College athletes rush to ink ‘six-figure’ endorsement deals one day after NCAA lifts NIL rules

NCAA athletes are wasting little time in capitalizing on new rules allowing them to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL), with some high-profile stars expecting to sign six-figure endorsement deals.

Payouts will vary ‘client to client, deal to deal’ sports attorney Darren Heitner told DailyMail.com, adding that contacts in excess of $100,000 are ‘absolutely’ expected before the fall sports season starts in late August.

And Heitner isn’t guessing. He already represents Florida football player Donovan McMillon as well as twin sisters and Fresno State basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who quickly leveraged their 3.3 million TikTok followers into new deals with Boost Mobile and SixStar ProNutrition. Like the other contracts signed on Thursday, terms were not disclosed, but the Cavinders’s new sponsorship agreements are already receiving national attention after being announced on an electronic billboard in New York’s Times Square.

Twin sisters and Fresno State basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder (pictured) leveraged their 3.3 million TikTok followers into a new deal with Boost Mobile

Like the other contracts signed on Thursday, terms were not disclosed, but the Cavinders’s new sponsorship agreements are already receiving national attention after being announced on an electronic billboard in New York’s Times Square. Icon Source, a company that 

The NCAA Board of Directors approved the NIL change on Wednesday, making Thursday the first day college athletes could capitalize on their fame without endangering their eligibility or putting their school in jeopardy.

For years, college sports’ top governing body claimed to be protecting amateurism by penalizing athletes for signing endorsement deals, selling autographs, or making paid appearances, among other violations. But while the NCAA will continue to bar schools from paying athletes directly, the organization appears to have caved to outside pressure by lifting NIL restrictions.

And if Thursday is any indication, companies of all sizes are eager to sign new spokespeople.

Of course, not every endorsement deal is with a nationally recognized company like Boost Mobile.

For instance, Antwan Owens, a defensive end for Jackson State’s football team, and four of his teammates signed with Three Kings Grooming, a black-owned hair product shop.

‘Somebody pinch me,’ Owens told Sports Illustrated. 

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix inked an endorsement deal with Milo’s Sweet Tea shortly after midnight — a contract that was brokered by Icon Source, which claimed to have facilitated more than a dozen such sponsorship agreements on Thursday alone

Florida State quarterback McKenzie Milton (right) and Miami quarterback D’Eriq King (left) both signed with Dreamfield, a company that books public appearances.

Not every endorsement deal is with a nationally recognized company like Boost Mobile. For instance, Antwan Owens (right), a defensive end for Jackson State’s football team, and four of his teammates signed with Three Kings Grooming, a black-owned hair product shop.

Marshall offensive lineman and country musician Will Ulmer had been performing under the alias ‘Lucky Bill’ and often refused payment to play live concerns near the school’s West Virginia campus. Now, though, Ulmer can play under his real name and get paid for doing so. ‘Now that the NCAA will allow it, I will be playing live shows this year as Will Ulmer!!’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘I am open to all venues and business opportunities!! DM if interested, let’s make some music’

Kentucky basketball star Dontaie Allen isn’t endorsing a company, but rather produced his own custom apparel line, which features his name and image — something that would have been considered an NCAA violation as recently as Wednesday

Kentucky basketball star Dontaie Allen isn’t endorsing a company, but rather produced his own custom apparel line, which features his name and image — something that would have been considered an NCAA violation as recently as Wednesday.

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix inked an endorsement deal with Milo’s Sweet Tea shortly after midnight — a contract that was brokered by Icon Source, which claimed to have facilitated more than a dozen such sponsorship agreements on Thursday alone.

Fellow quarterbacks  McKenzie Milton (Florida State) and D’Eriq King (University of Miami) both signed with Dreamfield, a company that books public appearances. 

Meanwhile a Lincoln, Nebraska restaurant chain, Runza, plans to offer a flat fee to the first in-state college athletes who promote the company on social media.

