$ for Athletes

[DeerPark12]

LSU going 25 to 30 million next season can't see any of the stronger SEC schools letting them get the upper hand. So I would suggest that is the new number for football. Mens basketball less than half of that and womens I think will go around 3 million settle money and other funds donations etc.

That number that Kiffin was "guaranteed" by LSU for roster building includes 3rd-party NIL. It'll be interesting to see if they can back it up with deals that pass NILGo.

 

[RetroVol]

No, the adidas money that is referenced for NIL is outside of the school revenue share. It will go directly to athletes as 3rd-party NIL deals. What Tennessee did was secure a guaranteed annual spend from adidas to be paid as NIL deals. And adidas can get those through NILGo because they have dozens of existing deals that set the appropriate market.

Thanks! I've started to figure that out. It's wild and crazy out there

 

[chuckiepoo]

Thanks! I've started to figure that out. It's wild and crazy out there

 

[Volfan2012]

That number that Kiffin was "guaranteed" by LSU for roster building includes 3rd-party NIL. It'll be interesting to see if they can back it up with deals that pass NILGo.

Going to be interesting to see if NIL Go can even survive legal challenges. If so I suspect that it is going to be tough for them to come up with that amount of money for him. If all the schools sign a proposed agreement then I don't see him getting that much money. Already some in Congress are saying that NIL Go restricts earnings and there are some states with laws against that. Long way from settled. NCAA is going to use it at this time. Going to either have some enforcement that is legal or there will be no enforcement at all.

 

[Volfan2012]

No, the adidas money that is referenced for NIL is outside of the school revenue share. It will go directly to athletes as 3rd-party NIL deals. What Tennessee did was secure a guaranteed annual spend from adidas to be paid as NIL deals. And adidas can get those through NILGo because they have dozens of existing deals that set the appropriate market.

Does anybody know how much the Adidas deal was worth has been reported as ten million a year up to 20 million a year.

 

[RetroVol]

This article was linked in another thread, but it's really good on the overall picture, so thought I'd bring it over to this one:

What's the next 'arms race' in college sports? Finding ways to legally exceed new rev-share cap​

 

[Volfan2012]

This article was linked in another thread, but it's really good on the overall picture, so thought I'd bring it over to this one:

What's the next 'arms race' in college sports? Finding ways to legally exceed new rev-share cap​

The part of that determining the value of a deal a player can accept seems to be the weakest part of NIL go. I can see them being taken to court for rejecting player deals that look like to much money for their service rendered or name and likeness of any particular player. So many work arounds for schools that want to cheat NCAA probably should just let it go, and let the arms race begin, or be the way schools, collectives, and companies come to their senses about payments.

 

[creekdipper]

#BFL

Benjamins For Life

 

[DeerPark12]

Does anybody know how much the Adidas deal was worth has been reported as ten million a year up to 20 million a year.

Numbers have not been made public.

Average annual value is about $11 million a year in total, $8 million in cash and product directly to UT and around $3 million a year in NIL and influencer marketing deals that adidas will provide to student-athletes at Tennessee.

Despite some reports from up north, Tennessee's deal is larger in all facets than the one signed by Penn State a couple of months later.

 

[stllvf]

Not totally relevant as the quote came from TCU won their conference after spending $25 million getting 22 players in the portal. "if you are going to buy a team, buy the very best/ quote from a player. And TCU has that approach in women's basketball. why recruit high schoolers.

 

[LadyVolsDiehard]

Not totally relevant as the quote came from TCU won their conference after spending $25 million getting 22 players in the portal. "if you are going to buy a team, buy the very best/ quote from a player. And TCU has that approach in women's basketball. why recruit high schoolers.

It also helps TCU, Texas and Texas Tech - all 3 teams are still undefeated in women's basketball in 2025 - the oil money dollars making it rain on women's basketball no lie. Tennessee lost out on some solid talent for 2026 especially Bri Crittendon and Addison Bjorn that could've sent this team to another level but the money grab helped too which I believe why they were late in their commitment and they chose Texas. If Danny White is serious wanting to get the Lady Vols back to the mountain top some day and win national titles he's gotta open the checkbook wider and come up with more money make tactics for all his athletes to get paid. He's smart businessman I think he can think outside of the box to see it through.

Just recently Vic talked about dollars and cents in the NIL

 

[Volfan2012]

It also helps TCU, Texas and Texas Tech - all 3 teams are still undefeated in women's basketball in 2025 - the oil money dollars making it rain on women's basketball no lie. Tennessee lost out on some solid talent for 2026 especially Bri Crittendon and Addison Bjorn that could've sent this team to another level but the money grab helped too which I believe why they were late in their commitment and they chose Texas. If Danny White is serious wanting to get the Lady Vols back to the mountain top some day and win national titles he's gotta open the checkbook wider and come up with more money make tactics for all his athletes to get paid. He's smart businessman I think he can think outside of the box to see it through.

Just recently Vic talked about dollars and cents in the NIL

I think they came through for him this time around. What he says is totally true and the way it is going to be going forward. You want 1 through 25 there is a price you have to pay.

 

[Vols330]

Numbers have not been made public.

