t that easy for these solutions to happen.

It is also important to consider that now with the league in the limelight, the W and other leagues can expand and make the changes that their players may be asking for. As the popularity of women’s sports continues to rise, so does the hope that these solutions happen as well. The WNBA has already begun to make better changes for their athletes, including chartering private flights and, namely, increasing salaries.

“As athletes, we have to fight. As women, we have to fight… And we need more people at our table to fight with us,” said WNBA player Skylar Diggins-Smith in a 2018 interview.

As the conversation about the pay gap continues, it is important to acknowledge women in sports. The pay gap is simply a part of a larger principle that demands equity and equality for female athletes. With our support, as fans, we can help push the narrative that female athletes deserve equal opportunities to the leagues to make the changes we aim to see.

NIL

Nebraska set to pay student-athletes over $20 million next year

Published

1 hour ago

June 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

ROBIN QUANECIA BILL. THANK YOU. THE LANDSCAPE IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING WITHIN COLLEGE ATHLETICS AND THE MAJOR DRIVING FORCE. NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS. EACH YEAR LOOKS DIFFERENT, WITH GUIDELINES STILL UP IN THE AIR. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S EDDIE MESSEL IS HERE IN THE STUDIO WITH MORE FROM NEBRASKA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TROY DANNEN, AND WHERE HE FEELS NEBRASKA IS SITUATED MOVING FORWARD. EDDIE ROB KEARNEY, NEBRASKA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TROY SAYS THEY ARE WALKING INTO A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLD OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, HOWEVER, FEELS LIKE NEBRASKA HAS DONE ENOUGH LEADING UP TO NOW TO COMPETE IN THE WORLD OF NIL. THE ROARS IN MEMORIAL STADIUM HAVE BEEN HEARD FOR YEARS, BUT BEHIND THE SCENES OF WHAT HAPPENS OFF THE FIELD WILL SEE A MAJOR SHIFT THIS UPCOMING YEAR. THE GREATEST CHANGE OF ALL IS WE’RE GOING TO BE PAYING OUR ATHLETES $20.5 MILLION THIS YEAR, DAN SAYS. TO SUPPORT THE PAYROLLS, UNIVERSITY HAS HAD TO CHANGE THEIR BUSINESS MODEL. OUR COACHES WILL TELL YOU THE MOST IMPORTANT DOLLAR THAT GETS SPENT IS TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN GOOD QUALITY STUDENT ATHLETES. DESPITE THE SETTLEMENT NOT EVEN BEING PASSED YET, DAN SAYS THE THIRD PARTY COLLECTIVE NIL WORKS IS CHANGING AS WELL AS ROSTER LIMITS. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SETTLEMENT, DAN SAYS THERE ARE CONTINGENCY PLANS IN PLACE FOR WHATEVER THE OUTCOME. NEBRASKA IS VERY FORTUNATE IN THAT, I THINK BECAUSE OF THE WISDOM OF OF ALL OF MY PREDECESSORS IN ATHLETICS, WE’RE IN AN EXTRAORDINARILY STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION, AND WE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING DRACONIAN TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE’RE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE ATHLETES TO THE FULLEST. ATHLETES WILL NOT BE EMPLOYEES OF THE UNIVERSITY, ACCORDING TO DAN. THESE WILL BE NIL RIGHTS CONTRACTS, MEANING THE UNIVERSITY IS PROVIDING A FEE TO UTILIZE ATHLETES RIGHTS TO THEIR NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS. IT TALKS ABOUT IF YOU VIOLATE ACADEMIC STANDARDS, IF YOU’RE IF YOU BECOME INELIGIBLE BECAUSE OF YOUR CONDUCT, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT THESE CONTRACTS BECOME VOID. MOST OF THE DEALS WILL BE ONE YEAR CONTRACTS. SO IF AN ATHLETE CHOOSES TO LEAVE, THERE SHOULD BE NO ISSUES. DAN SAYS THERE WILL BE A FEW EXCEPTIONS FOR MULTIYEAR CONTRACTS. THE HOPES ARE THE DEALS WILL MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE ENOUGH FOR ATHLETES TO WANT TO STAY AT UNL. IT WAS SEEN A LOT OF MOVEMENT, I THINK, RELATED TO REVENUE SHARE AND NIL. IF THE SETTLEMENT WORKS AS INTENDED, YOU WILL SEE A LOT LESS PLAYER MOVEMENT BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE THERE IS A FINITE AMOUNT OF OF MONEY FROM AMONG ALL THE INSTITUTIONS. THAT $2.8 BILLION NIL SETTLEMENT SETTLEMENT IS CAUGHT UP IN THE COURTS. THE ORIGINAL DEADLINE WAS SET FOR JUNE 6TH. A FEDERAL JUDGE GRANTED AN EXTENSION. THAT NEW DATE IS JUNE 27TH. THAT DEADLINE ALSO PUSHES THE TIMELINE FOR POTENTIAL RESOLUTION EVEN CLOSER TO THE EXPECTED START OF REVENUE SHARING PAYMENTS T

