The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering today’s version of the collective, groups that are closely affiliated with schools and that, in the early days of NIL after July 2021, proved the most efficient way for schools to indirectly cut deals with players.

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Already, collectives affiliated with Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others have announced they’re shutting down. Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois are among those that have announced plans with Learfield, a media and technology company with decades of licensing and other experience across college athletics, to help arrange NIL deals.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established by the new College Sports Commission and is being run by the auditing group Deloitte.

In its letter to the ADs, the CSC said more than 1,500 deals have been cleared since NIL Go launched on June 11, “ranging in value from three figures to seven figures.” More than 12,000 athletes and 1,100 institutional users have registered to use the system.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.

Sports attorney Darren Heitner, who deals in NIL, said the guidance “could disproportionately burden collectives that are already committed to spending money on players for multiple years to come.”

“If a pattern of rejections results from collective deals submitted to Deloitte, it may invite legal scrutiny under antitrust principles,” he said.

On a separate track, some college sports leaders, including the NCAA, are seeking a limited form of antitrust protection from Congress.

The letter said a NIL deal could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.

“In other words, NIL collectives may act as marketing agencies that match student-athletes with businesses that have a valid business purpose and seek to use the student’s NIL to promote their businesses,” the letter said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It wasn’t until last March, when top-notch defenseman Jackson Smith and the Tri-City Americans were nearing the end of the regular season, that Smith started to consider a different path for his future.

Five months earlier, the NCAA changed its long-held rule that players who compete in any of the Canadian Hockey League’s three branches — the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League — were ineligible to play college hockey.

But even that rule change, which was lauded just about everywhere in hockey except the CHL, didn’t register with Smith, who was born and raised in Calgary and elevated his play dramatically in 2024-25, his second season in the WHL.

“When the rule first came out, I didn’t even look at it,” said Smith, a big, two-way defenseman who was selected No. 14 overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at last month’s NHL draft. “It was maybe not until March when my dad brought it up, like, ‘We should look into this.’

“I was like, school? I wasn’t really thinking about that.”

But over the last few months, it’s all anybody can talk about at the top levels of developmental hockey. And the Blue Jackets are right in the middle of it. Columbus’ top two prospects — Smith and center Cayden Lindstrom, the No. 4 pick in 2024 — have both made the leap from CHL to NCAA this summer.

Smith took only one recruiting visit and decided to play at Penn State in the fall. He was blown away, he said, by the Nittany Lions’ facilities, as well as the opportunity to play against older players over the next two seasons. The majority of NCAA players are between 22 and 24 years old.

Jackson Smith is a Blue Jacket!! #WeAre #HockeyValley #NHLDraft #CBJ pic.twitter.com/ODgEBUK5hK

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) June 28, 2025

Lindstrom, who missed most of last season following back surgery, was the target of a fierce recruiting battle and ended up choosing Michigan State. The lighter game schedule in the NCAA — 34 regular-season games vs. 68 in junior hockey — will allow more time for off-ice work and recovery and less time traveling.

“I think it’s huge, and I think it’s just the beginning,” Lindstrom said. “It gives players a chance to develop at a higher level against older guys. Say you’re dominating the WHL, that’s kind of your next step as a hockey player and a person and, academically as well.”

Unless Smith is ready to play in the NHL in 2026-27, which seems unlikely, he’ll likely play two years at Penn State before turning pro. On that schedule, he’d be able to play for the Blue Jackets’ American Hockey League affiliate in Cleveland before joining the big club.

Lindstrom, a year old, will likely turn pro after one season at Michigan State.

Lindstrom and Smith are the Blue Jackets’ only examples of players leaving the CHL for the NCAA, but the Columbus imprint on college hockey next season will be bigger than ever.

The Blue Jackets will have 10 players in the NCAA this coming season, by far the highest number in the franchise’s 25-year history. Ten seasons ago, they had just three players in college hockey, and last season, they had only four.

