NIL
Mizzou spent $31.7 million on NIL for athletes in last year, records show
The University of Missouri athletics department has spent more than $31 million on name, image and likeness compensation for its athletes during the past year, according to financial records. Mizzou’s NIL spending reflects the university’s push to compete in football and men’s basketball under the terms of a modern college sports landscape that has spawned […]


The University of Missouri athletics department has spent more than $31 million on name, image and likeness compensation for its athletes during the past year, according to financial records.
Mizzou’s NIL spending reflects the university’s push to compete in football and men’s basketball under the terms of a modern college sports landscape that has spawned a lucrative market for athletes.
The records show that nearly two-thirds of the money in 2024 went to football players and about a fourth to men’s basketball. The remainder was split among baseball, women’s basketball and lower-profile programs.
MU’s spending in the past month alone shows how the school has tried to take advantage of a disruption in the NIL market, distributing an influx of cash to athletes before the landmark House v. NCAA settlement takes effect July 1 and imposes a de facto salary cap.
Mizzou athletic director Laird Veatch, has declined to specify how his department will share $18 million of revenue with athletes under the terms of that settlement. But MU’s NIL spending breakdown provides a window into how it has distributed money to this point and how it may share revenue with athletes moving forward.
The Post-Dispatch compiled Mizzou’s spending through a series of invoices sent to the athletics department from Every True Tiger Brands LLC, the collective-turned-marketing agency that runs the school’s NIL operation. The athletics department turned the money over to Every True Tiger to distribute to athletes. The Post-Dispatch obtained the invoices, dating back to Sept. 1, 2023, through an open records request.
The invoice figures represent 90%-95% of all the NIL compensation Mizzou athletes receive, Brad Larrondo, the CEO of Every True Tiger, told the Post-Dispatch.
What they don’t capture is deals with third parties — such as wide receiver Luther Burden III’s ad campaign with clothing brand Nautica or men’s basketball guard Caleb Grill’s TV commercial for a Columbia law firm — because they’re independently arranged.
NIL data points are typically murky and often exaggerated, making the clarity of Mizzou’s figures unique within college sports.
MU was billed more than $31.7 million by Every True Tiger from July 1, 2024, to date, a span that roughly aligns with both a sports and fiscal year. The number of athletes receiving NIL benefits varied month to month, ranging from 155 to 65, with an average of 125.
Every True Tiger is not quite like the collectives used to generate and distribute NIL funds at most schools. It is a self-described “marketing and branding agency” tethered to Mizzou, allowing the school to funnel NIL money to its athletes. The funds are listed in the invoices as “talent fees.”
The $31.7 million tally includes a 2024 football season in which the Tigers went 10-3 and a men’s basketball campaign that saw Mizzou return to the NCAA Tournament. It also includes spending on transfers for both teams’ upcoming seasons.
Because NIL nationwide is so murky, it’s not possible to compare Missouri’s spending with that of similar universities, whose figures are not available or have not been reported.
The NIL landscape will undergo a drastic change when the House settlement goes into effect. Major athletic programs, including Mizzou, will share $18 million of revenue directly with their athletes each year. Previously unregulated NIL deals will now have to come from third parties and receive approval from a nationwide clearinghouse to ensure that they fall within an established range of fair values.
As such, Mizzou’s NIL operation will look different moving forward.
Spending flurry before July 1
Of the roughly $31.7 million spent on NIL in the last year, nearly $10.3 million came earlier this month — just weeks ahead of the House settlement’s effective date.
Mizzou has sent just shy of $25 million to Every True Tiger so far in 2025, more than doubling the school’s $12.4 million spent across all of 2024. The last six months of invoices were the six most lucrative of the 22 obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
Here is a breakdown of Mizzou’s NIL spending by month:
• Sept. 2023 — $881,446 (Every True Tiger invoice total)
• Oct. 2023 — $789,046
• Nov. 2023 — $825,846
• Dec. 2023 — $848,313
• Jan. 2024 — $767,584
• Feb. 2024 — $824,700
• March 2024 — $754,200
• April 2024 — $662,233
• May 2024 — $991,250
• June 2024 — $1,619,400
• July 2024 — $940,900
• Aug. 2024 — $876,900
• Sept. 2024 — $1,871,900
• Oct. 2024 — $902,400
• Nov. 2024 — $950,850
• Dec. 2024 — $1,211,500
• Jan. 2025 — $4,647,950
• Feb. 2025 — $1,919,100
• March 2025 — $2,332,150
• April 2025 — $2,185,950
• May 2025 — $3,592,850
• June 2025 — $10,279,300
The practice of “front-loading” deals with athletes, believed to be common across major college sports, allowed MU to provide extra compensation to athletes signed for next season before it is restricted by the settlement’s revenue-sharing cap.
