The College Football landscape is constantly changing over the past few years as the transfer portal, NIL, and the College Football Playoff are constantly leading to changes. The College Football Playoff has been the hottest topic over the past few months as the Conference commissioners continue to propose changes to the format.

Despite just one year to evaluate under the 12 team format, the change has already been made moving to a straight seeding format rather than the 4 highest-ranked Conference Champions earning byes. While the format has been changed, there has already been talk about expanding the College Football Playoff.

The conversation has mostly been driven by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey but, the Big 10 and their commissioner Tony Petitti have been right alongside the SEC. The two conferences feel that they are far superior to everyone else around the Country, namely the Big 12 and the ACC. The proposals have been tailored to the two Conferences as the two conferences.

The Big 12 is starting to strike back as Texas Tech Head Coach Joey McGuire appeared on SiriusXM’s Dusty & Danny making his feelings known about the notion that the SEC and the Big 10 are more deserving of the bids saying the following.

“We’ve got to take some of the bias out of conferences – that, ‘This is a tougher conference because of this and this and this.’ Let’s fight it out on the field.”

Joey McGuire

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas HB126 into law on Thursday, a bill written as an act “relating to the compensation and professional representation of prospective student athletes and student athletes participating in intercollegiate athletic programs at certain institutions of higher education.”

There are a few major changes that HB126 makes to existing laws that will very likely serve to benefit Texas Longhorns football (and other sports) striving to remain competitive in the modern Name, Image, and Likeness landscape.

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The bill allows for higher education entities in the Lone Star State to directly compensate athletes in a manner that coincides with regulations and standards likely to come soon via an approved settlement in the House v. NCAA court case. This change, however, is dwarfed by the biggest amendment to the preexisting law.

The addition of the ‘prospective student athletes’ to the law functions as a new tool for high-level intercollegiate programs in Texas.

Previously, the Texas state law only allowed for current college athletes to be compensated for their Name, Image, and Likeness and expressly prohibited soliciting or providing NIL compensation as part of recruitment efforts. The new bill that Abbott signed Thursday, placing the law into immediate effect, allows for Texans older than 17 to enter into NIL deals.

The text of the bill:

Unless a prospective student athlete younger than 17 years of age is enrolled at an institution of higher education, an individual, corporate entity, or other organization, including an institution to which this section applies, may not enter into an arrangement relating to the athlete’s name, image, or likeness with the athlete or with an individual related to the athlete by consanguinity or affinity.

Essentially, a 16 year old high schooler can’t earn NIL dollars. A 16 year old college student could. And so could a 17 year old high schooler.

The bill passed the Texas House via a 110-25 and the Texas Senate via unanimous consent.

This is a massive shift in the NIL landscape in Texas. Quinn Ewers famously graduated early from Southlake Carroll to attend Ohio State because he would not have been able to earn NIL dollars via various sponsorship and memorabilia deals under the previous laws. Now, the next Quinn Ewers can profit off of his Name, Image, and Likeness as soon as he reaches 17 years of age.

Most aspects of adulthood in Texas start at age 18, with 17 being the age of consent and the age past which alleged criminal offenders are typically tried in adult courts. You can now add NIL eligibility to the list.

As On3’s Pete Nakos mentioned on X, “this is a game-changer with official visit season now here. A top recruit in Texas, who is 17 or older, can now hypothetically ink a marketing agreement with an NIL collective before enrolling in a college.”

While the future of collectives somewhat in question pending the projected approval from Judge Claudia Wilken for the the House v. NCAA settlement, the ability for Texans to engage in NIL deals prior to enrolling at a college benefits the entire Texas intercollegiate athletic ecosystem. The Texas Longhorns are a major part of that ecosystem.

If collectives such as the Texas One Fund remain a key part of the overall roster building process, then top Longhorns targets can agree to deals with the Texas One Fund before ever stepping foot in a classroom on the 40 Acres. It also means that any businesses with burnt orange inclinations (or neutral inclinations) can start compensating high school athletes for their NIL. H-E-B added volleyball star Madisen Skinner to their advertisements after her rise to stardom. While the next star high school athlete may not get a supermarket chain throwing support behind them, they may be able to receive compensation from local business trying to support their community in a new way. But that door also opens up to those with the interest of Longhorn football in mind.

With good reason, the high school football world within Texas is apprehensive as evidenced by this post from Matt Stepp, who covers high school football closely for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and is as connected as anyone in the state with the feelings and opinions of high school coaches.