The others arrived in the NCAA through pipelines that were available before the name change:

• Goaltender Melvin Strahl (Michigan State), forward William Whitelaw (Western Michigan), defensemen Andrew Strathmann (North Dakota), Tanner Henricks (St. Cloud State) all played in the United States Hockey League
• Forwards James Fisher (Northeastern) and Jeremy Loranger (Nebraska-Omaha), and defenseman Luke Ashton (Cornell) played in the British Columbus Junior Hockey League, at the junior-A level
• Defenseman Malte Vass (Boston U.) is a European import

But the moves by Lindstrom and Smith are the ones everybody’s watching. Gavin McKenna, who played with Lindstrom at times the last two seasons with Medicine Hat in the WHL, announced to much fanfare on Wednesday that he’ll attend Penn State with Smith in the fall.

“As we live in the reality of it, it seems like each case is going to be different,” said Blue Jackets director of hockey operations Rick Nash, who has worked extensively on the development side of hockey since he retired as a player in 2018.

“It’ll be interesting to see how it all pans out, but right now I think it’s exciting that some of these kids get to experience both major junior and the NCAA.”

Smith, who turned 18 in May, had 11-43-54 and 48 penalty minutes in 68 games for Tri-City. There are still aspects of the game he could improve at the major-junior level, but nothing could prepare him to play in the NHL quite like playing against older, more developed players.

“The CHL is an unbelievable league,” Smith said during Blue Jackets development camp last week. “I loved my two years in Tri-Cities, like I’ve said a number of times. But having that other option there … (NCAA) is an older league, stronger guys, and the facilities there are pretty great.

“Getting to use those and getting to play against stronger competition gets you a bit more ready for the NHL, which is, ultimately, every hockey player’s dream.”

When the Blue Jackets drafted Lindstrom, it was known that he’d had back issues, but the Blue Jackets believed it could be healed with rest and a patient approach. Ultimately, it was learned that Lindstrom needed back surgery last fall, and after a long, arduous recovery, he’s back on the ice.

The Blue Jackets didn’t sign Lindstrom to an entry-level contract quickly, as many of the other high draft picks typically do, and many wondered if his back injury was the reason.

It wasn’t. Lindstrom and his agent, Daren Hermiston, had college hockey on their radar as his best path to the NHL, and the Blue Jackets agreed. That’s why he still hasn’t signed an ELC — if he had signed a professional contract, he would not be allowed to play in the NCAA.

Two other recent Blue Jackets draft picks could have benefited from this rule change. No longer do parents face a tough decision — CHL or NCAA? — when the player is only 16 years old, because now they can play in both.

Adam Fantilli, the No. 3 by the Jackets in 2023, went to the USHL and later played one year at Michigan rather than play at Saginaw of the OHL. If he had the flexibility to leave after two seasons and still play in college, the decision may have been different.

Denton Mateychuk, the No. 12 pick in 2022, played four full seasons with Moose Jaw of the WHL. The fourth year proved beneficial — Moose Jaw won the WHL and played in the Memorial Cup, and Mateychuk was the captain — but there was concern by the Blue Jackets before the season that he was no longer being challenged at that level.

That’s all changed now. And it will likely lead to further changes, though nobody can say what those will be.

“It’s early, so it’ll settle down and we’ll all settle into what it means probably in three to five years,” Blue Jackets director of player personnel Chris Clark said. “Right now, everybody’s trying to figure it out.

“I think it’s tough for a 15-to-16-year-old kid to make a decision on college or major junior. Well, now you can do both.”

(Photo of Jackson Smith: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

Hugh Freeze joined David Pollack on the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast on Thursday morning. Freeze discussed a number of topics. When asked what his plan of attack will be at SEC Media Days, Freeze broke down why fans may be uneasy, he questioned the recruiting structure while pointing out Auburn’s current plan in the new settlement, and he talked about his current team for the upcoming season.

Q: Coach, you mentioned that a lot of people are talking about your golf game. Media days are coming up next week… Do you plan? Do you have a speech or are you going to wing it? How do you go about prepping for the event that is SEC Media Days?

