Stupid on NIL

[mileskishnish72]

I've got to admit, this is a topic I have not followed closely. I get the basics, but could my fellow MU fans flesh it out for me? What's allowed, what isn't, and why do I keep reading on Scoop that MU is disadvantaged on this issue?

Thanks in advance.

[brewcity77]

Right now, the rules are kind of like the Wild West. It's not supposed to be used for recruiting, but there's really no way to stop that. Considering the NCAA's losses at state houses and the Supreme court, it's hard to imagine their new plans will have much teeth.

Marquette is moving on this, but taking a cautious approach (as they always do). They have gone through two different companies (Inflncr, Altius) to get it started and also have Travis Diener and Steve Novak running the "Be the Difference NIL" which is raising money to fund NIL opportunities for student-athletes by partnering with charities that Marquette University already works with. I am very strongly led to believe Justin was given an offer from BtD, but no offer was going to outbid an NBA guarantee, which leads me to believe he's in better position than most mocks are indicating.

People saying we are disadvantaged are largely playing the Chicken Little role. The same donors that fund our robust basketball budget (even adjusted with Fiserv rental) have the same motivation to give to NIL. So the people that have made a practice to send a seven-figure check to B&G every Spring or agreed to pay Wojo's entire $6,000,000 buyout on a phone call will also be looking to keep MU competitive in the NIL space.

The BtD NIL was in the works for months before it was announced and while they haven't made any public disclosures, I heard awhile ago about a collective of heavy-hitter donors that I strongly suspect provided the seed money for this while using Diener, Novak, and Rob Jackson as the faces of the collective.

And yes, I wrote something critical of Marquette's medium pace on NIL. Wisconsin is one of a very few states with no NIL legislation, which means there really are no rules here for Marquette to violate. Maybe it's coincidence that it published on a Wednesday and after getting...let's say negative online feedback from Mike Broeker, the partnership with Altius Sports was announced the following Monday and the BtD NIL was announced Tuesday. Just like it was coincidence that I emailed Broeker last week to say "why is Marquette ignoring Justin's NBA announcement while posting videos of Kur and Darryl's NBA workouts" and a half-hour later there was a statement on all the socials thanking Justin.

We aren't taking the John Ruiz approach, but with our Athletic Department leadership, that was never going to be in the cards. We also don't have anyone transferring out (other than Greg, who was essentially thanked for his service after Senior Day) which means there's enough there to convince our current players not to test the waters. Our process will likely be quieter and slower than many of us like, but I disagree strongly that we are somehow disadvantaged. We have the people in place and the will to be competitive. We just won't broadcast it as much.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The BtD NIL was in the works for months before it was announced and while they haven't made any public disclosures, I heard awhile ago about a collective of heavy-hitter donors that I strongly suspect provided the seed money for this while using Diener, Novak, and Rob Jackson as the faces of the collective.

Don't forget about Kiesha Oliver-Hayes. One thing unique about Marquette's collective is that it will also benefit women's basketball. This is not common in the slightest and I think will be a major boon to the women's program. It could even help with men's recruiting by winning over players' mothers.

[withoutbias]

Don't forget about Kiesha Oliver-Hayes. One thing unique about Marquette's collective is that it will also benefit women's basketball. This is not common in the slightest and I think will be a major boon to the women's program. It could even help with men's recruiting by winning over players' mothers.

[MU82]

It makes absolutely no sense that rich donors would be willing to "save" the program with the Wojo buyout but would suddenly decide not to put $$ toward NIL to get Wojo's replacement the athletes he needs to win.

It's a big reason why I'm optimistic we'll be able to compete with most programs in this realm.

Besides, whining about it or crying about it won't change the fact that it's here.

I'd have embraced NIL anyway because it was patently unfair that archaic rules prohibited hard-working, law-abiding American adults from controlling their own names, images and likenesses.

Above and beyond that, I embrace it because it's now a big part of college athletics ... and we have no choice even if we don't like it.

[WhiteTrash]

Besides, whining about it or crying about it won't change the fact that it's here.

2018: "Whining and crying won't change the fact that college athletes are not allowed to be paid"

[MU82]

2018: "Whining and crying won't change the fact that college athletes are not allowed to be paid"

Huh?

[swoopem]

I haven't taken the time to look this up or verify it but yesterday a Michigan St friend told me that MSU basically setup a donation site where anyone can donate and then they distribute it equally amongst the sport you decide to donate to.

I picture it as a website with a drop down of the sport, you pick one, then the next page you donate however much you want. I think that's a pretty good idea

Also, I'm not sure if this is possible but I feel like players should get a percentage of ticket sales since they're the ones actually playing the games. I'm sure the university and corporate suits don't want to share pieces of their pie but again, I think that'd be a good idea

[WhiteTrash]

Huh?

