Georgia closes NIL collective. Will other schools follow?

[Freak]

Georgia is ending its collective, but the Bulldogs are partnering with an outside organization to form a new outlet that will focus on name, image and likeness deals for football and other players.

The move is in advance of the House settlement going into effect Tuesday. The settlement allows schools to directly pay athletes, starting with $20.5 million for all athletes, but any outside NIL deals worth more than $600 have to be approved by a clearinghouse, which is run by the Deloitte accounting firm.

Georgia’s outside NIL deals will now be done through Learfield, which has worked with Georgia’s athletic department, and many others, on licensing and marketing deals. Learfield is also set to work with Ohio State, in a similar arrangement announced several weeks ago. Learfield is expected to hire a staff of around five people specifically for Georgia’s NIL deals.

Georgia closes NIL collective as revenue sharing begins. New plan could become norm

As the House settlement goes into effect Tuesday, NIL operations at some schools are shifting.

www.nytimes.com

 

[TheDeeble]

Part of me wonders if the NCAA, SEC, or whoever is representing the colleges is telling the schools to get their boosters under control. Stop kicking so much money to a collective and get it back underground like it used to be.

The first time Deloitte poo poos someone's NIL deal, I can see it only going one way if they want to try to keep this House deal alive. And even then I still think it will be sued into obvlivion.

My guess is when a players gets his NIL deal struck down they are not going to tell that player/company/collective that the money cannot be paid. I doubt that's legal regardless. They are not going to tell that player he is ineligible. That will just get them sued where I'd bet they lose. They will tell the school that money comes out of your revenue limit. Put the pain on the schools. Have them get their boosters to stop paying out money under the guise of NIL. Maybe that's part of the reasoning for that loyalty pledge all the SEC teams were supposed to sign.

Just a guess under the current format. But I'm sure the format will change before too long.

 

[MontyPython]

Per Joe Walsh:

I live in hotels, tear out the walls
I have accountants pay for it all.

Life's been good to me so far

 

[WillisWG]

There seems to be a lean towards Learfield. They may be more savvy than Spyre Sports.

Texas and Learfield Launch Longhorn Sports Agency to Drive NIL Innovation for Student-Athletes, Powered by Learfield Impact NIL Services

AUSTIN, Texas (June 30, 2025) — To optimize NIL operations and maximize opportunities for Longhorn student-athletes, Texas Athletics, in collaboration with Learfield’s Longhorn Sports Properties, today announced the launch of the Longhorn Sports Agency (LSA), a unified Name, Image, and Likeness...

www.learfield.com

 

[Voltopia]

There seems to be a lean towards Learfield. They may be more savvy than Spyre Sports.

Texas and Learfield Launch Longhorn Sports Agency to Drive NIL Innovation for Student-Athletes, Powered by Learfield Impact NIL Services

AUSTIN, Texas (June 30, 2025) — To optimize NIL operations and maximize opportunities for Longhorn student-athletes, Texas Athletics, in collaboration with Learfield’s Longhorn Sports Properties, today announced the launch of the Longhorn Sports Agency (LSA), a unified Name, Image, and Likeness...

www.learfield.com

I mean ... I have to assume that's a bit of a humorous comment. Learfield would devour Spyre for breakfast - no, not even breakfast. Just a single cracker from an in-flight snack tray. There is no larger corporate entity in the sports branding / talent world than Learfield, and Learfield is part of Endeavor, a company that handles talent and marketing for every sports entity under the sun. Endeavor went private just this year, being bought out by a private equity firm that took Endeavor private as part of the acquisition. It's smart, for them anyway. Colleges have the brands and generate the interest. Learfield inserts itself into the pipeline, burrows in as deep as it can, and take its cut of every transaction. Smart. For them anyway. They can't buy the schools, but with this they won't have to. They'll just manage every person, every piece of the sport, and sell access back to the schools.

 

[Flogballs]

Georgia closes NIL collective as revenue sharing begins. New plan could become norm

As the House settlement goes into effect Tuesday, NIL operations at some schools are shifting.

www.nytimes.com

Absolutely they will

 

[BruisedOrange]

I mean ... I have to assume that's a bit of a humorous comment. Learfield would devour Spyre for breakfast - no, not even breakfast. Just a single cracker from an in-flight snack tray. There is no larger corporate entity in the sports branding / talent world than Learfield, and Learfield is part of Endeavor, a company that handles talent and marketing for every sports entity under the sun. Endeavor went private just this year, being bought out by a private equity firm that took Endeavor private as part of the acquisition. It's smart, for them anyway. Colleges have the brands and generate the interest. Learfield inserts itself into the pipeline, burrows in as deep as it can, and take its cut of every transaction. Smart. For them anyway. They can't buy the schools, but with this they won't have to. They'll just manage every person, every piece of the sport, and sell access back to the schools.

Private equity firms are notorious for cutting off any department, any aspect which doesn't produce income NOW, even if it will destroy the whole operation in 6 years. Their game is to suck the profit out, move on, and leave the corpse to the maggots.

College sports is surrounded by a dozen vampires right now, and their once protection has been kicked to the curb.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Private equity firms are notorious for cutting off any department, any aspect which doesn't produce income NOW, even if it will destroy the whole operation in 6 years. Their game is to suck the profit out, move on, and leave the corpse to the maggots.

