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Unrivaled signs LSU star Flau'jae Johnson to NIL deal

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league launching this winter, signed LSU star guard Flau’jae Johnson to a name, image and likeness deal. Johnson is the second college player to ink an agreement with Unrivaled, following UConn’s Paige Bueckers. They won’t be participating in the upcoming inaugural season, but Johnson and Bueckers will have equity […]

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Unrivaled signs LSU star Flau'jae Johnson to NIL deal

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league launching this winter, signed LSU star guard Flau’jae Johnson to a name, image and likeness deal. Johnson is the second college player to ink an agreement with Unrivaled, following UConn’s Paige Bueckers. They won’t be participating in the upcoming inaugural season, but Johnson and Bueckers will have equity stakes in the league. Unrivaled dropped a video on social media Thursday showing Johnson — who also has a burgeoning rap career — performing a song while wearing a shirt that reads, “The Future is Unrivaled.” The deal will see Johnson create additional promotional content for the league. Johnson, 21, was a freshman on the LSU team that won the 2023 national championship. Now in her junior year, Johnson is averaging career highs of 22.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game through 10 games for the No. 5 Tigers (10-0). She ranks eighth in Division I in scoring. Johnson has career averages of 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 82 career appearances (80 starts) for LSU. –Field Level Media

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Georgia Bulldogs 5-Star QB Jared Curtis Receives Major NIL Update

The Georgia Bulldogs were heavily involved in the recruiting process of five-star Nashville Christian quarterback Jared Curtis, but they were facing stiff competition from the Oregon Ducks leading up to Curtis’ commitment date. Despite competition from other programs throughout the process, Georgia was able to secure Curtis’ commitment. He now projects to be the face […]

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The Georgia Bulldogs were heavily involved in the recruiting process of five-star Nashville Christian quarterback Jared Curtis, but they were facing stiff competition from the Oregon Ducks leading up to Curtis’ commitment date.

Despite competition from other programs throughout the process, Georgia was able to secure Curtis’ commitment. He now projects to be the face of the program in the future at the quarterback position.

Of course, something that fans want to know, is how much NIL money will Curtis be getting to start things off with the Bulldogs?

cfb week 1 best bets
Newsweek’s best bets for Week 1 of the college football season include Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs to cover the spread vs. Clemson.

Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

An update has been given about Curtis’ NIL deal, although things have not been signed, sealed, and delivered just yet.

Read more: NFL Draft Expert Sends Head-Turning Message About Texas QB Arch Manning

Pete Nakos, a college football insider for On3 Sports, had reported earlier this week that Curtis would make less than $1 million in his first year with Georgia. He has given a slight update on that report.

“Reported this week that Jared Curtis will make under $1 million in Year 1 at Georgia,” he wrote in a post on X. “Sources tell @On3sports that he’s yet ot sign a contract and negotiations are still not finished. So no final number to report yet.”

Curtis is going to make a lot of NIL money throughout his college football career. Regardless of whether or not he hits the $1 million mark in year one, he’s going to be just fine.

Hailing from Nashville Christian School in Tennessee, Curtis was the No. 1 quarterback in the country, according to On3 Sports. He was also ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the nation and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Tennessee.

Read more: Former College Football Standout Quarterback Announces Sudden Retirement Following NFL Draft

On3 Sports has also revealed a very intriguing comparison for Curtis. They believe he’s a similar player to former Bulldogs’ star quarterback and current Los Angeles Rams signal caller Matthew Stafford.

“Jared Curtis’ top-shelf arm talent and ability to make plays outside of structure remind us of Matthew Stafford at the same stage,” they wrote. “Curtis has a bigger frame than Stafford, while Stafford was more proven against top competition playing at a high level of Texas high school football.”

If Curtis can grow and develop into anything close to the kind of player and talent that Stafford was and has been throughout his career, Georgia is going to be in great shape moving forward.

For more on college football, head to Newsweek Sports.



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Mountaineers Head to Kansas State for Final Road Series

Story Links MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 12 West Virginia University baseball team hits the road for the final time in the regular season as the Mountaineers head to Kansas State, May 9-11. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET, Saturday for 5 p.m. ET, and Sunday for […]

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 12 West Virginia University baseball team hits the road for the final time in the regular season as the Mountaineers head to Kansas State, May 9-11. First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET, Saturday for 5 p.m. ET, and Sunday for 2 p.m. ET.
 
Mountaineer fans can watch the games on ESPN+, listen on Mountaineer Sports Network, and can follow along with live stats at WVUsports.com.
 
