A few days ago, news broke that the University of Miami football team was about to be on the receiving end of a considerable Name, Image and Likeness opportunity that would exceed a half million dollars.
Specifically, MMA training academy American Top Team, founded by a Miami graduate, will offer each of Miami's 90 scholarship football players a $500-per-month ($6,000 annually) contract to "endorse American Top Team through their social media accounts, personal appearances and other marketing vehicles."
In the event that all scholarship Hurricanes players accept, the American Top team initial investment within Miami's football program would amount to about $540,000.
You can read more about that venture here at CaneSport.com, the Rivals affiliate providing daily comprehensive coverage of Miami athletics.
That storyline is significant in regards to Colorado's own navigation of the new collegiate athletics landscape that's been brought about by Name, Image and Likeness.
From the most diehard fans up to athletic director Rick George, one would most likely find agreement in the fact that such lucrative opportunities for student-athletes to maximize and monetize their NIL won't exist at Colorado.
While the Buffaloes have a generous donor base — CU football is just over two years removed from receiving the largest endowment in program history — and student-athletes at Colorado will undoubtedly benefit from being able to cash in on their NIL, the extent of which remains to be seen.
The lucrative opportunity now in front of Miami's football players embodies a concern about a lack of a level playing field that seems likely to benefit college football's biggest and most recognizable programs.
Inequalities have long existed within recruiting long before NIL became a commonly discussed topic but the marketing and branding advantages available to a Miami or Alabama or Southern California does raise a valid concern about what things will look like NIL-wise in the coming years.
While George came out in full support of NIL and student-athletes' right to make money while in college on scholarship, he did allude to a Wild West-esque immediate future stemming from this massive transformation of college athletics we're currently diving into.
“I think NIL is great," George said. "I think we had some great parameters in place that we were going to move forward on, but the NCAA made the decision that they did and now we’re working on that. I do think it’ll be important long term that we have one set of guidelines to follow that we’re all operating on the same level.”
Senior inside linebacker Nate Landman recently teamed up with DNVR Sports, becoming part of their "DNVR Athlete Network," which appears to be centered around selling custom gear and content with Landman's NIL.
Many of his fellow Colorado student-athletes have significant social media presences or YouTube channels that could prove to be steady sources of revenue in the near future.
In addition, who knows which local businesses might step up to the plate to enlist Colorado student-athletes in advertising or for personal appearances.
During his Thursday meeting with reporters, George fielded many NIL-related questions, but, in answering many of them, he avoided talking about it on a singular note.
In strict NIL terms, Colorado simply can't compete with programs like UCLA or Southern Cal, with both of those schools being based in the advertising and marketing Mecca of Los Angeles.
Student-athletes at CU in all likelihood won't be inking possible six-figure deals like Oregon defensive end and 2022 NFL Draft prospect Keyvon Thibodeaux just did with Phil Knight.
"Everybody’s going to be different because we have a lot to offer that other schools don’t have to offer," he said. "Certainly, we’ll have data for our recruits as we talk to them about what’s available to them. Our whole student-athlete program I think is one of the best in the country."
"What we’re doing there, collecting data points on career leadership, mental health, academics, sports medicine, nutrition — there's a lot more than NIL and those are areas that we can be better than others. I think everybody has to look at it from that lens. That’s how we look at it."
While Boulder and CU aren't going to be NIL powerhouses, George remains confident in the university's recruiting pitch to prospective student-athletes.
"We provide incredible programs for our student-athletes and we’ll continue to do that," George said. "If (recruits) go to an institution because they can make a little more money, then certainly they have the ability to do that. We’re just going to provide the best things that we can at Colorado. I think we have a lot to sell."
"Recruiting has always been unbalanced in some way, because people do it a little bit differently at every place. We’ve just got to know what we do really well, sell that and we’ve got to work hard to recruit great student-athletes every year.”
George emphasized "data" and "data points" frequently in detailing how Colorado's recruiting pitch will update to include NIL-pertinent items across all sports.
While undoubtedly coaches will be able to put together presentations that highlight what the Buffs can offer their student-athletes in terms of monetizing their NIL, George sees Colorado's recruiting pitch as continuing to highlight the many other attractive aspects about the city of Boulder and CU itself.
"There’s the backdrop that we live in, the quality of our community, the safety that we have here, the great educational opportunities that we have at CU — there's a ton to sell that plays into Name, Image and Likeness," George said. "I feel really good about what we have in our briefcase.”
.....
I think George, even now, has accurately diagnosed what NIL is going to look like as far as Colorado is concerned. The Buffs are never going to win a recruiting battle solely on NIL and I think that was a big part of what George was trying to get at. He was asked a lot of questions on that note, but a key remark he had was “There’s a big focus on NIL but there’s so many other factors that are important to student-athletes."
Ultimately, I think recruiting will continue to look like the 'rich get richer' landscape that it currently is in. NIL might accelerate that, surely, but for a program like CU, I don't know if all that much is going to change. At least for now, without a winning tradition, the Buffs will probably be in the hunt to land a couple four-stars every cycle, coming down with one or two.
I have no doubt that Colorado will find a way to pitch its own implementation of NIL and the advantages available to student-athletes in a convincing way. But George is correct to shift the lens more towards the vast resources available to them — something that Colorado is on a more singular note, looking at mental health resources, that of nutrition as well as preparing kids for what comes next after their athletic careers — as opposed to presenting a pitch centered around dollar signs.
No one or their parents would buy that if it were the highlight of the recruiting pitch.
It'll be interesting to see more CU student-athletes get opportunities to monetize their NIL in the immediate months to come. Personally, I'm waiting to see which of the Cali and Texas boys score endorsements from In-N-Out and Whataburger. That'd be pretty sweet!