And while Steve Sarkisian and company do view the Texas High School Coaches Association as significant stakeholders in the Longhorn football program, Abbott’s signature is a major boost for the Longhorns’ interests.

Texas football now has a way to counter some of the methods other schools have used to entice star recruits prior to their enrollment. Nakos recently wrote an article that starts with: ‘in recent months, top programs have begun paying recruits an annual salary before ever enrolling on campus.” Two Power Conference general managers told Nakos they believed there were anywhere between 50 to 100 prospects receiving upfront payments for their commitment or for other major recruiting milestones in the 2026 cycle.

“When they started doing it, you’re getting your ass kicked,” Nakos relayed from a source. “And you kind of look around and say, ‘OK, are you going to get this kid?’ If all else is even, but he gets $100,000 right now, where the f*** is he going to go?”

The Longhorns have not been getting their ass kicked on the recruiting trail. Texas brought in the No. 1 class in the country in 2025 and it’d be naive to think that Texas’ robust NIL efforts weren’t a part of those additions.

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But now, those robust NIL efforts have a new above-the-table avenue to find prospective student athletes in an era where dollars and cents can impact a recruitment as much as scholastics and schematic fit.

College sports are not exactly amateur anymore.

Over the last few years, there has been a shift at the college level: players are now allowed to earn money from their own image and likeness, commonly known as NIL.

No longer are schools and corporations the only ones making millions of dollars while players are left with no guarantees for their future.

Is the system perfect? Of course not. But it’s only been a few years, so there’s no question that more regulation will be coming in the future.

Plus, America is a free market, so let the kids get paid what they’re worth. And that’s exactly what’s happening.

This includes Newport, Maine native Cooper Flagg, who just finished his career at Duke University. Flagg is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, which will make him one rich dude. However, it’s safe to say he’s already there.

How Much Money did Cooper Flagg Make in NIL Money?

According to sports reporter Howard Bryant, Flagg made a whopping $28 million in NIL money. Bryant, speaking on a recent podcast with Bob Costas, said the money came from two major sources: a $15 million shoe deal with New Balance and a $13 million deal with the brand Fanatics.

Now, it’s likely those deals were structured for a potential four-year college career, but since Flagg only played one season, well, it turned out to be a very lucrative year.

This is simply staggering to read. When the idea of NIL first emerged, I’m not sure anyone expected it to reach this scale. However, it makes sense from a company’s  perspective. One would imagine that both New Balance and Fanatics have positioned themselves well to be long-term partners with Flagg, which is a smart move, considering he’s a generational talent.

But still, $28 million is wild. That’s more than double what the best NHL player, Connor McDavid, made last season. It’s $10 million more than the entire 2024 payroll of the New England Revolution. He made $8 million more than Derrick White of the Boston Celtics. It’s more money than Tom Brady ever made in a single year with the New England Patriots. I think you get the point.

Did Cooper Flagg Actually Make More than $28 Million in NIL Money?

I wonder if it’s actually more than $28 million. As incredible as that number is, I would imagine he got some sort of deal from Duke boosters to choose the Blue Devils. As great as the other deals are, I doubt either company stipulated that he had to play for Duke. So, I’d guess he took home over $30 million to play just one year at Duke. Again, pure speculation, but it would make sense if he had some sort of financial support connected to the university.

READ MORE: Mainer Files Noise Complaint After Hearts of Pine Soccer Game

These are mind-blowing numbers, but we’re talking about professional sports. And make no mistake about it: big-time college sports have been professional from a revenue perspective for decades. For example, CBS Sports paid $8.8 BILLION for the exclusive rights to broadcast the NCAA Tournament.

I, for one, love seeing the kids get paid. Good for you, Cooper.

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — With her college gymnastics days behind her, influencer and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Livvy Dunne is moving on with life — but that doesn’t mean she’ll be far from the public eye.

Dunne, who has more than 13 million followers on social media, created a multimillion-dollar personal brand while competing as a gymnast at LSU. Now she’s trying to help other female athletes do the same, helping to educate them about name, image and likeness deals and personal branding.

“I’m going to miss gymnastics so much because it has been a part of me for almost 20 years,” Dunne told The Associated Press at AthleteCon, where she had a speaking engagement. “What’s next? Everything. I want to do all of the things that I couldn’t do while I was a gymnast” because of the time constraints of being a student-athlete.

“So there are some really cool opportunities — stay tuned,” she added.