West Virginia is 39-8 overall after dropping a midweek contest at Pitt on Tuesday. In the Big 12, the Mountaineers sit at 18-4 in the Big 12, three games ahead of Arizona State with six games remaining.
 
In the latest polls, West Virginia sits at No. 7 in Perfect Game, No. 13 in NCBWA, No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 9 in Baseball America, No. 18 in The Athletic, and No. 12 by D1Baseball, which is recognized by the NCAA.
 

BASE25 Sport Enhancement Fund 1920x300

Junior Sam White leads the team with a .367 batting average while senior Jace Rinehart has a team-high 46 RBI. Rinehart, senior Grant Hussey, junior Logan Sauve, and senior Kyle West each have seven home runs to pace the offense. On the mound, WVU has a 3.77 team ERA, tops in the Big 12 and 12th best in the country.
 
Pitching Probables
LHP Griffin Kirn (4-1, 3.59 ERA, 70 K, 22 BB, 62.2 IP) vs. LHP Jacob Frost (1-3, 4.86 ERA, 58 K, 31 BB, 50.0 IP)
RHP Chase Meyer (8-2, 2.31 ERA, 51 K, 23 BB, 35.0 IP) vs. LHP Michael Quevedo (6-1, 5.27 ERA, 66 K, 23 BB, 56.1 IP)
RHP Jack Kartsonas (6-1, 1.84 ERA, 51 K, 11 BB, 44.0 IP) vs. LHP Lincoln Sheffield (6-4, 5.64 ERA, 59 K, 16 BB, 59.0 IP)
 
Led by seventh year head coach Pete Hughes, Kansas State is 28-20 this season. The Wildcats are 14-10 in the Big 12 after taking two of three at BYU this past weekend.
 
Keegan O’Connor leads the team with a .338 batting average and 15 home runs while Maximus Martin has 14 home runs to go along with 53 RBI. Adam Arther has been Kansas State’s top pitcher this season with a 1.93 ERA in 17 relief appearances.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
 





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Shockers Ousted in AAC Quarterfinals by North Texas

Story Links TAMPA, Fla. – No. 4 seed North Texas put up six runs in the first inning and held on for an 8-4 win over No. 5 seed Wichita State in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship. Wichita State saw its […]

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TAMPA, Fla. – No. 4 seed North Texas put up six runs in the first inning and held on for an 8-4 win over No. 5 seed Wichita State in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship.

Wichita State saw its season come to an end at 29-25-1. North Texas advances to Friday’s semifinals where they will face top seed Florida Atlantic.

Ellee Eck closed her collegiate career with a three-hit day, including a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Krystin Nelson was 2-for-3 and Lauren Lucas tripled and walked in their final game. Taylor Sedlacek walked twice and singled. Brookelyn Livanec singled, drove in a run and walked twice to cap a standout freshman campaign.

Wichita State’s three doubles in the game moved its season total to 88, a new single season school record.

In the circle, Ava Sliger (7-7) didn’t make it out of the first inning, as North Texas lit her up for six runs. Ryley Nihart was stellar in 5.2 innings out of the bullpen. She allowed just two runs on three hits, three walks and three strikeouts a day after throwing a full 7-inning complete game vs. Tulsa.

North Texas hung six runs on six hits on the Shockers in the bottom of the first. The Mean Green tallied four singles, a double and then capped the inning with a three-run home run.

Wichita State broke into the scoring column in the top of the third on back-to-back hits from Nelson and Eck. Nelson led off with a single and a fielding error by the left fielder, and it immediately turned into a run in the next at bat when Eck dropped a double down the right field line. Eck would end up on third thanks to a throwing error on the right fielder. That extra base immediately paid off, as Eck came in to score on a wild pitch, just sliding in before the tag to cut the deficit to 6-2.

The Shockers continued their comeback attempt with a single run in the fourth and fifth to make it a 6-4 game. In the fourth, Eck added her second RBI of the game on a single back up the middle.

With two outs in the fifth, Wichita State’s two freshmen came up clutch. Gabby Scott smoked a ground-rule double and then came around to score on Brookelyn Livanec’s single down the left field line.

A leadoff triple sparked a two-run bottom of the fifth for North Texas after Nihart had held them scoreless for 3.2 innings.

