NIL
New Texas Legislation Marks Major Shift for NIL Opportunities for Athletes
On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new name, image, and likeness bill that will be going to immediate effect that allows recruits to benefit on their name, image and likeness (NIL). The House of Representatives pass the bill passed after a two-thirds majority vote per Travis Brown at KBTX. The Texas law is intended […]

On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new name, image, and likeness bill that will be going to immediate effect that allows recruits to benefit on their name, image and likeness (NIL).
The House of Representatives pass the bill passed after a two-thirds majority vote per Travis Brown at KBTX.
The Texas law is intended to allow universities in Texas to compete with other schools when it comes to working with high school athletes on NIL.
This new NIL law will allow opportunities between the student-athlete and the university and dovetails into the House vs. NCAA settlement, which is yet to be approved.
The bill passed by a two-third majority after an addition that bars anyone younger than 17 to participate in an NIL deal. This legislation would allow high school seniors, once they’ve turned 17, to sign NIL deals. It is required that any contract a student is entering into must be disclosed to the university they are attending according to Texas Bill Research.
Representative Carl Tepper, (R-District 84) was the author of the bill. He told KBTX: “Recruiting is in full force in the summertime and we want to make sure that Texas has every advantage of any other state.”
Another important piece to this bill is that the bill offers flexibility as the NCAA makes subtle changes, which can include the House settlement or other post-House regulations.
There are unique parts of this bill that are different from the current national precedent. Texas will not allow students to endorse certain products like alcohol, tobacco, any form of nicotine, sports wagering, sexual-oriented business, etc. This is all specified in Section 243.002 of the bill.
There has been a major concern nationally with young kids receiving so much money and financial responsibility. Texas is trying to address this by requiring a financial literacy workshop before they are allowed to capitalize on the full effects of their NIL deals. This is not the national precedent, but Texas is setting the standard to help regulate their student-athletes.
While this is a state wide bill each school has set their own rules and regulations around their student-athletes NIL deals.
Texas Tech University, for example, has widely capitalized on the new NIL law. As soon as the law went into effect students were allowed to add their emails to social media biographies for business inquiries. They launched a program called Beyond Verified which will be similar to many NIL programs. The school is doing everything in its power in order to protect and help their students through the madness that NIL has brought.
NIL
JuJu Watkins, Flau’jae Johnson, Azzi Fudd Among 14 to Sign Unrivaled NIL Contracts
USC’s JuJu Watkins, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and UConn’s Azzi Fudd are among the 14 college stars who have signed new NIL contracts with Unrivaled ahead of its second season, the 3×3 women’s basketball league announced Saturday. UCLA’s Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts and Sienna Betts, Texas’ Madison Booker, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley, Notre […]

USC’s JuJu Watkins, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and UConn’s Azzi Fudd are among the 14 college stars who have signed new NIL contracts with Unrivaled ahead of its second season, the 3×3 women’s basketball league announced Saturday.
UCLA’s Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts and Sienna Betts, Texas’ Madison Booker, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson, TCU’s Olivia Miles, UConn’s Sarah Strong and Michigan’s Syla Swords also inked contracts with the league.
Johnson previously signed an NIL deal including an equity stake in Unrivaled ahead of the league’s inaugural 2025 season. Her new contract does not include a stake in the league, per ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.
She joined Fudd, Hidalgo and Strong with league representatives in Indianapolis for an announcement made during the WNBA All-Star Weekend, per Winsidr’s Myles Ehrlich.
Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers signed her own deal involving a stake in the league ahead of the 2025 season.
Unrivaled already inked Bueckers to a second deal spanning three years ahead of her selection on top of the 2025 WNBA draft.
According to Andrews, the first year of Bueckers’ Unrivaled deal is expected to pay her more than her entire four-year WNBA rookie contract.
Bueckers is set to earn just over $348,000 on her first WNBA contract if the Wings pick up her fourth-year club option, per Spotrac.
Johnson and Bueckers aren’t the only players to ink new deals with Unrivaled after previous involvement with the league. Watkins joined investors, including Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, in contributing to league’s $28 million Series A investment round last winter, per Sportico’s Jacob Feldman.
Unrivaled ultimately spent more than $7 million on player salaries while making $27 million in revenue during its first season, per Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports. Unrivaled commissioner Micky Lawler told Costabile the league “almost broke even.”
Unrivaled’s inaugural season featured 36 players split across six clubs of the Lunar Owls, Rose, Laces, Vinyl, Mist and Phantom.
League president Alex Bazzell told USA Today‘s Safid Deen that the league plans to add between six and eight players to the pool in 2026 and expand to multiple other playing sites outside of Miami in the future.
Drawing interest by bringing in some of the top players in college basketball, including the reigning player of the year in Watkins and defensive player of the year in Betts, could help Unrivaled pursue those revenue and expansion goals in the future.
NIL
Veteran Florida OL arrested on multiple charges including felony weapon possession
The Florida Gators are getting ready to start fall camp in less than two weeks, but some eye-opening news has come in on a veteran offensive lineman. That’d be second-year Gator Devon Manuel, who transferred to Florida after previously playing for Arkansas. According to multiple reports, the redshirt senior was arrested a little after midnight […]