FREEZE: “I really have never been a big planner for that. I like to be transparent and truthful. This is the time when people are looking for things to write about and I do love golf, I enjoy playing. What people don’t realize–I assure you I never missed a camp day or a recruiting day. But, if camp got over at 3 pm one day, and Jill and I go out at 4:30, we absolutely might do that–and I’m not apologizing for that part of it. My focus is 100 percent on getting Auburn in that win column this fall.

“I think the biggest thing causing most of it is the recruiting rankings right now because we have been top ten my two years here in recruiting and currently we are not. Good lord, we could spend 30 minutes on why I think that is, but there are a lot of people right now who are operating under a different set of rules on what their interpretation is of this settlement and how you should operate. I’m going to operate in the manner that our administration has interpreted it. We will see–I think it is a long game play for us that I think is going to work out in our favor because we are doing it very transparent and the way we believe the settlement is written to operate if that makes sense.

“And, the other thing that nobody talks about–and y’all may, I don’t listen to much–I’m not on social media, my daughter does it… ‘Well, Freeze is not getting this receiver in-state.’ Do y’all realize, on paper, I am not losing a single receiver? This is not like the old days where you sign 25 guys and then figure out who the 85 are. This is actually a salary cap world and I like our receiver room. How do I go and make offers to receivers at numbers that these other schools are when, come January, I kind of want to keep the one I have. I don’t think the Finebaum’s of the world or any of them think about all of that. They just say he’s playing golf and not recruiting.

“There are just a lot of dynamics into it right now. I’m confident that our staff–we have not changed a single approach with our recruiting, people love it when they come to Auburn. But, there are just a lot of dynamics that go into their decisions currently. Come August 1, everybody has to put this in writing now and we will see where everything shakes out after that. How in the world are you going to convince a third 5-star quarterback to come to you when you have Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight? If we’re really operating under a true salary cap where we have no idea what an NIL value is until they decide that, which is our interpretation of the new rules, how do you do that?

“I’ve sent my General Manager to NFL teams and we know how much percentage goes in a running back room, a quarterback room, a defensive line room. You better be figuring out how in the world come January how you retain that defensive lineman that has the experience that I need. If you promised all of that already to a freshman, that is an issue. And, the biggest thing, the calendar is so messed up, you’re asking us to sign a class in December and I won’t know who my roster is until January. How do you do that? I don’t know who is turning pro, so you kind of have to speculate.”

Q: Coach you mentioned maybe in the past about how this season and success on the field will aid in all of that. What does success this year look like for you?

FREEZE: “We embrace the expectations. I don’t get into these people who talk about pressure. I have long since decided–well not long, probably four years ago–my story and my wife’s story, my family’s story, it is a God story. He is the author and my answer is yes to that. I don’t have a seat at the table to write the story, I don’t have a pen to write the story, it is not mine to write. When I approach it like that, I don’t have the pressure or any of that.

“At the same time, I am a realist, and Auburn is a place that has to win. I believe we’re going to. I think we finally have enough depth and talent. We can’t run from the fact that the last two years, there were six games we easily could have won. I’m not saying that we should have, but we easily could have won six more football games, last year, four. That changes the whole dynamic of things.

We didn’t have our kicker last year and I think that cost us three games, truthfully. We had three opportunities to go up three scores in SEC games and missed field goals that changed the whole dynamic of the game. By the way, what a story that is. Him having most of his colon removed and sitting out, then choosing not to have the rest of the surgeries that would repair him to function normally just so he can play. That speaks volumes of Alex and his character and his love for Auburn.

“But, I don’t give into the pressure of all of that, but at the same time embrace the expectations and want them. I want our kids to want them. I sense something different in the confidence level of our staff, the chemistry and the culture has grown. Certainly we are not perfect and we have kids that make mistakes and that will continue as long as you’re coaching and you have to make tough decisions sometimes. For the most part, though, I love the leadership of our team, I love this roster, and I’m excited to see what they do on the field.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The College Sports Commission, an organization overlooking the new revenue-sharing system, issued a memo Thursday with further guidance on rules related to third-party name, image and likeness deals.