Starting July 1, schools will be limited in how much revenue they can share with athletes, and external NIL deals will be subject to increased scrutiny. In the meantime, athletic departments like Mizzou’s have taken the closing months of the NIL free-for-all to give a rising amount of money to athletes competing in 2025-26 — and continually up the ante to keep pace with others doing the same.
“As we were all anticipating this coming, we all recognize that we needed to best position ourselves,” Veatch said of the front-loading practice. “Like you can see, we were aggressive in that approach. I don’t feel like it’s necessarily inconsistent with a lot of those schools out there.”
“It was an absolute necessity,” Larrondo said. “That was the standard you were trying to meet. … We weren’t uncommon in that.”
Every True Tiger’s 2025 invoices haven’t broken down spending by sport. But it’s likely that football players who signed deals in the winter and men’s basketball players who signed in the spring have received a significant portion of the compensation they’re due already — months before their seasons start.
What each sport received
In 2024, Mizzou sent about $12.4 million to Every True Tiger. A little less than $8 million, or 64.3%, went to football. Men’s basketball received $2.9 million, or 23.5%.
Baseball received $488,500, or 3.9%. Women’s basketball received $348,100 or 2.8%.
Softball (1.5%), wrestling (1.2%) and track and field (1.1%) were the only other programs to receive more than 1% of the total spending. Gymnastics received 0.8%, volleyball received 0.3%, golf and soccer received 0.2%, and tennis received just $10,000 — less than 0.1%.
The records do not detail which athletes within those programs received the money. And for 2025 spending, the invoices did not break down how the money was distributed by sport.
The NIL breakdown is not a perfect science. Looking at the 2024 calendar year, for example, it encompasses one football season but parts of two basketball seasons. Still, it’s something of a baseline and the clearest possible view into which sports were NIL priorities.
While it’s not yet clear how Mizzou’s spending trend will carry over into the revenue-sharing era, expenditures on football and men’s basketball clearly spiked during transfer portal windows as the programs acquired new players and signed current players to new deals.
In January 2024, when the football program signed most of its transfers for that year, it was the only sport included on that month’s Every True Tiger invoice. MU jumped from spending about $561,000 on football in NIL in December 2023 to about $767,600 in January before dipping back down to $420,000 in February.
In May, while most of the nearly $3.6 million spent on NIL across the athletics department wasn’t broken down by sport, the tail end of the men’s basketball transfer portal cycle was marked by two players receiving a combined $170,000 that month — seemingly on top of what the team had planned to distribute.
Future of Mizzou and NIL
NIL spending is about to change dramatically just a few years after it began. Mizzou will share the $18 million in revenue, plus add about $3 million in new athletics scholarships — $2.5 million of which will count toward the overall House settlement cap of $20.5 million.
Every True Tiger will still exist, in part to help with revenue-sharing cap management but also to help arrange third-party NIL deals that will allow athletes to earn more than what they get from their school. It’s a process that will include collaboration with Learfield, which holds MU athletics’ multimedia rights.
“That’s a lot of what we’re talking about internally, with Brad Larrondo, with ETT but also with Learfield,” Veatch said. “How do we all come together to help facilitate those deals at a high level? One of the kind of operational advantages we’ll continue to have is (that) Brad and our ETT program, they have such good relationships directly with student-athletes. They’re able to facilitate those revenue-share contracts, and, at the same time, they can be front line in terms of fulfilling all those things with student-athletes, coordinating with them.”
Local and regional businesses will be vital, too, if they can sign athletes to the kind of third-party deals that will be approved by NIL Go, the clearinghouse.
With internal spending on athlete compensation now capped, Mizzou will look for money to come in from the outside.
“We’re going to need our businesses, our sponsors to really embrace that as part of the new era,” Veatch said. “It’s going to be on us as athletic departments (and) Learfield as our partner to continue to integrate those types of opportunities in meaningful ways for sponsors. … I see that as the next area of innovation and where we can really help try to give our sports and our programs another competitive leg up.”
