In this episode of NILOSOPHY, Deja Kelly sits down with University of Texas standout Sam Hurley for his most personal and revealing conversation yet. From earning millions of followers online to navigating the highs and lows of NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals, collectives, and brand partnerships, Sam breaks down his journey as a college athlete and digital creator—and why he’s transferring for his final season.

Sam opens up about growing up in Arkansas and his journey to Division I track stardom, his decision to enroll early at Texas to capitalize on NIL, the truth about collectives, and more. Whether you’re an athlete, creator, or brand builder—this one’s a master class in identity, ownership, and the modern athlete’s mindset.

The Virginia Cavaliers shared a statement Thursday afternoon from Athletic Director Carla Williams regarding the recent House vs. NCAA settlement that permits universities to directly pay their athletes. The statement announced that the University will directly pay $20.5 million in the 2025-26 athletic season to their student-athletes, the maximum permitted under the court settlement.

Since 2021, student-athletes could earn money from name, image, and likeness (NIL) partnerships with third parties. Original NCAA guidance on NIL restricted schools and their respective employees from paying athletes directly or coordinating NIL deals on behalf of their athletes. Still, there was enormous room for flexibility, with state’s distinguishing their own parameters. Although many states were more progressive, the Commonwealth of Virginia passed legislation in 2023 allowing increased school involvement in NIL deals.

Now with the recent settlement, many of those early guardrails have been lifted. Starting July 1, the university can (and will) begin revenue sharing with athletes, in addition to scholarships and other benefits athletes receive. The settlement also approved NCAA to pay back $2.8 billion in damages to former athletes who could not participate in NIL prior to 2021.

In her statement, Williams shared that to remain competitive, UVA will need to invest in revenue sharing, scholarships, commercial NIL, and operations.

“Revenue sharing for revenue producing sports will fuel the viability and success of athletic departments moving forward,” the statement reads. It goes on to applaud the success of the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) with a record $15.76 million in May 2025 and a record $22.6 million in endowment commitments in 2025 alone. Still, Williams’ tone is a call to action for increased support. “Now more than ever, we need your help to ensure a strong and sustainable future for Virginia Athletics.”

The statement called for continued investment and donations in order to “secure the future of Virginia Athletics,” said Williams, who signed a five-year extension in January. As of December 2024, UVA was ranked 14th nationally for its NIL collective support with approximately $12.1 million. But, with the loss of two hall-of-fame coaches from men’s basketball and baseball, a dragging football program, and the continued revolving door of the transfer portal, Williams is encouraging investments for stability in the new, developing era of college athletics.

To help navigate the change, the statement announced an upcoming podcast, including Williams and special guests, to dive deeper into the operations of UVA athletics.

It was commonly believed that the rise of NIL would open the door to a new kind of college sports. And, it’s nearly certain that the days of full-ride, athletic scholarship recruiting are over. It will take much more to attract top recruits. But, will this offer the roster stability UVA and college sports need?

Perhaps more importantly, some are wondering about the settlement’s effect on non-revenue sports—which, currently, are UVA’s top performing programs.

Still, UVA’s very own Kate Johnson is one of eight female student-athletes who filed an appeal in light of the settlement. The appeal claims that the pay-backs to former athletes prior to NIL violates Title IX anti discrimination because female athletes will be paid less than football and men’s basketball players. $2.8 billion in damages.

While NIL and revenue sharing continue to change the landscape of college sports and UVA athletics, it’s fair to expect continued development, regulations, and adjustments to the new, semi-professional model.

A landmark class-action settlement is poised to transform the business of college sports, paving the way for student-athletes to receive direct compensation for both past participation and future revenue sharing.

The agreement covers athletes from 2016 to 2024 and includes $2.8 billion in back pay to be distributed over 10 years. Starting in July 2025, each Division I school will also be able to share up to $20.5 million annually in athletic revenue with student-athletes under a new compensation model.

Fritz Metzinger, a sports attorney at Stone Pigman, tells Daily Report that while the NCAA will shoulder a significant share of the back pay, schools will also be required to contribute.

“The majority of it, based on a formula the NCAA and the schools came up with, is going to go to football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players,” Metzinger says. “Not all of it, but a vast majority of it.

“As of July 1 for the 2025-2026 season, all power conference schools and any other Division I school that that opts in that wants to is going to be able to share up to, for this first year, about $20.5 million in athletic department revenue directly with their athletes,” Metzinger says. “They don’t have to share that full amount. Technically, under the settlement, they can allocate it however they choose.”