The Florida Gators are getting ready to start fall camp in less than two weeks, but some eye-opening news has come in on a veteran offensive lineman. That’d be second-year Gator Devon Manuel, who transferred to Florida after previously playing for Arkansas.
According to multiple reports, the redshirt senior was arrested a little after midnight on Friday and he’s now facing charges for a misdemeanor DUI and also a second-degree felony for the possession of a concealed weapon. Manuel was arrested in Gainesville on Southwest 34th Street.
Veteran Florida OL Devon Manuel was arrested on Friday and he’s facing multiple charges
According to Graham Hall of 247Sports, Manuel was pulled over and officers quickly smelled an odor to marijuana – he admitted to smoking out of a cartridge. Per the police report that Hall referenced, the arresting officers asked Manuel if he had a card to possess marijuana and he confirmed with them that he didn’t.
On top of that, Manuel also admitted that he had a gun in the car with him. Per Hall, the officers then found a Glock 20 pistol right next to the driver’s seat. Manuel was taken to Alachua County Jail – he was then granted his release after posting bond.
Via On3’s GatorsOnline, a Florida spokesperson released the following statement after the news of Manuel’s arrest was made public: “We are aware of the situation with Devon Manuel. We will gather all the facts and monitor the situation.”
Last season for Florida, his first suiting up for Billy Napier, the 6-7 lineman appeared in three games as a backup for the Gators. The previous two seasons, he played in 10 games combined for Arkansas before he decided to enter the transfer portal.
Manuel was expected to battle for Florida’s right tackle job at fall camp, but we’ll now have to wait and see how Florida and Napier handle his arrest. Not long ago, nose tackle Stephon Shivers was dismissed from the program after being charged with felony false imprisonment.
NIL
South Carolina women’s basketball star Ta’Niya Latson signs NIL deal with Unrivaled
South Carolina women’s basketball player Ta’Niya Latson is among a group of 14 college basketball players signing NIL deals with Unrivaled, the league announced on July 19. The “Future is Unrivaled” group of college stars signed to NIL deal include Latson, former South Carolina player MiLaysia Fulwiley (who transferred to LSU this offseason), UCLA center […]

