Name, Image, Likeness Rule

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#251      
I know this thread has been dormant for a little bit, but I know my fellow Illini will point me in the right direction. Ignore the post count. I think this is my 3rd-4th account because I forget logins. I have been Illini_in_KS, Katzisatool (my most prolific user name) and a few others. Obviously this name is in homage to my favorite Illini of all time.

For further cred, I know it was NOT over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor, the Bruce Weber dancing gif is possibly the funniest gif on this site, I in fact DO KNOW who IDKWTI…. is, and last but not least Loyalty after dark is pure gold and that most great news should be here by the EOW.

Having established some credibility, :), I have a few NIL questions. I do not want to rehash conversations and waste people’s time, and…. in full disclosure, I do not want to read through this entire thread.

I am the Executive Director of a Non-Profit. We are in the social services/education field, not that that is hugely relevant, but just for context. I am curious about some of the things that we do on a fundraising side of things.

So let me give a quick scenario and if someone would like to private message me that would be great.

We are in a merchandise phase of fundraising. Currently, we are targeting those people that can give $20, $25, up to $100 or so donations. We have quite a few of our big $ donors, for those who are familiar with fundraising pyramids. Anyway, can an Illini athlete post on social media, endorsing and driving traffic to a business asking them to purchase a product (that falls within the acceptable parameters), and then give a promo code that lets the business know where the business originated (athlete) from, thus allowing the business to then a set $ amount per item sold or a set % (say 10%) of dollar amount purchased, etc?

I am a natural story teller as you can tell. Lots of words but here is the gist—- Athlete posts on Social Media “Hey everyone, go check out (company x)!!! Support a great cause by purchasing (product X)!!! Please use the promo code (Athlete Name TN) so they know who sent you!!!”

Can they do that? I come here because I know we have a lot of very, very, very smart people on here, especially in the area of law. I don’t want to sit on the phone explaining my thoughts to someone who may not have any clue what i am talking about. So I came here.
 
#253      
I didn't even think about that. A lot of teams are going to work around the scholarship limits with backdoor NIL guarantees.
Do we really think a walk-on could make enough money at any school to justify paying for tuition/room&board?

Unless you are thinking of UK taking an extra 5 star commit since someone decided to stay instead of going to the NBA.
 
#254      
Do we really think a walk-on could make enough money at any school to justify paying for tuition/room&board?

Unless you are thinking of UK taking an extra 5 star commit since someone decided to stay instead of going to the NBA.
Weird, that's exactly the first school that came to mind. I just mean, let's say Kentucky was out of scholarships and a 5 star recruit or transfer was available, their boosters could easily pay tuition plus. Like, you know when political candidates "write" books and it hits the best-sellers list, except that no one bought the book, just their campaign...well, let's say you have a recruit photocopy 100 pictures of themselves and sell them for $1000 a piece? Scholarships don't mean anything anymore. A player could easily get tuition, a car, housing, and cash from boosters now. I'm not saying that I disagree that college athletes should be prevented from making money, I just don't how far schools and their boosters will take this.
 
#255      
Weird, that's exactly the first school that came to mind. I just mean, let's say Kentucky was out of scholarships and a 5 star recruit or transfer was available, their boosters could easily pay tuition plus. Like, you know when political candidates "write" books and it hits the best-sellers list, except that no one bought the book, just their campaign...well, let's say you have a recruit photocopy 100 pictures of themselves and sell them for $1000 a piece? Scholarships don't mean anything anymore. A player could easily get tuition, a car, housing, and cash from boosters now. I'm not saying that I disagree that college athletes should be prevented from making money, I just don't how far schools and their boosters will take this.
I'd just say let's see if any of this actually happens before we start freaking out about it. Kentucky doesn't even pull in the top class every year (though they get close), and now we're thinking they're going to pull in 5-stars as walk-ons? I could see it happen on rare occasion but would be surprised if it became a common occurrence.
 
#256      

illini80

Forgottonia
I'd just say let's see if any of this actually happens before we start freaking out about it. Kentucky doesn't even pull in the top class every year (though they get close), and now we're thinking they're going to pull in 5-stars as walk-ons? I could see it happen on rare occasion but would be surprised if it became a common occurrence.
My original comment that sparked this was in reference to football. If a guy has a dream of playing for O$U, but they are out of rides, I think it's easy to imagine him considering being a walk on with some NIL money vs going to a lessor program. Obviously doesn't work for every player (and certainly not 5*'s), but I have no doubt it will happen. If you grew up in Ohio, football is a religion. Doubt many there care about you if you are a 3* that went to Illinois, but you played for O$U?!!!

jmo
 
#257      
My original comment that sparked this was in reference to football. If a guy has a dream of playing for O$U, but they are out of rides, I think it's easy to imagine him considering being a walk on with some NIL money vs going to a lessor program. Obviously doesn't work for every player (and certainly not 5*'s), but I have no doubt it will happen. If you grew up in Ohio, football is a religion. Doubt many there care about you if you are a 3* that went to Illinois, but you played for O$U?!!!

jmo
Yes, I think your scenario is probably more likely
 
#258      
Didn't see this posted anywhere and not sure if this is the right place for this, but the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board recently issued a memorandum that stating the opinion that college athletes are employees.