NIL
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormak makes a big claim ahead of next football season
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormak has been in the job since July of 2022. Since then, the Big 12 has been represented in every College Football Playoff. In Yormaks inagural year, it was TCU who shocked the world and made it to the National Championship before crashing out to Georgia in what was a dominant […]

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormak has been in the job since July of 2022. Since then, the Big 12 has been represented in every College Football Playoff. In Yormaks inagural year, it was TCU who shocked the world and made it to the National Championship before crashing out to Georgia in what was a dominant 65-7 Bulldog win.
The year after, Texas was heartbroken thanks to a 37-31 loss to eventual runner-ups Washington in the semifinal stage.
But, last year things were a little different. the 2024/25 season saw the expansion to the 12-team playoff bracket and big-hitters Texas and Oklahoma jumped ship to the SEC, as the Big 12 welcomed four new teams. The likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah were each introduced.
Just one team from the Big 12 made the CFP, being Arizona State.
It would be harsh to say last season was a disappointment from the Big 12 standpoint. After all, having to deal with the massive blows of losing Texas and Oklahoma was patched with the Sun Devils compiling a six-game win streak that pushed Kenny Dillingham’s team to the playoff.
Yet Yormak expects for this season to be different.
According to Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports, Yormak was quoted at the Big 12 Media Days saying, “No league offers the competitive balance that we do. … I fully expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year and to show once again that we can compete.”
When looking at the current layout of the Big 12, this is an ambitious claim. According to college football analyst Phil Steele, 11 teams were ranked inside the top 50, including the Jayhawks.
Those teams include Arizona State (15), Baylor (18), Utah, Texas Tech (25), TCU (26), Iowa State (28), Kansas State (30), Brigham Young University (42), Cincinnati (42), and Houston (46), before Kansas reached the 49th spot.
As of today, star BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff withdrew from the program after likely being faced with a seven-game suspension, after breaking the BYU honor code, taking away a possible dark horse for some college football playoff drama. Combine that with the massive overhaul of Texas Tech, which has seen the Red Raiders reel in 21 of the nation’s elite transfers and the world has yet to see thme fully mesh.
Dillingham’s Arizona State is, of course, going to top the Big 12 schools after their remarkable 11-3 season last Fall.
For the Jayhawks, opinions are mixed, quarterback Jalon Daniels appears to still have a little bit of a question mark over his head from fans regarding his ability when fully fit after spells of injury holding him back. That, along with the recent promotions of assistants to full-time coordinator positions, has its ups and downs. But, a strong transfer class ranked 7th in the Big 12 according to 247Sports does pose hope.
More Kansas Football News
NIL
College Football is ripe for another Michigan/Notre Dame classic
Too much time has passed since the Wolverines and Fighting Irish have butted heads in one of the sport’s most iconic rivalries. The next scheduled meeting is not until 2033 in Ann Arbor and a year later in South Bend. In my opinion these two titans should be playing every year, excluding the college football […]
Too much time has passed since the Wolverines and Fighting Irish have butted heads in one of the sport’s most iconic rivalries. The next scheduled meeting is not until 2033 in Ann Arbor and a year later in South Bend. In my opinion these two titans should be playing every year, excluding the college football playoff.
If and when they matchup it will be the first time that two African American coaches lead the way for both programs. Marcus Freeman and Sherrone Moore are riding high off of last season’s proverbial humps that they both mutually overcame. However in eight years from now one or both might be gone, with how things are humming inside their respective buildings.
2028 is the soonest that both have an opening on their schedules. Credit to Notre Dame which is not shying away from playing teams like Texas, Alabama and Florida during that stretch. So its argument of not wanting to play Michigan in the same time frame is somewhat valid.
If Notre Dame ever decided to join a conference the Big Ten makes more sense than the ACC and are a much better fit then the four Pac-12 members who debuted in 2024. Unfortunately since the Irish stayed independent this long, then they’ll never join a conference, unless the money is too rich to turn down.
A prime-time game between the two would do astronomical numbers wherever they play, like in 2011. The most likely scenario, though, is that they’ll square off in the playoffs before 2033. You would think that with the money alone, both universities would find a way to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties involved.
A Michigan/Notre Dame regular season clash makes college football better. The only thing that would top it would be a national championship encounter.