British multinational consumer goods company Unilever said it plans to spend $5 million over the next five years on ads for its deodorant, Degree, featuring college athletes.

Perhaps the biggest opportunity belongs to Louisiana State gymnast Olivia Dunne, who boasts 5 million followers between TikTok and Instagram, making her the most followed active college athlete, according to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell

FORMER USC STAR REGGIE BUSH WANTS HIS HEISMAN BACK AFTER THE NCAA LIFTED NIL RULES THAT HE FORFEITED IN 2010  

Reggie Bush is seeking the reinstatement of the Heisman Trophy he won in 2005 that later was stripped from him for receiving impermissible benefits.

With new rules taking effect Thursday that allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, Bush wants his Heisman back and to have other achievements from his time at Southern Cal reinstated as well.

‘It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman Trophy ‘solely’ due to my hard work and dedication on the football field and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated,’ Bush said in a statement issued by EAG Sports Management.

After an NCAA investigation into alleged improprieties, Bush had to forfeit his Heisman. In 2010, the NCAA ruled that Bush and his family could no longer associate with the Trojans after receiving money and other improper benefits from sports marketers during Bush’s playing days at USC from 2003-05.

USC was put on probation for four years by the NCAA, and the Trojans were banned from playing bowl games following the 2010 and 2011 seasons. They also lost 10 scholarships for three seasons and had to vacate the 2004 BCS national championship.

The significance of the NCAA’s new NIL rules was not lost on Reggie Bush 

When handing down the punishments, the NCAA forced USC to permanently disassociate itself from Bush. But in 2017, the NCAA Committee on Infractions adopted a bylaw that limited such disassociations to 10 years, and USC has welcomed him back into the family.

Bush said he has tried, with no results, to have his past reinstated with pending adoption of name, image and likeness rules.

‘Over the last few months, on multiple occasions, my team and I have reached out to both the NCAA and The Heisman Trust in regard to the reinstatement of my college records and the return of my Heisman,’ the statement said. ‘We left multiple messages for Michael Comerford, the President of the Heisman Trust, but instead received a call from Rob Whalen, the Executive Director, who stated that Mr. Comerford would not be calling us back and that, in any event, they could not help us.’

Bush totaled 3,169 rushing yards along with 95 catches for 1,301 yards and a combined 42 total touchdowns in three seasons at USC. He was awarded the Heisman after his junior season, when he ran for 1,740 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Now 36, Bush went on to play 11 NFL seasons with five teams, winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints following the 2009 season.

Another interesting opportunity for college athletes comes from Yoke, an app that allows started by former Notre Dame walk-on football player Mick Assaf that pays celebrities to play video games with fans. Several NFL players have already earned money from Yoke, which pays anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred per game, according to ESPN.

The NCAA rule change also helps notable athletes earn money in other areas, such as music.

Marshall offensive lineman and country musician Will Ulmer had been performing under the alias ‘Lucky Bill’ and often refused payment to play live concerns near the school’s West Virginia campus. Now, though, Ulmer can play under his real name and get paid for doing so.

‘Now that the NCAA will allow it, I will be playing live shows this year as Will Ulmer!!’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘I am open to all venues and business opportunities!! DM if interested, let’s make some music.’

Athletes can also earn money on Cameo, a website that allows celebrities to get paid for sending personalized voice and video messages to fans. According to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell, Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler is earning $125 per message while Northwestern QB Ryan Hilinksi is asking for $50 a pop.

Perhaps the biggest opportunity belongs to Louisiana State gymnast Olivia Dunne, who boasts 5 million followers between TikTok and Instagram, making her the most followed active college athlete, according to Rovell.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that her school has embraced the NCAA’s decision to lift NIL restrictions and is openly using the possibilities as a recruiting tool. In one web ad, LSU refers to itself as NILSU.