This could open the door to players unionizing, and demanding pay and benefits (imo a good thing, but I know many disagree).
 
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#259      
Didn't see this posted anywhere and not sure if this is the right place for this, but the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board recently issued a memorandum that stating the opinion that college athletes are employees.


This could open the door to players unionizing, and demanding pay and benefits (imo a good thing, but I know many disagree).
Benefits, you mean like tuition, books, housing, food, medical care?
 
#260      
Benefits, you mean like tuition, books, housing, food, medical care?
I assume you have a job. What benefits do you receive that are not included in that list? I can think of a number that are standard for most employees. I do think it's a fair point that some benefits are already being received and if student athletes are considered employees and unionize, the value of those would have to be considered as well.
 
#261      
Didn't see this posted anywhere and not sure if this is the right place for this, but the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board recently issued a memorandum that stating the opinion that college athletes are employees.


This could open the door to players unionizing, and demanding pay and benefits (imo a good thing, but I know many disagree).
Hope not. It would likely be the end of the so called olympic sports that already lose money for most universities and perhaps, for schools like Illinois that lose money overall on their athletic programs, it could mean the end of athletics entirely.
 
#262      
Hope not. It would likely be the end of the so called olympic sports that already lose money for most universities and perhaps, for schools like Illinois that lose money overall on their athletic programs, it could mean the end of athletics entirely.
I don't understand why this would be the case. Basketball and football already spend millions on their programs. If players need to be paid, I imagine the same millions being spent, with a slightly different distribution. Non-revenue athletes will have exponentially less bargaining power and continue to play for about what they play for now, but likely it will look different (the pay they receive may offset their scholarship, so they essentially still just get their tuition paid for but partially in the form of a paycheck rather than scholarship perhaps). If this hurts anyone, its' the coaches and assistant coaches for revenue sports. I imagine they'll be ok though.
 
#263      
I don't understand why this would be the case. Basketball and football already spend millions on their programs. If players need to be paid, I imagine the same millions being spent, with a slightly different distribution. Non-revenue athletes will have exponentially less bargaining power and continue to play for about what they play for now, but likely it will look different (the pay they receive may offset their scholarship, so they essentially still just get their tuition paid for but partially in the form of a paycheck rather than scholarship perhaps). If this hurts anyone, its' the coaches and assistant coaches for revenue sports. I imagine they'll be ok though.
Not sure what you are suggesting. Are you saying that we will basically just transfer coaching salaries to the players? What about title IX?
 
#264      
Not sure what you are suggesting. Are you saying that we will basically just transfer coaching salaries to the players? What about title IX?
Coaches salaries are inflated because there is so much money in the system with few places to go. If we start playing players, that will self-correct. This could actually make Title IX easier. Title IX requires proportional distribution of scholarships. If you pay players, you can negotiate that part of their benefits is a scholarship....or that it isn't. So il theoretically, f you want, you can pay a player more, but not offer a scholarship. Players getting paid would likely be in the revenue sports, i.e. men's basketball and football. With fewer scholarships in those sports, it's easier to balance. Perhaps this could even make hockey more likely to happen. Now, what does Title IX not apply to? Salaries of employees of the various programs.
 
#268      

DReq

Always Illini
Central Illinois
I have to wonder as these NIL deals provide things like the luxury cars and plenty of cash to players just how many of them as young men will let up on the drive to improve distracted by the level of early success. Not all will do that but there are many levels of maturity at work in this large group and I have to think some will not continue the incredible effort it takes to reach their best NBA selves. It would be very human and I am not in any way saying the NIL deals are not due but there are plenty of players in the past who made it to the NBA for a few years and blew the money they made and were left without much. Starting it younger just seems to increase that risk of letting up on the pedal a bit. It is something of a superhuman effort to do what it takes to develop an NBA body and skill set and it could be very hard to stay focussed if one has more wealth than ever before experienced. It is just a difficult situation for some to stay on that level of focus and will be interesting to see what coaches and institutions provide enough support for their players' maturity to get them to continue to maximize their talent. The race to big NIL is a two edged sword for some. No answers here - just questions and concerns for the young men embarking on this new journey.
 
#273      

sacraig

The desert
Can play, of course.

The literal million dollar question across the country is who is going to play that game. To be honest, I've been a bit surprised to not see one of our players behind the wheel of a new car.
We will have to see. It will be a bit of an arms race, I imagine. One team will do this and others will follow suit because of course they will, then try to one-up the others.
 
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