This Week In College Football: Venmo & Adidas

It’s just about time for actual football to be played, but I’ll accept one more stupid offseason “scandal” before Week 0 kicks off.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was at the center of the most recent Twitter/X craze when fans dug up and shared his public Venmo transactions. Screenshots showed two transactions from 2022, when he was a freshman at Washington State, that read “Sports gambling” and “Sports gambling (UCLA vs USC).” Things went so viral that Mateer had to release a statement denying the gambling accusations, calling the transactions an inside joke between him and his friends.

This was particularly hilarious to me because of how seriously everyone was taking the “accusations.” I would assume this is just an age gap thing, but an 18-year-old trying to be funny with edgy, absurd, and lewd Venmo descriptions is the least surprising thing ever. I’m just (can I say ‘just’ anymore?) four years older than Mateer, and I can confidently say this is a shared experience. I completely believe him that no actual gambling occurred. Please don’t dig up my public Venmo history.

Tennessee Makes Savvy Switch

Just over 10 years after switching from Adidas to Nike, Tennessee is going back to its old ways. The move from Nike back to Adidas will go into effect in 2026 for the Vols, and the contract will run for 10 years. Ross Dellenger is reporting that the deal will be in the ballpark of a whopping and unprecedented $10m/year in cash and equipment.

This deal is particularly newsworthy because of the included NIL tie-in. Even before the switch goes live, Adidas is working with Tennessee student-athletes to seek individual NIL deals. All Vols will be eligible for Adidas’ “NIL Ambassador Network,” which gives them opportunities to be individual brand ambassadors in addition to wearing Adidas apparel on the field. These individual deals will essentially allow student-athletes to access a new flavor of revenue sharing through university-brokered equipment deals.

With the new “salary cap” imposed on schools by the House decision, finding new and legal ways to inject NIL money into programs is going to become increasingly important. This framework, established by Tennessee and Adidas, will likely be the new normal as other brands come up on expiring contract deals.

The Michigan Scandal Will End Soon

The 2023 Michigan sign-stealing scandal is set to finally reach its conclusion. According to NBCSports’ Nicole Auerbach, the NCAA will release its final findings and punishments relating to the scandal on Friday afternoon. The Wolverines will receive the report in the morning, with the public announcement going live around lunchtime, according to the report. There are plenty of rumors going around of how steep the punishments will be for the university, Jim Harbaugh, Connor Stalions, and Sherrone Moore, but we’ll know for certain soon.