The point was lots of people whined and cried back in 2018 or for years about players not getting paid; I'm sure many people made the exact same point as you that whining and crying won't change that reality. But it did. Sometimes whining and crying works, so those of us in favor of NIL should not dismiss the critics and the whining and crying.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The point was lots of people whined and cried back in 2018 or for years about players not getting paid; I'm sure many people made the exact same point as you that whining and crying won't change that reality. But it did. Sometimes whining and crying works, so those of us in favor of NIL should not dismiss the critics and the whining and crying.

I don't think anyone whining or crying anywhere made a difference. I think a lot of people advocating, writing legislation, petitioning their lawmakers, etc made a difference.

The key difference to between 2018 and now is that people in 2018 were "whining and crying" about an unjust and unethical practice. Usually once those are corrected, lawmakers rarely go back.

[MU82]

The point was lots of people whined and cried back in 2018 or for years about players not getting paid; I'm sure many people made the exact same point as you that whining and crying won't change that reality. But it did. Sometimes whining and crying works, so those of us in favor of NIL should not dismiss the critics and the whining and crying.

Ah, now I understand.

See TAMU's response.

[PVMagic]

It makes absolutely no sense that rich donors would be willing to "save" the program with the Wojo buyout but would suddenly decide not to put $$ toward NIL to get Wojo's replacement the athletes he needs to win.

It's a big reason why I'm optimistic we'll be able to compete with most programs in this realm.

This. I've been following this closely as its having a big impact on college football and I'm an Ohio State fan, who have obviously been heavily involved. What does make things interesting is if this will lead to decreased donations to athletic departments (particularly from big time donors)... for example, will a 5 million dollar check that previously refurbished the locker room go to a collective instead.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This. I've been following this closely as its having a big impact on college football and I'm an Ohio State fan, who have obviously been heavily involved. What does make things interesting is if this will lead to decreased donations to athletic departments (particularly from big time donors)... for example, will a 5 million dollar check that previously refurbished the locker room go to a collective instead.

Donors don't make those kind of donations without direction from the athletic department. If a donor tells the athletic department that they want to donate $5 million to the collective, but the athletics department tells them that what they really need is $5 million to upgrade their facilities, most times that $5 million is going to end up buying a new locker room.

[WhiteTrash]

Donors don't make those kind of donations without direction from the athletic department. If a donor tells the athletic department that they want to donate $5 million to the collective, but the athletics department tells them that what they really need is $5 million to upgrade their facilities, most times that $5 million is going to end up buying a new locker room.

So the schools are de-facto stewards of the potential NIL funds and will reroute funds from needy student athletes to the school? Brilliant.

[cheebs09]

So the schools are de-facto stewards of the potential NIL funds and will reroute funds from needy student athletes to the school? Brilliant.

Isn't the purpose of upgrading facilities to help with recruiting? I'm sure Shaka and the AD are smart enough to know where funds would be best utilized.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

So the schools are de-facto stewards of the potential NIL funds and will reroute funds from needy student athletes to the school? Brilliant.

If that's how you choose to see it. There will be plenty of money for both parties at high majors.

[rocky_warrior]

There will be plenty of money for both parties

woohoo!

[WhiteTrash]

Isn't the purpose of upgrading facilities to help with recruiting? I'm sure Shaka and the AD are smart enough to know where funds would be best utilized.

I agree with you but one of the cornerstone arguments for NIL was that the schools and coaches already take way too much of the revenue.

I agree with NIL and I accept that funds from the pool of money supporting college athletics and now going to NIL will come from facilities, non-revenue sports and coaches salaries. Women's sports and other non-revenue sports don't add enough (NOT say anything) back to the schools to justify not supporting NIL instead.

[WhiteTrash]

If that's how you choose to see it. There will be plenty of money for both parties at high majors.

Not at Alabama if you believe Saban.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Not at Alabama if you believe Saban.

No one does

[brewcity77]

Not at Alabama if you believe Saban.

The state literally repealed their NIL law because after seeing the NCAA's "actions" they decided their own law was too strict. That's the last place that will have any problems.

[muwarrior69]

Will MU get on the trading card band wagon like UW?

https://pjmedia.com/culture/chris-queen/2022/06/09/coming-soon-college-football-and-basketball-trading-cards-n1604382

[WhiteTrash]

Will MU get on the trading card band wagon like UW?

https://pjmedia.com/culture/chris-queen/2022/06/09/coming-soon-college-football-and-basketball-trading-cards-n1604382

I think that is cool. I hope MU does follow suit.

Can't be much money in it, but it's fun.

[panda]

I think that is cool. I hope MU does follow suit.

Can't be much money in it, but it's fun.

this is ruining college sports

[mileskishnish72]

Thanks for the instructive thoughts, Brew & TAMU.