Specifically, MMA training academy American Top Team, founded by a Miami graduate, will offer each of Miami's 90 scholarship football players a $500-per-month ($6,000 annually) contract to "endorse American Top Team through their social media accounts, personal appearances and other marketing vehicles."
In the event that all scholarship Hurricanes players accept, the American Top team initial investment within Miami's football program would amount to about $540,000.
You can read more about that venture here at CaneSport.com, the Rivals affiliate providing daily comprehensive coverage of Miami athletics.
That storyline is significant in regards to Colorado's own navigation of the new collegiate athletics landscape that's been brought about by Name, Image and Likeness.
From the most diehard fans up to athletic director Rick George, one would most likely find agreement in the fact that such lucrative opportunities for student-athletes to maximize and monetize their NIL won't exist at Colorado.
While the Buffaloes have a generous donor base — CU football is just over two years removed from receiving the largest endowment in program history — and student-athletes at Colorado will undoubtedly benefit from being able to cash in on their NIL, the extent of which remains to be seen.
The lucrative opportunity now in front of Miami's football players embodies a concern about a lack of a level playing field that seems likely to benefit college football's biggest and most recognizable programs.
Inequalities have long existed within recruiting long before NIL became a commonly discussed topic but the marketing and branding advantages available to a Miami or Alabama or Southern California does raise a valid concern about what things will look like NIL-wise in the coming years.
While George came out in full support of NIL and student-athletes' right to make money while in college on scholarship, he did allude to a Wild West-esque immediate future stemming from this massive transformation of college athletics we're currently diving into.
“I think NIL is great," George said. "I think we had some great parameters in place that we were going to move forward on, but the NCAA made the decision that they did and now we’re working on that. I do think it’ll be important long term that we have one set of guidelines to follow that we’re all operating on the same level.”
Senior inside linebacker Nate Landman recently teamed up with DNVR Sports, becoming part of their "DNVR Athlete Network," which appears to be centered around selling custom gear and content with Landman's NIL.
Many of his fellow Colorado student-athletes have significant social media presences or YouTube channels that could prove to be steady sources of revenue in the near future.
In addition, who knows which local businesses might step up to the plate to enlist Colorado student-athletes in advertising or for personal appearances.
During his Thursday meeting with reporters, George fielded many NIL-related questions, but, in answering many of them, he avoided talking about it on a singular note.
In strict NIL terms, Colorado simply can't compete with programs like UCLA or Southern Cal, with both of those schools being based in the advertising and marketing Mecca of Los Angeles.
Student-athletes at CU in all likelihood won't be inking possible six-figure deals like Oregon defensive end and 2022 NFL Draft prospect Keyvon Thibodeaux just did with Phil Knight.
"Everybody’s going to be different because we have a lot to offer that other schools don’t have to offer," he said. "Certainly, we’ll have data for our recruits as we talk to them about what’s available to them. Our whole student-athlete program I think is one of the best in the country."
"What we’re doing there, collecting data points on career leadership, mental health, academics, sports medicine, nutrition — there's a lot more than NIL and those are areas that we can be better than others. I think everybody has to look at it from that lens. That’s how we look at it."
While Boulder and CU aren't going to be NIL powerhouses, George remains confident in the university's recruiting pitch to prospective student-athletes.
"We provide incredible programs for our student-athletes and we’ll continue to do that," George said. "If (recruits) go to an institution because they can make a little more money, then certainly they have the ability to do that. We’re just going to provide the best things that we can at Colorado. I think we have a lot to sell."
"Recruiting has always been unbalanced in some way, because people do it a little bit differently at every place. We’ve just got to know what we do really well, sell that and we’ve got to work hard to recruit great student-athletes every year.”
George emphasized "data" and "data points" frequently in detailing how Colorado's recruiting pitch will update to include NIL-pertinent items across all sports.
While undoubtedly coaches will be able to put together presentations that highlight what the Buffs can offer their student-athletes in terms of monetizing their NIL, George sees Colorado's recruiting pitch as continuing to highlight the many other attractive aspects about the city of Boulder and CU itself.
"There’s the backdrop that we live in, the quality of our community, the safety that we have here, the great educational opportunities that we have at CU — there's a ton to sell that plays into Name, Image and Likeness," George said. "I feel really good about what we have in our briefcase.”
.....
I think George, even now, has accurately diagnosed what NIL is going to look like as far as Colorado is concerned. The Buffs are never going to win a recruiting battle solely on NIL and I think that was a big part of what George was trying to get at. He was asked a lot of questions on that note, but a key remark he had was “There’s a big focus on NIL but there’s so many other factors that are important to student-athletes."
Ultimately, I think recruiting will continue to look like the 'rich get richer' landscape that it currently is in. NIL might accelerate that, surely, but for a program like CU, I don't know if all that much is going to change. At least for now, without a winning tradition, the Buffs will probably be in the hunt to land a couple four-stars every cycle, coming down with one or two.
I have no doubt that Colorado will find a way to pitch its own implementation of NIL and the advantages available to student-athletes in a convincing way. But George is correct to shift the lens more towards the vast resources available to them — something that Colorado is on a more singular note, looking at mental health resources, that of nutrition as well as preparing kids for what comes next after their athletic careers — as opposed to presenting a pitch centered around dollar signs.
No one or their parents would buy that if it were the highlight of the recruiting pitch.
It'll be interesting to see more CU student-athletes get opportunities to monetize their NIL in the immediate months to come. Personally, I'm waiting to see which of the Cali and Texas boys score endorsements from In-N-Out and Whataburger. That'd be pretty sweet!