Nebraska set to pay student-athletes over $20 million next year in NIL contracts, Troy Dannen says

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen says UNL is set to pay student-athletes over $20 million next year.

Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen says they are walking into a completely different world over the next few years. However, he feels like Nebraska has done enough leading up to now to compete in the world of name, image and likeness licensing. The roars in Memorial Stadium have been heard for years, but behind the scenes what happens off the field will see a major shift this upcoming year.”The greatest change of all is we’re going to be paying our athletes $20.5 million this year,” Dannen said.Dannen says that to support the payroll, the university has had to change its business model.READ MORE: Nebraska athletic director says Memorial Stadium will no longer offer stadium re-entry because of alcohol sales”Our coaches will tell you the most important dollar that gets spent is to recruit and retain good quality student-athletes,” Dannen said.Despite the settlement not even being passed yet, Dannen says the third-party collective NIL works is changing, as well as roster limits. No matter what happens in the settlement, Dannen says there are contingency plans in place for whatever the outcome.”Nebraska is very fortunate in that I think because of the wisdom of all of my predecessors in athletics, we’re in an extraordinarily strong financial position and we didn’t have to do anything draconian to get to the point where we’re able to support the athletes to the fullest,” Dannen said.Athletes will not be employees of the university, according to Dannen. These will be NIL rights contracts, meaning the university is providing a fee to utilize athletes’ rights to their name, image and likeness.”It talks about if you violate academic standards, if you become ineligible because of your conduct, things like that, these contracts become void,” Dannen said.Most of the deals will be one-year contracts, so if an athlete chooses to leave, there should be no issues. Dannen added that there will be a few exceptions for multiyear contracts, but the hope is the deals will make it attractive enough for athletes to want to stay at UNL.”We’ve seen a lot of movement related to rev share and NIL,” Dannen said. “If the settlement works as intended, you will see a lot less player movement because of that, because there is a finite amount of money among all the institutions.”That $2.8 billion NIL settlement is still caught up in the courts. The original deadline was set for June 6, but a federal judge granted an extension, and the new date is June 27. That deadline also pushes the timeline for a potential resolution even closer to the expected start of revenue-sharing payments to athletes on July 1.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

LINCOLN, Neb. —

Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen says they are walking into a completely different world over the next few years.

However, he feels like Nebraska has done enough leading up to now to compete in the world of name, image and likeness licensing. The roars in Memorial Stadium have been heard for years, but behind the scenes what happens off the field will see a major shift this upcoming year.

“The greatest change of all is we’re going to be paying our athletes $20.5 million this year,” Dannen said.

Dannen says that to support the payroll, the university has had to change its business model.

READ MORE: Nebraska athletic director says Memorial Stadium will no longer offer stadium re-entry because of alcohol sales

“Our coaches will tell you the most important dollar that gets spent is to recruit and retain good quality student-athletes,” Dannen said.

Despite the settlement not even being passed yet, Dannen says the third-party collective NIL works is changing, as well as roster limits. No matter what happens in the settlement, Dannen says there are contingency plans in place for whatever the outcome.

“Nebraska is very fortunate in that I think because of the wisdom of all of my predecessors in athletics, we’re in an extraordinarily strong financial position and we didn’t have to do anything draconian to get to the point where we’re able to support the athletes to the fullest,” Dannen said.

Athletes will not be employees of the university, according to Dannen. These will be NIL rights contracts, meaning the university is providing a fee to utilize athletes’ rights to their name, image and likeness.

“It talks about if you violate academic standards, if you become ineligible because of your conduct, things like that, these contracts become void,” Dannen said.

Most of the deals will be one-year contracts, so if an athlete chooses to leave, there should be no issues. Dannen added that there will be a few exceptions for multiyear contracts, but the hope is the deals will make it attractive enough for athletes to want to stay at UNL.