South Carolina women’s basketball player Ta’Niya Latson is among a group of 14 college basketball players signing NIL deals with Unrivaled, the league announced on July 19.
The “Future is Unrivaled” group of college stars signed to NIL deal include Latson, former South Carolina player MiLaysia Fulwiley (who transferred to LSU this offseason), UCLA center Lauren Betts, UConn stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, Southern California star Juju Watkins and others.
Unrivaled is a 3-on-3 league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier that completed its first season during the spring and featured a long list of WNBA players including Collier, Stewart, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu and more.
Latson, an incoming senior, transferred to South Carolina from Florida State in the offseason after three straight seasons averaging 20 or more points per game. She is expected to give a major scoring boost to the Gamecocks’ 2025-26 team after Fulwiley’s transfer to LSU.
The start of the women’s college basketball season is less than four months away, though South Carolina’s season opener has not yet been announced. Announced non-conference matchups for 2025-26 include trips to Southern California, South Florida and Louisville along with Players Era Tournament games against Duke and either UCLA or Texas in Las Vegas.
NIL
UConn’s Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong sign NIL deals with Unrivaled
UConn women’s basketball stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong will be among the new collegiate faces of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league launched by Huskies legends Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2025, after signing NIL deals with the organization. Fudd and Strong announced they will be a part of the league’s 14-player NIL class this […]

UConn women’s basketball stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong will be among the new collegiate faces of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league launched by Huskies legends Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2025, after signing NIL deals with the organization.
Fudd and Strong announced they will be a part of the league’s 14-player NIL class this season during an event at WNBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis on Saturday. The UConn duo appeared at Unrivaled’s All-Star headquarters alongside LSU star Flau’jae Johnson, who signed a deal with the league last year. Johnson and former UConn star Paige Bueckers launched the league’s “The Future is Unrivaled” campaign in Dec. 2024, and Bueckers is expected to compete in Unrivaled this upcoming season after completing her rookie year in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings.
The new class of NIL athletes also includes USC’s JuJu Watkins, UCLA’s Lauren and Sienna Betts and Kiki Rice, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, Texas’s Madison Booker, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley, TCU’s Olivia Miles, South Carolina’s Ta’Niya Latson and Michigan’s Syla Swords.
Unrivaled presented by Samsung Galaxy just signed 14 of the top women’s college hoopers to game-changing NIL deals.
We’re kicking it off with The Future is Unrivaled Summit Presented by Samsung Galaxy in Miami at the end of July 🤩 Stay tuned for more 👀 pic.twitter.com/xhuCOewiWj
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) July 19, 2025
Johnson and Bueckers, like every professional player who competes in Unrivaled, received an investment stake in the league as part of their agreements, so the same will likely be true for the 2025 NIL signees. Watkins is also already part of Unrivaled’s star-studded investor group, which includes UConn coach Geno Auriemma, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, NBA stars Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo, 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and USWNT legend Alex Morgan.
Unrivaled exceeded expectations in 2025, reportedly generating more than $27 million in revenue and nearly breaking even in its inaugural season. The league averaged 221,000 viewers on TNT during the regular season and the playoffs, and the championship saw a significant increase drawing 364,000 viewers. Unrivaled also paid its 36 players an average of $220,000, which is higher than the WNBA’s regular maximum salary in 2025.
Fudd has always had a national presence as the former No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021, but she joins Unrivaled amid a spike in popularity following UConn’s run to the NCAA Championship. The redshirt senior’s first three college seasons were heavily impacted by injuries, but she completed a triumphant comeback from an ACL tear in 2024-25 and was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Fudd’s NIL portfolio includes partnerships with Bose, TurboTax, skincare brand Paula’s Choice and hair color brand Madison Reed among others. She also announced Thursday that she is hosting a new podcast on the iHeart Radio network titled “Fudd Around and Find Out,” the viral phrase that her mother Katie wore on a t-shirt during the national title game.
Strong is also a rising star in the college game after coming to UConn as the No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2024 class and winning WBCA Freshman of the Year in 2025. She had a historic first season with the Huskies, making the All-Final Four team and breaking the record for most points by a freshman ever in an NCAA Tournament. Unrivaled will be one of Strong’s most prominent NIL deals to date, but she has also partnered with Epic Games and VKTRY, a performance shoe insole for athletes.
NIL
Unrivaled signed 14 collegiate players to NIL deals
INDIANAPOLIS – With Unrivaled heading into its second season, the league is investing in the future of the game. It has signed name, image and likeness deals with 14 of the top women’s college basketball players, including UConn’s Azzi Fudd and LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson. Both were on hand at Unrivaled HQ during WNBA All-Star weekend […]