 



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The NIL and the demise of college athletics

The LBSU student section were loud and on their feet, with a total of 4,676 people filling up the arena. UCI however overcame the LBSU crowd and upset The Beach 3-0. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko Name, image and likeness coupled with the unregulated transfer portal is causing the perfect storm that is leading to the […]

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The LBSU student section were loud and on their feet, with a total of 4,676 people filling up the arena. UCI however overcame the LBSU crowd and upset The Beach 3-0. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko

Name, image and likeness coupled with the unregulated transfer portal is causing the perfect storm that is leading to the downfall of our beloved college sports.

Name, Image and Likeness

Since its birth on July 1, 2021, the NIL landscape has changed drastically from its beginning to its current state, spiraling out of control as the days go by. 

It started in 2021 with the simple idea that athletes would be able to profit off their name, image and likeness– something that should have happened a long time ago– and players became influencers per se, attaching their names to brands for money. 

However, on December 10, 2024, it was announced that schools can directly pay players, turning recruiting and the transfer portal specifically into the “Wild West”.

In 2025, college sports have turned into a bidding war with athletes jumping from school to school, trying to see which school will pay them the most money, diminishing the core principles of college sports.  

Take former University of Tennessee star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, for example.

He led the Volunteers to the No. 9 seed in the College Football Playoff and just recently made headlines when he left Tennessee after shopping himself around in an attempt to improve on the reported $2.4 million he was set to make at Tennessee this year. 

After losing to Ohio State in the first round of the CFP, Iamaleava’s representatives– including his father, Nic– were reaching out to other schools behind the back of Tennessee and eventually landed on the University of California, Los Angeles, where he will be earning less than he was set to earn at Tennessee, according to ESPN

Iamaleava, who is now being referred to on social media as “Nico Imma leave ya,” embodies everything that is wrong with the current state of NIL in college athletics.

College athletes deserve to profit from their name, image and likeness as they are the product that the college is producing, they are the reason fans buy tickets and spend money at concessions, but how NIL is being abused is not right.

Transfer Portal

In April 2024, the NCAA made a ruling that an athlete can transfer as many times as they want with immediate eligibility as long as they meet the new school’s academic requirements

Ever since, that rule has been taken advantage of.

As of April 21, 2025, it has been reported that there are over 2,300 men’s basketball players, up 1,363 from 2019 when the portal was introduced, and over 1,500 women’s basketball players in the transfer portal.

The new narrative in college sports is that if a player has a good season at a small school, they enter the portal and try to go to a better school that can pay them more money.

If they have a bad season or don’t play as much as they feel they should at a big school, they transfer down in hopes of having a good season to transfer back up and make more money as an established player. 

This narrative creates a toxic environment that encourages players to jump from team to team and to forgo the loyalty and development process that we have been used to seeing, all in hopes of benefiting monetarily. 

Because of the ever-present transfer carousel, mid-majors, like Long Beach State, around the country are losing their best players year after year to larger schools that can pay them more, causing a lack of parity from top to bottom in college basketball. 

We saw this come to light in this year’s NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, when the Elite 8 was an almost uniform outcome with there being four No. 1 seeds, three No. 2 seeds and a No. 3 seed in Texas Tech, which was the outlier. 

Six out of the eight teams’ leading scorers for the 2024-2025 season were transfers, with Michigan State and Duke University being the only two teams not to be led by a transfer. 

The parity of one of the great sporting events has been stolen away by the transfer portal. It is a small sample size, but the lack of a “Cinderella team” in this year’s tournament was evident.

Whatever happened to waiting your turn? Whatever happened to developing at one school? But most of all, whatever happened to loyalty?

Loyalty to a fanbase that has welcomed you with open arms and supported you through good and bad games, and loyalty to a coaching staff that embraced you, recruited you and invited you into their collegiate families.

College fans around the country are constantly getting figuratively slapped in the face when their favorite player abandons them to go chase more money.

This “Wild West” needs to be tamed.



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Yeshiva Basketball Star Jumps Into NIL Without Social Media

It has been a banner year for Jewish student-athletes across the country. From BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and Texas A&M wide receiver Sam Salz on the football field to Michigan center Danny Wolf on the hardwood, there have been a variety of history-makers in college sports both in stadiums and through NIL. One Jewish athlete […]

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It has been a banner year for Jewish student-athletes across the country. From BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and Texas A&M wide receiver Sam Salz on the football field to Michigan center Danny Wolf on the hardwood, there have been a variety of history-makers in college sports both in stadiums and through NIL.

One Jewish athlete who is making waves in NIL without the use of social media is Yeshiva University basketball star Zevi Samet. Averaging 22.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a junior, Samet earned All-American honors in addition to being named All-Conference, All-Met and All-District while leading the Division III Maccabees to a Skyline Championship and NCAA Division III Tournament appearance.