While individual schools can tailor how they distribute payments, LSU is expected to follow the NCAA’s damages-based formula: 75% to football, 15% to men’s basketball, and 5% each to women’s basketball and all other sports.

The allocation could raise concerns about underfunding successful nonrevenue programs, such as LSU’s baseball, gymnastics, and track and field programs.

“For LSU, I think it’ll benefit them, because the salary cap is about average for a power conference university,” Metzinger says. “LSU does better than that. They’re a successful athletic program, but they’ve got some interesting sports that excel but aren’t traditionally huge revenue builders.”

The settlement also includes provisions for a new College Sports Commission, which will oversee name, image and likeness deals exceeding $600, particularly those involving boosters or collectives.

“They’re going to review whether the deal is with a booster or a collective and then they’re going to see if the deal and the value of the deal is for a real business purpose,” Metzinger says. “Is it really a commercial, a sponsorship deal to appear in a few commercials for business, and are they getting paid? Or is it millions of dollars and the true purpose is to get somebody to come and play for their program?”

In March, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order shielding state postsecondary institutions from penalties by the NCAA or athletic conferences for facilitating NIL compensation. The order remains in effect until either a federal NIL law is enacted or the settlement takes effect.

While no conflicting statutes are currently in place, lawmakers have previously considered exempting NIL earnings from state income tax—legislation that could reemerge.

Metzinger anticipates additional legal challenges ahead.

“Federal law is going to be the only thing that calms it down,” he says. “But until then, there are going to be more lawsuits and more questions.”

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported this week that eight female athletes have filed an appeal of the NCAA antitrust settlement, contending that women would not receive a fair share of the back pay allocated to athletes previously barred from profiting off their name, image and likeness.

In the world of NIL, tampering across college athletics is as prevalent as it’s likely ever been.

This includes softball.

In the case of Tennessee softball, it may have been the victim of tampering of one of its star players. As reported by Softball on SI, Texas Tech’s third-party NIL collective, The Matador Club, had been in contact with top players throughout the season.

In the report, Lady Vols All-American third baseman Taylor Pannell was listed. She entered the transfer portal with a ‘Do Not Contact’ tag on Thursday and was publicly committed to the Red Raiders by the end of the night.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

With Tennessee losing the best returning bat in its lineup, Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly took to social media to give her thoughts on tampering and the prevalence of NIL. She never directly mentioned Pannell or Texas Tech in the post.

“I think we can all agree on 2 things:,” Weekly wrote. “1) women making money in sports is awesome and long overdue; 2) contacting players (directly or indirectly) before their season ends and signing them to NIL deals before they enter the portal is wrong. Money ins’t the issue – tampering is!”

Pannell is coming off her redshirt sophomore season where she dominated at the plate. The third baseman hit at a .398 average while smacking 16 home runs. This was good for 65 RBI and 56 runs.

While drawing 34 walks, her on-base percentage sat at .493 on the season. This helped result in First-Team All-SEC and All-American honors.

In 2024, Pannell was also a First-Team All-SEC member. She hit for a .294 average while lifting eight home runs. She notched 33 RBI and 23 runs on the year.

During that redshirt freshman season, she earned an SEC Freshman of the Week honor in early May.

As a true freshman, she appeared in seven games and started six. In just 14 at-bats, she hit a home run while recording four RBI and four runs. She missed the remainder of the year due to injury.

Pannell is from Milan, Illinois, where she played high school ball for Rock Island. She was considered the top third baseman and No. 4 overall prospect in the 2022 class by Extra Inning Softball.

So far this off-season, Tennessee has gotten off to a strong start in bringing in transfers. The Lady Vols have signed two-way EKU star Maddi Rutan and Boise State All-Mountain West First-Team members Sophia Knight and Makenzie Butt.

UT is coming off another strong season under Weekly. The Lady Vols made a trip to the Women’s College World Series and nearly defeated Oklahoma in the opening game.

Despite the walk-off loss to the Sooners, Tennessee rallied to make a push to the semifinals as one of the final four teams remaining. There, it fell to the eventual champions in Texas.

During the regular season, UT claimed series wins on the road over both Oklahoma and Texas, though.

The Lady Vols are also home to SEC Pitcher of the Year Karlyn Pickens who sung the praises of Tennessee after the final game of the season. There are currently no indications Pickens plans on entering the portal.