NIL
How a Certain Longhorns’ Recruiting Strategy Further Proves ‘Texas is Back’
What is the biggest sign that the Texas Longhorns are once again one of the premier programs in college football? Beyond the two season 12+ win seasons, and back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff semifinal, it is their approach to handling NIL on the recruiting trail. As recently detailed in a report from OrangeBloods’ […]

What is the biggest sign that the Texas Longhorns are once again one of the premier programs in college football? Beyond the two season 12+ win seasons, and back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff semifinal, it is their approach to handling NIL on the recruiting trail.
As recently detailed in a report from OrangeBloods’ Anwar Richardson, the 2026 recruiting cycle has seen head coach Steve Sarkisian and his coaching staff approach recruiting differently.
“Texas wants to have enough money to retain key players after this season, and overspending on unproven high school players is not an option,” Richardson writes, as shared on Twitter.
Even with the recent changes in college athletics, specifically in regards to NIL. Money is still an object in these recruitments, and it will be that way for the foreseeable future. That is, even though the House v. NCAA settlement ushered in a new era of college athletics, with the implementation of revenue sharing.
While the Longhorns do undoubtedly have just as many, if not more, resources than anybody in college football, when it comes to NIL, that doesn’t mean they are willing to shell out money carelessly. “Buying” as many top recruits as they can in the hope it nets a national championship.
Instead, the Longhorns are taking a more measured approach. It is one that the “powerhouse” programs like Alabama, Georgia, and even Ohio State have been doing in the years since NIL has been implemented, and essentially enabled a “pay for play” scheme.
With this strategy, the Longhorns will not shell out millions of dollars for a player unless they truly believe that player meets it in terms of their own valuation. It is the financial responsibility that will potentially allow the Longhorns to keep their national championship window open as long as possible.
Because even without an individual five-star in the classes ahead, they already boast one of the most talented rosters in college football. It is a roster that has seen them come within a few plays of playing for a national title.
And while the importance of strong high school recruiting hasn’t faded. Texas will continue to rely heavily on its ability to sign as talented a high school class as possible; they are more willing to pay for players who are proven products in the college game. Like those already on their roster, or those who are experiencing success elsewhere in college football that may enter the transfer portal.
NIL
Wisconsin basketball knows its first opponent—Here’s who’s up first
The Wisconsin Badgers basketball season is slowly taking shape. The Badgers haven’t shied away from tough competition by adding BYU, Villanova, and a fun invitational that features Providence, TCU, and the national champions, the Florida Gators. Now we finally know who the first game and opponent will be, according to basketball insider Rocco Miller. The […]

The Wisconsin Badgers basketball season is slowly taking shape. The Badgers haven’t shied away from tough competition by adding BYU, Villanova, and a fun invitational that features Providence, TCU, and the national champions, the Florida Gators. Now we finally know who the first game and opponent will be, according to basketball insider Rocco Miller.
The Wisconsin Badgers will square off against the Campbell Fighting Camels on November 3rd at the Kohl Center.
NEWS: Wisconsin and Campbell will meet in the 2025-26 College Basketball season opener on Monday, November 3rd at the Kohl Center, per multiple sources.
This will mark the Fighting Camels’ head coaching debut for John Andrzejek. #B1G #CAAHoops
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) July 11, 2025
The Wisconsin Badgers vs. the Campbell Fighting Camels will kick off the 2025-2026 season
It was good for Greg Gard and Chris McIntosh to add in a ton of talented non-conference opponents to help the tournament chances and get the Badgers ready for Big Ten play. However, starting with a winnable game is important for a team that is over half rebuilt and has a 3/5ths of a new starting lineup.
The Badgers and the Fighting Camels have never played a game against each other, and this will mark the very first meeting of the two programs. The Fighting Camels had a very forgettable season last year, going 15-17 and ultimately replacing their head coach. The game against Wisconsin will also be the debut of new head coach John Andrzejek for Campbell.
The Badgers are hosting, providing an excellent chance for fans to see the rebuilt team in action, along with some fan favorites like John Blackwell, Jack Janicki, and Nolan Winter. This next season holds promise as the Badgers found a way into the round of 32 but lost in a disappointing game against BYU. There is renewed hope for next season.
The start of the season will be a good way to secure a win, and yet learn how this team works together and what roles each player will play on the team.
The official announcement hasn’t taken place, and so more details will follow, like game time and ticket information.