A religious decision – as an Orthodox Jew – to not be on social media, Samet has found new ways to leverage his on-court star power to engage in NIL for a good cause. The Skyline Conference’s leading scorer and Monsey, NY-native recently launched a new apparel collection featuring his “Monsey Mamba” and “Heimishe Hooper” nicknames, coined by New York-based writer and comedian Eitan Levine who helped bring to life Retzlaff’s NIL partnership with Jewish food brand Manischewitz.

This apparel launch – designed by Yonatees Custom Printing and coordinated via Tribe NIL, a new NIL collective for Jewish student-athletes – stands for so much more than just Samet’s incredible on-court talent. A portion of sales go to his non-profit, Beyond the Court, providing Jewish programming for his fellow Yeshiva teammates and classmates.

Zevi Samet "Monsey Mamba" T-Shirt

Zevi Samet “Monsey Mamba” T-Shirt / Tribe NIL

Samet and his teammates were recently featured in a FOX Nation documentary – “Rebound” – focused on how the 2023-2024 Yeshiva team managed the emotional and physical toll of playing in the aftermath of October 7th. With six Israeli players on the roster that season, the team weighed canceling their season, instead playing for something bigger than basketball, a theme that is front and center with Samet.

After the DIII NCAA Tournament, Samet spoke to NIL Daily On SI about his unique NIL experience without social media, “Rebound” and how he is expanding his impact outside of basketball.

Social media is such a big part of NIL, especially how athletes and brands bring campaigns to life. Without a social presence, how have you found other ways to engage in the space?
“I’ve focused on trying to help inspire other guys on the team and their own individual Jewish groups, but this year I took a really big role in creating an organization called Beyond the Court. What that organization does is – I wanted to show the guys on the team that we’re all Jews, we all come from totally different backgrounds – I wanted them to get a taste of how I live my life and how I live an Orthodox life and how special it is to me. Of all the things that I do and how I feel good as a person and how I feel closer to God.”

“I’m not going to force any of them to do anything. Whoever wants to join it and do all the stuff that we’re going to do, but nothing’s forced, everything is at your own pace. I just wanted them to get a taste of it and we created daily prayers every day after practice where all the guys come and they pray, they put on Tefillin. Certain guys started telling me they’re like, ‘Z, I’m not a religious guy, but I started feeling holy when I started doing this.’ Something about my day was elevated and they just wanted to do more and more.”

What was the inspiration for your first NIL activation with the “Monsey Mamba” and “Heimishe Hooper” t-shirt launches?
“The comedian Eitan Levine posted a video – that people sent me on WhatsApp, since I don’t have social media – going crazy about me, how I’m a religious hooper and sharing the nicknames. I heard it got a lot of views and then people started reaching out about putting the names on shirts. I think it’s just pretty cool because he (Eitan) was someone who believed in me and although I don’t have social media, thought there was an opportunity to take part in NIL.”

“I wish everything with Beyond the Court would be free, but some of the things that we do as a team do cost money. More than the money going to my pocket, I wanted to use the money to help inspire these guys because at the end of the day, you feel the best and you feel the most accomplished when you give to others. So just by me always giving over to them, I feel more fulfilled, I feel more productive. I feel like I’m living my life’s mission.”

Zevi Samet "Heimishe Hooper" T-Shirt

Zevi Samet “Heimishe Hooper” T-Shirt / Tribe NIL

You were just featured in the powerful “Rebound” documentary – how do you think this will help tell the Yeshiva basketball story, share your unique experiences on and off the court and help open peoples’ eyes to what you and teammates stand for outside of basketball?
“I think one of the biggest lessons that a lot of people will see is that although the Jewish people are are a nation – and to see that our brothers and sisters in Israel are going through with the tremendous tragedy and sadness post-October 7th – we feel it here too. We have six or seven Israelis on the team, so we feel it. We’re with these guys all day and they’re speaking to their family nonstop. So we literally – although we’re here – felt it.”

“We went to Israel last year to play against one of the Israeli teams in an expedition game and I remember saying to the guys in the locker room – because before every game I share a Torah thought, a spiritual idea before we go on the court – the message that I kept sharing with them was that all these people came to watch us – both Israeli and American fans and American fans – but they didn’t come to just watch us play basketball. They came to represent us and to represent what we do for the nation. They came to support us for what we do for the nation. We showed them that you can use a platform like basketball. We’re showing them that that you can use a platform of basketball and to use it for bigger things. All of those people I’m sure were in a dark time, but they got to see through basketball how to cheer them up and how to get lifted up.”