Average annual value is about $11 million a year in total, $8 million in cash and product directly to UT and around $3 million a year in NIL and influencer marketing deals that adidas will provide to student-athletes at Tennessee.

Despite some reports from up north, Tennessee's deal is larger in all facets than the one signed by Penn State a couple of months later.

That is way less than the 20M number that was being thrown around.

 

[chuckiepoo]

That is way less than the 20M number that was being thrown around.

There may be annual escalators and incentive clauses that toward the end may approach $20M per year.

Marketing 101: Don’t tell the whole truth if you can bend it to your advantage!

 

[DeerPark12]

That is way less than the 20M number that was being thrown around.

The 20 million number was thrown around by fans on message boards, it was never reality.

 

[DeerPark12]

It also helps TCU, Texas and Texas Tech - all 3 teams are still undefeated in women's basketball in 2025 - the oil money dollars making it rain on women's basketball no lie. Tennessee lost out on some solid talent for 2026 especially Bri Crittendon and Addison Bjorn that could've sent this team to another level but the money grab helped too which I believe why they were late in their commitment and they chose Texas. If Danny White is serious wanting to get the Lady Vols back to the mountain top some day and win national titles he's gotta open the checkbook wider and come up with more money make tactics for all his athletes to get paid. He's smart businessman I think he can think outside of the box to see it through.

Just recently Vic talked about dollars and cents in the NIL

Danny White can't open his checkbook beyond the revenue sharing number. Tennessee has a robust NIL program for women's basketball.

There is also no way to compete with the Texas oil NIL where they can legally pay players a million dollars to record a safety video for a refinery because they once paid a celebrity the same amount to set the market. That's literally how TCU built its roster last year. And it passes the new regulations because it meets the "market rate." Schools that have billionaires have an advantage now.

 

[glv98]

Danny White can't open his checkbook beyond the revenue sharing number. Tennessee has a robust NIL program for women's basketball.

There is also no way to compete with the Texas oil NIL where they can legally pay players a million dollars to record a safety video for a refinery because they once paid a celebrity the same amount to set the market. That's literally how TCU built its roster last year. And it passes the new regulations because it meets the "market rate." Schools that have billionaires have an advantage now.

How much influence does DW have over potential nil donors? Can he beat the bushes for donations?

Also to be fair, the promotional gigs asked of athletes in return for NIL money have always been pretty lame. Much more window dressing than anything approaching actual work. Its not just TCU.

Also just on a human level isn't this like the worst reflection of modern priorities imaginable? Falling over ourselves to give obscene amounts of money to enable better athletic teams in a world where children are starving. WTF? Doomed I tell ya!

 

[brittannica]

How much influence does DW have over potential nil donors? Can he beat the bushes for donations?

Also to be fair, the promotional gigs asked of athletes in return for NIL money have always been pretty lame. Much more window dressing than anything approaching actual work. Its not just TCU.

Also just on a human level isn't this like the worst reflection of modern priorities imaginable? Falling over ourselves to give obscene amounts of money to enable better athletic teams in a world where children are starving. WTF? Doomed I tell ya!

I got so depressed over this during the Kiffin job transition. Our priorities as a society are so messed up.

 

[RetroVol]

Coach Cal has his say:

Opinion | John Calipari: The NCAA is broken. Here’s how to fix it. - The Washington Post https://share.google/iDOBf4yXyysFhoBww

 

[YankeeVol]

Danny White can't open his checkbook beyond the revenue sharing number. Tennessee has a robust NIL program for women's basketball.

There is also no way to compete with the Texas oil NIL where they can legally pay players a million dollars to record a safety video for a refinery because they once paid a celebrity the same amount to set the market. That's literally how TCU built its roster last year. And it passes the new regulations because it meets the "market rate." Schools that have billionaires have an advantage now.

Imagine being poor like TN

 

[volsagain]

Fully admit I'm still trying to understand. Just looking for verifiable data.

As I understand it, the Adidas deal goes into the pool from which UT can share money with athletes up to the limits set by the House settlement. I'm other words, having that money does not increase the revenue share from UT to Lady Vols basketball. Still $900,000 for 2025-26.

Of course, according to the News Sentinel story, we have a staff administrator dedicated to helping connect athletes to 3rd-party NIL deals. But these have to be for actual value rendered and pass NCAA scrutiny, which estimates are that 70%+ of prior-year collective deals would have failed. This the sharp drop in collective money.

@KnoxLikeUs,I would love to know that UT has a lot of money it can hook athletes up with that cometes with UCLA, Texas , etc. As of yet, I haven't seen anything that seems like reliable confirmation of that. Of course, I have no inside sources. Just looking at publiclu available information.

We do not stack up with those big donor Texas schools. Where not and do not have the best of everything as some on this site want to proclaim . But we're not poor either.

 

[TnVolsX4]

Imagine being poor like TN

Not poor but not rich either. Solidly middle. Football needs to win to keep the tracks on the train for the whole program.

 

[AllVols3]

We do not stack up with those big donor Texas schools. Where not and do not have the best of everything as some on this site want to proclaim . But we're not poor either.

Depends on what sport .