INDIANAPOLIS – With Unrivaled heading into its second season, the league is investing in the future of the game.
It has signed name, image and likeness deals with 14 of the top women’s college basketball players, including UConn’s Azzi Fudd and LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson. Both were on hand at Unrivaled HQ during WNBA All-Star weekend to announce the deal.
“Our job is to try to bridge the gap between the current stars that are in Unrivaled and the future stars,” said Luke Cooper, Unrivaled’s president of basketball operations.
“Every one that we asked to be a part of this said yes, and that’s a testament to the brand the 36 players that played in Unrivaled last year built. It’s a testament to you all up here.”
The slate of deals represent a marked increase from the league’s first year in 2024 when it signed Johnson and Paige Bueckers to NIL deals.
The class of 14 athletes have 10 Final Four appearances and four national championships among them. It includes USC star JuJu Watkins, one of the top NIL earners in collegiate women’s sports and an early investor in the league.
Unrivaled will host “The Future is Unrivaled Summit Presented by Samsung Galaxy” for the class in Miami, with skill development and content shoots among the plans.
Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and UConn’s Sarah Strong joined in making the announcement of the class, which also includes:
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Sienna Betts, UCLA
Madison Booker, Texas
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Olivia Miles, TCU
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Syla Swords, Michigan
NIL
SEC rival head coach ranked above Kirby Smart in ESPN’s active head coach rankings
Every college football fan agrees that Kirby Smart is the best active head coach in all of college football right? Think again, because ESPN’s Bill Connelly just ranked two coaches ahead of Smart entering the 2025 season. Kirby Smart ranked 3rd best head coach in college football So who could possibly have been ranked above […]

Every college football fan agrees that Kirby Smart is the best active head coach in all of college football right? Think again, because ESPN’s Bill Connelly just ranked two coaches ahead of Smart entering the 2025 season.
Kirby Smart ranked 3rd best head coach in college football
So who could possibly have been ranked above Smart entering the 2025 season? Coming in at No. 1 is Ohio State head coach Ryan Day who is coming off his first National Championship with the Buckeyes. While there is a decent argument to put Day on the same level as Smart, it does seem strange to put him at No. 1 after watching he and Ohio State lose to their rival Michigan four straight years now.
Day being above Smart however isn’t the biggest problem because at No. 2 in these rankings is Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Huepel has been at Tennessee for four years now and has lost to Georgia by at least 14 points each of these four seasons. On top of that, Georgia has won two National Championships and two SEC titles during the past four years as well, so putting Heupel above Smart makes no sense.
There is no denying that Heupel isn’t a good head coach. He had a good tenure at UCF and has now led the Vols to a solid 37-15 record as their head coach, but his failure to get over the hump even once should automatically disqualify Heupel from being above Smart.
This is just another example of the media giving Georgia a lot of motivation entering the 2025 season. Not only does Smart now have a reason to work harder than he ever has before, but so too does Georgia’s entire team after the SEC media voted rival Texas as the favorite to win the SEC.
Thankfully the season begins in a little over a month, because Georgia once again has a lot of people they need to prove wrong this season.
-
College Sports1 week ago
Why a rising mid-major power with an NCAA Tournament team opted out of revenue-sharing — and advertised it
-
Motorsports3 weeks ago
Why Cosmetics are Making Up for Lost Time in Women’s Sports
-
Motorsports2 weeks ago
Team Penske names new leadership
-
Youtube2 weeks ago
🚨 BREAKING: NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signs the RICHEST annual salary in league history
-
Sports2 weeks ago
New 'Bosch' spin
-
Sports3 days ago
Volleyball Releases 2025 Schedule – Niagara University Athletics
-
Sports2 weeks ago
E.l.f Cosmetics Builds Sports Marketing Game Plan Toward Bigger Goals
-
College Sports2 weeks ago
MSU Hockey News – The Only Colors
-
College Sports3 weeks ago
IU basketball recruiting
-
College Sports7 days ago
Buford DB Tyriq Green Commits to Georgia