Louisiana State University is embracing the NCAA’s decision to lift rules restricting athletes’ NIL rights. In a recent web advertisement, the school referred to itself as NILSU 

THE NCAA AND THE IMPACT OF ATHLETES EARNING MONEY OFF NAME, IMAGE, AND LIKENESS

Beginning Thursday, hundreds of thousands of college athletes will be able to earn a form of compensation that has been barred for decades by regulations put in place by the NCAA, conferences, schools or a combination of all of them.

It is a major change for college athletics and has sparked concerns about the end of amateurism and potential corruption, particularly on the recruiting trail. Some questions and answers about ‘NIL,’ the shorthand most commonly used for athlete compensation tied to use of their name, image or likeness:

Question: What is NIL compensation?

Answer: This is compensation – usually money – earned by college athletes for use of their fame or celebrity, either their name, their image or a likeness of who they are. Examples include being paid for autographs, appearing in an advertisement or providing a social media shoutout. It means that a business can strike a deal with an athlete and pay them to tout their services or product. Athletes are required to notify their schools of NIL arrangements.

Q: Why is it important?

A: Professional athletes have been able to ink lucrative compensation deals for years, from shoe companies to automakers. College athletes have been barred from doing so under the argument that amateur athletics should remain free of the influences – bad or otherwise – of money. The NCAA has been repeatedly challenged in this area in court and has lost a number of key battles.

Q: How did this come about?

A: California forced the issue by passing a state law in 2019 that basically bars the NCAA from interfering in athletes earning NIL compensation. Other states quickly followed and before long, the NCAA was facing the possibility of differing rules across the nation – a chaotic situation that many feared would lead to inequities. Laws take effect beginning Thursday in a dozen states, including Alabama, Florida and Texas, but athletes everywhere won’t have to wait for their state to take advantage.

Q: Wait, why not?

A: The NCAA was supposed to put guidance in place allowing for NIL compensation months ago but things got bogged down after an antitrust warning from the Justice Department. The NCAA was also hoping for a federal law from Congress. With both of those efforts falling short against that July 1 deadline with state laws looming, the NCAA essentially said it is fine for athletes to follow the NIL rules in place in their states, leaving it to their schools to police the activity. In states without a NIL law, athletes don’t have to worry about putting their eligibility at risk for NIL earnings.

Q: Won’t that be chaotic?

A: It is definitely a situation the NCAA, as the nation’s largest overseer of college athletics with some 460,000 athletes, was hoping to avoid. Some experts believe the market for college athletes is going to take shape slowly and controversies might be settled quietly between athlete and school. But there is the potential for a bit of a feeding frenzy for some athletes, particularly in states with no NIL guidance. Sports agents are also watching developments closely and the lack of uniform rules and regulations is a complicating factor they have to consider.

Q: Does this mean athletes can endorse anything?

A: No, and state laws differ on that topic. In Texas, athletes won’t be allowed to endorse alcohol, tobacco products, e-cigarettes, anabolic steroids, sports betting or a sexually oriented business. But they may be able to endorse, say, a firearm they can legally purchase. It will be up to school compliance officers to figure out where the lines are drawn.

Q: What is a school’s role?

A: Schools won’t be paying their athletes anything — it will be third parties — but they do have oversight of their athletes’ NIL deals. Schools could also object to deals that conflict with existing agreements, i.e., an athlete endorsing a different brand of apparel than the one paying the school to wear its brand. In most cases, athletes won’t be allowed to display school marks or logos while making money off their own celebrity. Schools also cannot broker deals for their athletes, but many have reached agreements with brand facilitators to help educate their athletes. As for boosters, they cannot use NIL deals as recruiting inducements or to compensate an athlete based directly on performance.

Q: What’s next?

A: The NCAA has been clear that its decision this week to allow something of a wild West show for NIL compensation is an ‘interim’ move until federal legislation or different NCAA rules are in place. It also noted the Supreme Court left in place its governing authority over college athletics and that it remains committed to avoiding ‘ pay-for-play and improper inducements’ tied to recruiting. Still, the NCAA has acknowledged that NIL compensation in some form is here to stay.