“We’ve seen a lot of movement related to rev share and NIL,” Dannen said. “If the settlement works as intended, you will see a lot less player movement because of that, because there is a finite amount of money among all the institutions.”

That $2.8 billion NIL settlement is still caught up in the courts. The original deadline was set for June 6, but a federal judge granted an extension, and the new date is June 27.That deadline also pushes the timeline for a potential resolution even closer to the expected start of revenue-sharing payments to athletes on July 1.

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NIL Deals Led To A Lot Of Business Opportunities For College Players, But Anthony Davis Says ‘It Takes Away From The Integrity’

Anthony Davis has mixed feelings about NIL deals. What Is NIL? In June 2021, NCAA college athletes were given the opportunity to benefit financially from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) for the first time. This change came after governance bodies across all three NCAA divisions suspended NIL restrictions for current and incoming student-athletes in […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Anthony Davis has mixed feelings about NIL deals.

What Is NIL?

In June 2021, NCAA college athletes were given the opportunity to benefit financially from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) for the first time. This change came after governance bodies across all three NCAA divisions suspended NIL restrictions for current and incoming student-athletes in all sports, according to the NCAA.

However, it was clarified that despite the changes to the NIL landscape, “pay-for-play” arrangements and improper inducements would still not be permitted.

“This is an important day for college athletes since they all are now able to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said at the time, per the NCAA. “With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level. The current environment — both legal and legislative — prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve.”

Anthony Davis’ Concerns Around NIL Deals Explained

The NCAA’s point about clarity was also recently flagged by Davis, a current Dallas Mavericks forward who believes NIL deals have impacted the sport in ways that are not all positive.

“It’s tough, because obviously they didn’t have that when I was in college,” Davis told Sports Illustrated. “It kinda takes away from the game a little bit because of—and I’m not hating—it takes away from the integrity in the sense of players are only going to certain schools because of the money.”

Recently PJ Haggerty transferred to Kansas State University after playing for the University of Memphis and withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft. He will now be receiving an NIL deal valued at $2.5 million, securing a $2 million base salary and $500,000 in performance incentives, notes Athlon Sports. Haggerty was reportedly seeking at least $4 million in NIL deals for the 2025–26 season after entering the transfer portal in April and was looking to play point guard rather than shooting guard, per Commercial Appeal.

This move led University of Memphis Head Coach Penny Hardaway to rebuild the team’s roster signing 12 new players. This reinforces additional concerns Davis had about NIL deals and their influence over the transfer portal, whether intentional or not.

“College basketball is still competitive, but the recruitment of it has kinda gotten a little wacky, especially when player can leave and enter the (transfer) portal and go anywhere. It just gets a little tricky,” Davis said, according to Sports Illustrated. “The coaches either a) have to be more strategic with their recruiting, or b) if you don’t have a lot of money for NIL, that kind of takes away your school, your program, as far as being a top recruiter for some of these players.”

He added, “Because one guy can leave the next year, transfer—it gets tough, when you start talking about culture. That kind of goes out the window, in my opinion.”

The post NIL Deals Led To A Lot Of Business Opportunities For College Players, But Anthony Davis Says ‘It Takes Away From The Integrity’ appeared first on AfroTech.

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ESPN’s Pat McAfee Amazed by NiJaree Canady’s WCWS Performance

NiJaree Canady’s impressive performance in the WCWS has caught the attention of one of the biggest names in the sports entertainment industry, Pat McAfee. McAfee, who is an ESPN personality, raved about the Texas Tech pitcher during Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show. The junior has pitched lights out all season and stepped it […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NiJaree Canady’s impressive performance in the WCWS has caught the attention of one of the biggest names in the sports entertainment industry, Pat McAfee.

McAfee, who is an ESPN personality, raved about the Texas Tech pitcher during Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show.

The junior has pitched lights out all season and stepped it up even more in the WCWS. Canady has thrown 300 pitches throughout her three games in Oklahoma City. She is 32-5 overall and has a nation-leading 0.86 ERA.

Canady made history when she signed to play for Texas Tech, becoming the first-ever college softball player to ink a one-million-dollar NIL deal. Now that Golden Arm has led the Red Raiders to the WCWS finals for the first time in program history.

On The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee expressed his excitement for Canady and the sport of softball.

“People are making a million bucks and its electrifying,” McAfee said.

McAfee wasn’t the only one impressed by Canady’s performance.