In a copy of the memo, which was shared with Division I athletic directors including Ohio State’s Ross Bjork, the CSC stated more than 1,500 deals have been cleared.

According to a copy of the memo obtained by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the range of those deals goes from “three figures to seven figures.”

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

WILKES-BARRE — Council at Thursday’s voting session discussed making changes to an ordinance that requires those who want to get a handicap parking space in front of their home to have a handicap license plate.

Councilmember Bill Barrett asked council to consider the possibility of amending the ordinance to require applicants to have either a handicap licence plate or a handicap placard instead.

Barrett said he was inspired to bring up the possible change because a resident, who is disabled, reached out to Barrett and said he didn’t want to get a license plate because he didn’t want to advertise his disability.

“I understand that,” Barrett said.

The council member said similar ordinances in Philadelphia and Allentown allow for applicants to have a placard or plate.

“Other cities do it and PennDOT allows it,” he said.

Barrett said he would put his thoughts in writing for the council to review and also asked the city’s attorney Tim Henry to look into what would be involved in changing the ordinance.

Keystone Mission closure

Also at the meeting, Mayor George Brown was asked questions related to the closure of Keystone Mission’s overnight homeless shelter, which officially shuttered on Thursday.

Located at 90 E. Union St., the Innovation Center for Homeless and Poverty opened in October 2023 and provided homeless men and women with a daytime place to shower and wash clothes, receive breakfast and access community resources and services that may help them get off the streets. The overnight homeless shelter at the facility opened last summer.

Resident Sam Troy asked whether Wilkes-Barre would consider litigation against Keystone Mission, as Luzerne County is, to recover funds it previously gave the organization.

According to previous reporting, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the county filed a praecipe for a writ of summons on June 26, which was intended to protect and preserve the county’s right to reclaim federal American Rescue Plan Act funds distributed to Keystone Mission.

Troy also wanted to know how to city was going to address losing the services that the mission provided.

“The problem is going to be only aggravated. The homeless situation is going to increase, and we may see more and more camps over at Kirby Park,” he said.

Brown said the $224,000 in ARPA funds given by the city to Keystone Mission went right to the contractors to remodel the former Thomas C. Thomas building. The other $109,000 given to Keystone Mission was for operating costs for a year, from June 2024 to June 2025.

“So, our money is accounted for. I can’t speak for the county, but our money was accounted for,” Brown said.

Furthermore, the mayor said he previously had a series of meetings with local organizations, including CEO, Salvation Army and Volunteers of America, to find out how many people would still need help after Keystone Mission relocated some of the people who were regularly visiting the center.

“We did not get any indication on how many people were left,” Brown said.

Keystone Mission told the Times Leader last month that, of the 63 homeless people regularly visiting the center, 21 had been placed. Some received bus transportation to return to family members, while others have been accepted by other organizations across the state willing to take more people.

Agenda items

At least two residents objected to the city acting as a pass-through for King’s College to apply for a Multimodal Transportation Fund grant of $597,855 for phase two of its North Main Street Streetscape Improvements Project, which would cover areas around Public Square to North Street.

“It’s not like the city of Wilkes-Barre can get even a discount for going there,” said Wilkes-Barre resident Angel Mathus. “It’s not like we get special treatment for our kids to go there. You take 10 to 15 tuitions and they can raise that money.”

Despite objections, council approved the item, along with approval for the city to apply for a Multimodal Transportation Fund grant in the amount of $3 million for its own streetscape project.

The project will focus on the areas of Academy/Hazle Street to Wood Street and include the following improvements: new concrete sidewalks, curbs, sidewalk connections, crosswalks and paving of the street.

ADA accessibility improvements, such as curb cuts and sidewalk-detectable warning surfaces for the new ADA ramps, will be replaced.

Additionally, new benches, garbage receptacles, and signage will be installed, and trees will be planted to improve the overall quality of the city district.

Additionally, council approved awarding the Wilkes-Barre Police Department Alarm System contract to the most qualified firm, Eastern Time Inc., a Division of Sciens Building Solutions in the amount of $38,250.