VideoEagle

That would be a pure pay for play. In theory, NIL is payment for the athlete’s name, image and likeness which could be completely unrelated to how they play. A right offensive tackle could be the very best player in a school’s history at that position but how many tshirts is that going to sell? Would a consumer buy a product based on that player’s endorsement? Then you have Arch Manning and the thousands of tshirts with him name and number on them that have been sold before he ever got into a game! There’s no question that UT would be making a ton of money off of Mannings name, image and likeness and Arch getting nothing without NIL. He is legitimately earning his NIL even though he had yet to perform on the field.

I think a very easy way for the MWC to get one more full member is to allow Hawai'i to move the rest of it's programs from the Big West to the MWC. Back when the fiasco of the WAC trying to destroy the MWC turned out the other way, the MWC would only take Hawai'i football and not the other sports because no one wanted the cost of flying those teams to Hawai'i every year. That cost is a LOT less than some of the numbers being kicked around for a completely new member! Yes, the MWC would still need one more school but one more is a lot easier to find than two. Plus, the MWC is more likely to get a better quality school if they only need one more.

It also means UNLV doesn't have to go into a meeting where questions about their coaches offering $100k NIL deals could be asked and their answers potentially subject to subpoena!

Here's an article on the subject from the Wall Street Journal. "Schools are officially prohibited from using endorsement deals as recruiting inducements and college athletes aren’t allowed to sign a contract before joining a team. The rules also ban teams from striking verbal or written deals with athletes before they enroll. In practice, however, most players being recruited are presented with a dollar amount they can reasonably expect to earn. " The athletes CAN'T get a written deal until they can't back out! Everything about NIL is a "trust us" scheme! https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/matthew-sluka-unlv-football-nil-a6a06c3e?mod=hp_featst_pos3

I thought I saw this someplace yesterday, but it was in the DMN today. "Friends of Unilv, the collective that works with UNLV athletes, does not sign deals with athletes until they are enrolled, said Bob Sine, whose company Blueprint Sports oversees and operates that collective and dozens others around the country." Many of the collectives won't put it in writing until the athlete is enrolled! The athletes CANNOT get it in writing as the NIL collectives WILL NOT do that!!!! I'm curious if the NT Collective plays the same game - don't allow the offer in writing until the athlete enrolls and then cut the offer when the kid has no alternatives! https://epaper.dallasnews.com/app/DAMONE/editionguid/2c87fdc4-2fed-4c77-b8a8-0ed277bf4589

According the Charlie Baker, NCAA President, they get "dozens" of calls from players who entered the portal based on NIL promises that haven't been fulfilled. There appears to be some reason they aren't allowed to sign the NIL agreement before they are on campus - I don't understand that and I hope I just misread it!

Trying to get UConn's football program reeks of desperation. This goes WAY beyond that! Other schools are realizing the "potential" media contract per school are a LOT less than the $10 to $15 million suggested!

"Expectations for opportunities unfortunately were not met" Interesting and it sounds a lot like the Quarterback who wasn't getting the NIL the OC promised him. I wonder who else might exit this week!

I wouldn't say that's a certainty yet. They signed the MOU to stay which was invalidated by USU leaving. And now that its coming out that real media deal is NOT $12 to $15 a school but only a slight step up - if that - from the current MWC deal I would think they would have to think long and hard about giving up the huge windfall the MWC will get from the departing schools.

Sluka is a graduate transfer. Here's an ESPN article that confirms the rumors that Sluka was asking for more money started with UNLV. It also appears the UNLV head coach acknowledges the $100k offer, but says isn't valid because OC was the one who made the offer. The head coach says only he can make NIL offers! And apparently, Sluka had offers from both B1G and SEC schools but was choosing to honor his commitment to UNLV. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/41438172/matthew-sluka-nil-dispute-unlv-hinges-verbal-offer

No G5 conference is in a position to be getting rid of any members. None.

Thanks for passing it along! It's very good information which makes what's explains a lot of what's happening.

I hope he gets over $100k next year from a school that will honor its commitments. And I hope players stop trusting NIL promises from shady institutions like UNLV! On a side note, it is clear he had NIL representation at the time he agreed to the deal from the UNLV assistant coach? If he got the NIL representation after UNLV started stalling on his payments, that could explain why he didn't get the deal in writing.

It's harder, but I think some oral agreements are enforceable.