“She is an absolute dog,” Ty Schmit. “She has thrown every single pitch in the College World Series for Texas Tech so far, and behold, they’re in the championship series.”

“If women’s college softball is making a million dollars, I think that’s good for sports, and she’s lived up to it,” McAfee added.

More News: Iowa High Schooler Stuns Super Bowl Champ with Strikeout at Charity Softball Game

More News: Texas Softball Shuts Out Tennessee to Clinch Spot in WCWS Finals

More News: NiJaree Canady Shines, Texas Tech Softball Steals WCWS Win Against UCLA

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Can Collective Bargaining Save College Football From Itself in the NIL Era?

The House v. NCAA settlement has the state of college sports in a standstill as schools try to prepare for a murky future of paying players directly for NIL. With the college football season beginning just months after the expected July 1 date, it’s been a chaotic nightmare of an offseason. There’s not even a […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The House v. NCAA settlement has the state of college sports in a standstill as schools try to prepare for a murky future of paying players directly for NIL.

With the college football season beginning just months after the expected July 1 date, it’s been a chaotic nightmare of an offseason.

There’s not even a guarantee the settlement will be approved.

The worst part is that the players at the center of the issue weren’t consulted and don’t know what the future holds.

In the absence of that voice, the need for collective bargaining and a players union grows more critical by the day.

Jim Cavale, founder of the players association for college athletes, Athletes.org, spoke exclusively with NIL Daily On SI about the need for a sustainable solution in the form of collective bargaining.

Name, image, and likeness entered college sports as the result of a pivotal lawsuit filed by former UCLA Bruins basketball player Ed O’Bannon.

College sports have since been shaped by litigation, and is that truly the path it should continue to follow? Cavale doesn’t believe so.

“The only sustainable solution for college athletics to have rules that can be enforced without litigation is collective bargaining,” Cavale explained.

Before launching Athletes.org with former NFL player Brandon Copeland, Cavale founded INFLCR in 2017, which helped support athletes on social media to build their brand.

They were acquired by Teamworks, and Cavale stayed on as CEO as they built payment and reporting software for clients once NIL began.

Cavale observed that within the more than $300 million in transactions, most of the funds originated from donors who funneled money through collectives, essentially creating a pay-for-play model.

As court cases continued to be filed against the NCAA, Cavale saw the problems in an unstructured environment operating under the guise of NIL when it was really pay-for-play and sought to found Athletes.org.

To date, there are a record 4,700 members in the players association, making it the largest in America. Their focus has been on Power Four football and basketball, of which there are 2,300.

That’s where Cavale anticipates collective bargaining taking center stage first, but the reason he expects that is because of foreseen issues with an incomplete solution in the House settlement.

“We need a set of rules that can be enforced without litigation. We need them in all realms: transfer portal, free agency, compensation, health and safety, et cetera. The only way to do that is through collective bargaining.”

Collective bargaining would also give athletes a voice in this process they really haven’t been included in, despite the plaintiffs representing less than 0.1% of all athletes, all of whom are members of the players association.

“Unfortunately, not only has the greater group of college athletes that are going to be impacted [by House] not been included in that negotiation, but no athletes have been educated on anything pertaining to the settlement,” Cavale said. “The schools have said, We’re going to tell our athletes how it’s all going to work once it gets approved. There are tens of thousands of college athletes that are trying to piece together what this new reality is going to look like through media reports, not direct education from their schools.”

Cavale also pointed out that the compensation provided by schools does not truly qualify as NIL deals. These agreements are a form of pay-for-play. However, the contracts will pertain to NIL publicity rights.

Athletes may sign deals that limit their ability to use their likeness for outside endorsement deals because they’re disguised from their true purposes: their performance on the field.

“Leave real NIL endorsement opportunities open to those athletes, should they have the value, to go command those deals,” Cavale said. “Instead of trying to disguise these deals in a way where you now own their rights to do endorsements or can block them from doing certain endorsements because those brands might conflict with the brand sponsors of your school. That’s going to be a mess. There’s a real crux with how these contracts are being structured that will create a flurry of lawsuits.”

That void in education has created an opportunity for Cavale and his team, as their app educates their members on the topics of roster limits, how money will be dispersed, and why football is commanding a higher amount of $20 million.

The athletes also benefit from pro bono partnerships with law firms, accounting firms, mental health, and more as part of the free membership. Ultimately, they just want to know what the settlement means.

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