“We went through so much as a team and post-October 7th and yet still tried to continue to play basketball. Then you see us failing at the end of the year and how we come back to this year and end up winning. It’s pretty cool on one end, and I think another thing is showing the diverse group of guys that we have on the team and how we all get together and no one feels different. No one feels pressured, no one feels that, ‘oh, I can’t hang out with those guys because they’re too religious or not religious enough.’ We’re all best friends and how we communicate and interact with each other, I think it’s really cool and it is really just how we use the platform of basketball on a bigger light that I think a lot of people will be inspired by.”

As you head into next season – now with some NIL experience under your belt – what are your goals for continuing to engage in the space?
“I definitely would love to do more, but I just don’t think many people really know about me since I’m not on social media. I think when people look at social media and they look at NIL opportunities, they look at the players who have the biggest followings. My goal is for people to hopefully see me and say, ‘listen, here’s a kid who doesn’t have social media but can be just as inspiring on the court and off the court.’ I attract a lot of people in the Jewish world and the Orthodox world who don’t have social media. I just hope that people would be interested in and believing in me, wanting me to represent their brands and then hopefully it can expand to a lot of people, even without social media.”





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Head coach talks impact on high school sports – Valley Times-News

Head coach talks impact on high school sports Published 11:00 am Thursday, May 8, 2025 VALLEY — Adam Hunter, the head football coach and athletic director at Valley High, was the guest speaker at Wednesday’s noon hour meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Valley. He brought with him next year’s starting quarterback for the Rams, […]

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Head coach talks impact on high school sports

Published 11:00 am Thursday, May 8, 2025

VALLEY — Adam Hunter, the head football coach and athletic director at Valley High, was the guest speaker at Wednesday’s noon hour meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Valley. He brought with him next year’s starting quarterback for the Rams, Caden Foreman, reviewed how sports played out this year at Valley High and talked about how the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rules of college football has filtered down to have a major impact on high school sports.

Foreman transferred to Valley from Beauregard High School last year and finished the year as the team’s starting quarterback, leading the Rams to wins over Beauregard and Dadeville.

“He’s a tremendous player,” Hunter said. “He’s very athletic and an excellent pocket passer. We have a deep and talented group of receivers he can throw to. We won’t be one dimensional in our offense next year. We will be opening it up.”

Hunter said he wants the school’s home games to be more fan friendly next year. “We will be bringing back the game-day programs and we will have a shuttle to the stadium for those who need it,” he said. “We will also have season passes and reserved seating this coming season.”

Most of the team’s offensive line will be returning from last year. It will be up to them to protect a passing quarterback, but Hunter believes they will be up to the task.

The squad has gone through five practice sessions heading into a spring game this coming Thursday at Ram Stadium. They will be taking on Eufaula in a 7 p.m. EDT scrimmage.

Hunter said Valley High had good seasons in baseball and softball. He was especially pleased with some of the performances of Valley High track athletes at the recent 5A meet in Gulf Shores. The girls basketball team had a very good season as well.

After spring practice wraps up, the football team will be going through seven-on-seven meets this summer in preparation for the 2025 season.

Something that’s been a long time coming is the air conditioning of the Valley High gym. Two seven-and-a-half ton units are in place. “This is a big deal,” Hunter said. “I know our volleyball players will appreciate it. It gets pretty hot inside the gym when they are playing in there.”

Hunter said the state of Alabama is going to have to do something with all the transferring from one school to another that’s taking place. “There are times when this is appropriate and times when it’s not,” he said.

NIL is a sore subject for Hunter and many other high school coaches. “It has really messed things up,” he said. “There needs to be some guidelines to control it. It’s a good thing for this state that Alabama does not have NIL in high school sports, but that’s not true of all states.”

NIL allows athletes to collect money for the use of their personal brand. It gives them a legal right to control how their image is used, including commercially.

Hunter said he’s like to see some upgrades at Ram Stadium, possibly a new scoreboard and a resurfaced track. He’s pleased with the playing surface. “With the high school, middle school and Point University games, there were 17 games played there last fall,” he said, “but it’s a pretty doggone good field to have held up as well as it has with all that’s been going on there.”

One thing Hunter and many other high school coaches would like to see is more parental involvement. It’s just not like it once was. “We’d also like to have more sponsorship,” he said. “We’d like to see the names of local businesses being displayed at the stadium.”



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