Dunne didn’t disclose any details, but it’s clear she plans to maintain her personal brand, which she developed along with the help of older sister and manager Julz Dunne.

AthleteCon CEO Sam Green, who has helped land more than 1,000 NIL deals, invited the Dunne sisters to speak to college athletes as part of a two-day seminar. Athletes met with representatives from social media platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Meta, created live content and competed for NIL deals. They learned how to turn a creative idea into a brand.

More than 100 athletes attended, with another 150 turned away because of space constraints.

Green’s company slogan is “all athletes are creators.”

“I’m really big on giving athletes the tools to monetize their brand,” Green said.

Few, if any, have done that better than Livvy Dunne.

She helped the Tigers to the 2024 national championship as a junior before missing this past season because of an injury. But she was better known on social media, where she amassed more than 8 million followers on TikTok and 5.3 million on Instagram before leaving LSU.

Advertisers took notice.

She was the highest-paid female college athlete across all sports during her time with the Tigers, earning more than $4.1 million, according to On3. She worked with brands like Nautica, Crocs and Sports Illustrated, where she recently did a split on the catwalk on a “triple dare.”

Her boyfriend is Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes, who played baseball at LSU.

“She’s it,” Green said. “She’s the road map. She’s the blueprint and she was the first to do it. The Dunnes are so innovative and they have done it with genuine intent. Livvy is the definition of NIL, in my opinion, at least true NIL and what it was meant to be from the start.”

Dunne said navigating the ever-changing world of NIL was like living in the wild West.

“I learned that you don’t have to do one thing and be great at that one thing,” Dunne said. “You can do multiple different things and find success in tons of different areas.”

But there were trying times as she balanced classes, competition and the constant demand for multiple daily social media posts.

She remembers walking into LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark’s office in tears because of stress about her schedule.

She fought through it and is glad she did.

“I hope people here take away that you are more than your sport and everybody deserves to capitalize on their name, image and likeness,” Dunne said. “Curiosity is key. Ask questions, network, and just create because, who knows, the sky is the limit. It got me to where I am today. Don’t just consume, but create.

“Keep posting,” she added. “The audience is there. People are interested. They want to see what you have to offer. Everyone’s story is different and has to be told.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

by Stacy Jackson

June 5, 2025

Texas Tech softball coach Gerry Glasco new a deal to get Canady needed to be higher than her agent’s proposed offer of $400,000.

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Reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year, NiJaree Canady, hit the ball out of the park after accepting her latest NIL deal with Texas Tech.

Canady made headlines last July when she transferred from Stanford, and she is garnering public attention again with the historic deal worth $1,050,024 from Texas Tech’s NIL collective, The Matador Club. According to ESPN, the NIL deal is broken down into a million for Canaday, $50,000 for living expenses, and $24 for her jersey number. The star athlete who led Stanford to two consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances is now pitching in West Texas with the Red Raiders and showing other female athletes what’s possible in women’s sports.

“There are a lot of male athletes who get that, and it’s not a headline anymore,” Canady said. “I hope that happens for women’s sports, too. I feel like it can be a pressure if you let it be, but honestly, I think it’s just a privilege. I hope someone tomorrow comes in and builds it even more.”

Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco drafted up a sweet pitch to score Canady as a player at Texas Tech. “We’re talking about a once-in-a-generation player that’s already made a name all over America,” he said. “She’s a folk hero in our sport, and she’s a sophomore.” After two seasons at Stanford that only accounted for Canady hitting just 35 times, Glasco, who has three daughters who pitched and hit, made hitting a main focus in his pitch, and he didn’t overlook Canady’s worth. “When you’re an athlete, the one thing you don’t want to be is a pitcher only. In our sport, the pitcher is so important, so we limit them. And I think that’s what she felt like in her college career,” he said. “She wants the opportunity.”

While the athlete’s agent initially sought $400,000 to make the move from Stanford, Glasco knew the offer was too low for the rising star.

“She definitely put Texas Tech softball on the map,” said Tracy Sellers, a former softball player at Texas Tech. Sellers and her husband, John, a former Red Raiders football player, know Canady deserves a top NIL deal just as much as any male athlete. “She worked so hard to be the No. 1 pitcher in the country,” said Sellers. “I left that meeting and thought, this is who I would love to put a lot of effort into because of who she is.” The Sellers, who are top Matador Club boosters, previously donated $11 million to the athletic department in 2022. One million of the funding supported upgrades for the Red Raiders stadium.