Just wow! Thanks @golfingomez for finding that article from On3. It has an actual human, the kid's father, speaking on the record. The post from CarlReedJr just names "sources" which could be the staff at UNLV will to lie without being named for damage control. I put a lot more credence in people on the record than unnamed "sources." It appears UNLV offered him $100,000 in NIL to transfer to UNLY from Holy Cross. They gave him $3000 for moving expenses. UNLV has not given him any other money since then. He's living in Las Vegas and UNLV is NOT covering any living expenses. According the the father, the kid has NOT asked for any more money but does want what was promised. He has is represented for NIL purposes which does NOT change his eligibility. Again, an actual human, not "sources," say the kid has not been paid beyond the $3k in moving expenses. The fact the kid has NIL representation makes me think - I don't know - that it's likely there is something in writing. If I'm getting $100k, yes, I can pay my own living expenses. But if I'm promised that and it's been weeks without payment and no firm date for delivery of that, I'd be stop working! I'd be shocked if any of you would keep working for free also. I suspect, sources at UNLV will try their best to muddy the waters and make it appear the kid is some how doing something wrong. But if he can keep having people talk on the record supporting his story, he'll be fine. I hope he gets the three game checks he's still owed and UNLV sports gets another black eye in bad publicity.

According to Nick Saban, speaking at a conference in Dallas a week or two ago, the Gov. of Georgia signed an executive order shielding universities in his state from NIL enforcement by the NCAA. According to Saban, they have promised to pay players far beyond the dollars in their collectives. At the same conference, Charlie Baker, talked about getting "dozens" of calls from players who were approached by 3rd parties with promises of big NIL dollars. The players entered the portal and gave up their scholarships but the promised NIL money was not there! Now they are left with no scholarship and no NIL money. Nothing the NCAA can do to help them.

I'd say this one is different and moves realignment into a whole new realm.

I had my doubts about the wisdom of NT joining the PAC, but thought we should listen to their pitch. After this stunt, I'll cut all future donations to the school if they affiliate with those disgusting bastards!

First of all, this is week 4! Let's see an average of week 12 standings over a 3 or 5 year period before we start talking "years of dominance." Secondly, @ColoradoEagle is right - there's nothing wrong with having a stronger top of the league. Look at the SEC, that helps everyone including those at the bottom of the league.

There was a meeting at the Bush Center a week or so ago that featured Saban and NCAA President Charlie Baker. Saban pointed out the Gov of Georgia signed an executive order "exempting" Georgia schools from NCAA rules about NIL. A part of the reason was Georgia has promised more dollars to players than they have in their collectives! Charlie Baker talked about receiving dozens of phone calls from players who were promised one amount, entered the portal and after giving up their scholarship find they will NOT get the amount promised!

I agree with that!

If it was the B1G and SEC talking to teams, I would be more worried. The State 7, maybe but not as much.

Here's an article on how the WAC tried to steal teams from the MWC with the at least knowledge of ESPN and how it failed. Not only did it fail, it killed the WAC. The MWC can play hardball when they have too! https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/8/29/21404261/byu-football-byu-independence-the-project-byu-mountain-west-conference-karl-benson/

No, the pitch was the POTENTIAL for slightly more TV money based on what "media experts" claimed the new PAC-X would be worth. The PAC broke up because "media experts" claimed the old PAC-12-2 could get more media money than the Big XII and it turned out to be significantly less. The Apple/Prime deal for the old PAC-12-2 was around $20 million but included lots of bonuses for "increased subscribers for Apple and Prime." The current experts claimed $15 million for a new State Six plus a mystery two. I never thought that group was really worth 3/4 of value of the PAC-12-2. Oregon, Washington, the 4 corner schools, Cal, and Stanford are worth a lot more in media than anything the PAC-X can cobble together! I wish I could find the analysis again, but I was reading last spring about Boise being on a slow but steady five year drop in ratings. Is San Diego State strong enough to be the media draw to out earn every other G5 conference? If they were, why wasn't the the MWC able to take advantage of that!

The MWC has been playing this game for a long time. Remember, the WAC was making a move to poach the best of the MWC and instead WAS poached and collapsed. The MWC was created by a core group that wanted to stay together and hated the idea of far-flung conference opponents that hurt their gate and alumni donations. The MWC understands how to head off threats to kill it!