College sports is surrounded by a dozen vampires right now, and their once protection has been kicked to the curb.

Pro owners tend to keep the ability to decide who can buy a majority of a team. They've kept private equity limited to minority stakes in teams.

If colleges DO spin off athletic departments, as I think they will and unless there's some control over ownership, I think private equity will gnaw every bit of profit out of the athletic departments.

You think it's ugly now. Nothing is worse than soulless private equity firms.

 

[UTKev37]

Tennessee NIL page has been down / 404 for a while now.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Per Joe Walsh:

I live in hotels, tear out the walls
I have accountants pay for it all.

Life's been good to me so far

Leave me a message, maybe I'll call...

 

[WillisWG]

I mean ... I have to assume that's a bit of a humorous comment. Learfield would devour Spyre for breakfast - no, not even breakfast. Just a single cracker from an in-flight snack tray. There is no larger corporate entity in the sports branding / talent world than Learfield, and Learfield is part of Endeavor, a company that handles talent and marketing for every sports entity under the sun. Endeavor went private just this year, being bought out by a private equity firm that took Endeavor private as part of the acquisition. It's smart, for them anyway. Colleges have the brands and generate the interest. Learfield inserts itself into the pipeline, burrows in as deep as it can, and take its cut of every transaction. Smart. For them anyway. They can't buy the schools, but with this they won't have to. They'll just manage every person, every piece of the sport, and sell access back to the schools.

No issue in saying Learfield is a leader in the sports marketing world but didn't realize they had cornered the market on marketing expertise too. According to Learfield's recent report their NIL athletes earned $13.6M. Considering they're probably a dozen or more NIL collectives paid out that much or more. I am not overly impressed with Learfield's payouts.

But with the House settlement finalized the NIL landscape has changed and with schools having to deal with revenue sharing it makes more sense to outsource some if not all of their NIL programs. How many school collectives can Learfield take on without becoming bloated? Expand and hire more savvy personnel.

Not sure how or if Tennessee's NIL law affects what we do.

"According to the report released on Wednesday, athletes earned $13.6 million in cash and trade value from Learfield’s NIL sponsorships in the 2023-24 academic year. It’s a 100% year-over-year growth in the category for the company."

With more than 12,000 brand partners, Learfield also saw 500 of its sponsorship deals incorporate NIL activations. More than 2,000 athletes participated in NIL activities in 2023-24.

Learfield's NIL impact report shows athletes earned $13.6 million in 2023-24

Learfield made a pivotal change to its NIL approach in June. Now its reporting athletes earned $13.6 million from sponsorships in 2023-24.

www.on3.com

 

[Volnuck]

Georgia closes NIL collective as revenue sharing begins. New plan could become norm

As the House settlement goes into effect Tuesday, NIL operations at some schools are shifting.

www.nytimes.com

We are watching our beloved college athletics fall apart one step at a time. I am 68 and never would I have believed I would see an Univ. of Tennessee qb attempt to hold the school hostage for more money. The NCAA stood by thinking it never could happen and this is what the end result is. Free agency, portal, football and basketball teams. One year VFL’s are now the norm.

 

[Voltopia]

No issue in saying Learfield is a leader in the sports marketing world but didn't realize they had cornered the market on marketing expertise too. According to Learfield's recent report their NIL athletes earned $13.6M. Considering they're probably a dozen or more NIL collectives paid out that much or more. I am not overly impressed with Learfield's payouts.

But with the House settlement finalized the NIL landscape has changed and with schools having to deal with revenue sharing it makes more sense to outsource some if not all of their NIL programs. How many school collectives can Learfield take on without becoming bloated? Expand and hire more savvy personnel.

Not sure how or if Tennessee's NIL law affects what we do.

"According to the report released on Wednesday, athletes earned $13.6 million in cash and trade value from Learfield’s NIL sponsorships in the 2023-24 academic year. It’s a 100% year-over-year growth in the category for the company."

With more than 12,000 brand partners, Learfield also saw 500 of its sponsorship deals incorporate NIL activations. More than 2,000 athletes participated in NIL activities in 2023-24.

Learfield's NIL impact report shows athletes earned $13.6 million in 2023-24

Learfield made a pivotal change to its NIL approach in June. Now its reporting athletes earned $13.6 million from sponsorships in 2023-24.

www.on3.com

Learfield made over 1 billion dollars in revenue last year, as part of Endeavor's 8 billion dollars in revenue in 2024. They have been struggling a bit these past few years, granted, and the IMG merger seemed to cloud the horizon as far as profit post-merger ... but they employ over 2000 employees and represent several hundred college athletics programs in terms of their media rights. They also represent several conferences, inlcuding the MAC, Big 12, CUSA, and yes, the SEC.

Are they behind all the startups and collectives that sprung up to get ahead of the NIL changes? Yep. Can't be as agile as those startups.

Do they have the resources and reach to catch up and dictate terms on a scale unlike any other entity in college athletics? I mean. You decide for yourself, I guess, but I'm going with a pretty strong yes there. The company that bought Endeavor spent 12-13 billion on it. I don't think the people backing the now private entity would have issues throttling up their pursuit of college NIL presence, should they choose to pursue it.

 

[Firebirdparts]

It might be premature. I also think the first time the commission cancels an NIL deal, all hell is going to break loose. Might be smart to wait until the flames from that are put out.