NIL
Klassey on KMJ at 10:00 AM : NIL and Stadium Expansion
JoeFan13 said… (original post) Please everyone just stop with the “new stadium” talk, it ain’t gonna happen. VC needs major upgrade, yes, this is feasible and should result in a… show more The reason why a new stadium is being brought up, is that the cost will most likely be about $350 million. But that […]

JoeFan13 said… (original post) Please everyone just stop with the “new stadium” talk, it ain’t gonna happen. VC needs major upgrade, yes, this is feasible and should result in a…
The reason why a new stadium is being brought up, is that the cost will most likely be about $350 million. But that a full renovation alone might cost $200-250 million plus.
A new stadium could be designed to allow better accommodations for outside events like concerts, tractor pulls, etc. Also building spaces and amenities to attract more premium customers, to get more revenue per person in those areas. The new stadium most likely will also include an attached football facility.
A renovation of the stadium will be cheaper, but at what cost. They may not find it feasible to put that much money into a facility that will then only be used 6 times per year. AD Klassy stated shade is a big issue that people have brought up. How can that be addressed at VCS? The overhangs in past renderings and plans, would barely cover a few rows and simply be a waste of money. The tunnels were thought and then eliminated in the “Elevate” plan. So people would still complain about walking up and heading down the stairs.
The thing is, Bulldog Stadium has tradition and memories for most fans of Fresno State, but it still was built in the late 70’s. Not like is was built in the 20-30’s.
Basically need to work on the best ROI, be it a reno or new. Work the numbers and see what looks better, not only a few years down the line, but 30-50 years down the road.
NIL
Five-star TE Kaiden Prothro commits to Georgia over Florida, Texas
Eli LedermanJul 12, 2025, 04:59 PM ET Close Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World. Georgia beat Florida and Texas to its second five-star pledge in the 2026 class on Saturday with a commitment from […]

Georgia beat Florida and Texas to its second five-star pledge in the 2026 class on Saturday with a commitment from tight end Kaiden Prothro, the No. 19 overall prospect in the 2026 ESPN 300.
Prothro, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound recruit from Bowdon, Georgia, is ESPN’s No. 2 overall tight end and viewed as one of the top pass catchers at any position in the current class. A priority in-state target for coach Kirby Smart, Prothro took official visits to Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Texas before narrowing his recruitment to the Bulldogs, Gators and Longhorns last month.
He announced his commitment to Georgia in a ceremony at Bowdon High School, where Prothro has hauled in 89 passes for 2,034 yards and 35 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Prothro arrives as the Bulldogs’ 17th ESPN 300 pledge in an incoming recruiting class that sits at No. 2 in ESPN’s latest class rankings for the cycle, joining quarterback Jared Curtis (No. 6 overall) as the program’s second five-star commit in 2026. He now stands as the top-ranked member of a growing Georgia pass-catcher class that also includes four-star wide receivers Brady Marchese (No. 62) and Ryan Mosley (No. 120) and three-star Craig Dandridge.
The Bulldogs, who produced six NFL draft picks at tight ends from 2019-24, have forged a reputation for developing top tight end talent under Smart and assistant coach Todd Hartley. Georgia signed ESPN’s top two tight end prospects — Elyiss Williams and Ethan Barbour — in the 2025 class, and Prothro now follows four-stars Brayden Fogle (No. 142 overall) and Lincoln Keyes (No. 238) as the program’s third tight end pledge in 2026.
Those arrivals, along with eligibility beyond 2025 for current Georgia tight ends Lawson Luckie and Jaden Reddell, could make for a crowded tight end room when Prothro steps on campus next year.
However, Prothro is expected to distinguish himself at the college level as a versatile downfield option capable of creating mismatches with a unique blend of size, speed and physicality in the mold of former two-time All-America Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. His father Clarence told ESPN that Georgia intends to utilize Prothro across roles, including flex tight end and jumbo receiver, and said scheme fit was a key driving factor in his son’s decision.
A three-time state football champion, Prothro caught 33 passes for 831 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023. He eclipsed 1,200-yards in his junior campaign last fall, closing 2024 with 56 receptions (21.4 yards per catch) and 22 receiving touchdowns en route to a 13-2 finish and a third consecutive state championship. Prothro is also an All-Region baseball player and was credited with 20.7 points and 16.5 rebounds per game in his junior basketball season.
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