ncaa: the lawsuits

NIL being taken seriously. I've heard this was supposed to happen a year ago, but better late than never:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- NFL Players Association (NFLPA) executive Terése Whitehead, an expert in brand building and athlete marketing, has been appointed as University of Michigan Athletics' first in-house NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) Executive GM in collaboration with Altius Sports Partners (ASP) on Wednesday (May 8). Returning to her alma mater, Whitehead brings extensive experience as Vice President of Consumer Products & Strategy at NFL Players Inc., the for-profit business arm of the NFLPA. Whitehead will spearhead Michigan's NIL program in her new role, leading the department's strategy to provide athletes with comprehensive support and resources to capitalize on their NIL opportunities.

I wonder how much the sudden movement on this after a couple of years of dithering has to do with Sherrone Moore and Dusty May replacing Jim Harbaugh and Juwan Howard. No offense to the prior coaches meant; it's just that Harbaugh and Howard were both very famous athletes who could reasonably believe their star power made NIL relatively unimportant. Moore and May are not, and neither has the kind of bulletproof track record Harbaugh had. Both will seek every advantage they can get.

[After the JUMP: Brian Kelly said what]

The end of amateurism. Ol' Jeff Kessler's finally going to put a stake in the heart of the NCAA, it seems, with his latest lawsuit. This one is seeking vast amounts of damages for players who were denied their NIL opportunities. The prospect of a four billion dollar judgment has finally caused the administrator class to throw in the towel. Details are still scanty, but the general shape of it:

With the settlement expected to cost billions in back pay for former athletes, it would likely also require the NCAA and conferences to agree to a system for sharing more revenue with some of the players moving forward.

Sources indicated the top-end revenue share number per school -- once it's determined -- would be in the neighborhood of $20 million annually, although that's yet to be settled. Whatever number is set by the settlement, individual schools will be able to opt in to share revenue up to that number with their student athletes at their discretion.

This is being portrayed as "revenue sharing," as the NCAA hopes to dodge the fact that their athletes are employees. That might also let them dance around Title IX issues that will arise once football and men's basketball players are raking in money that few female athletes are.

As far as the local angle: the faster athletic departments are directly paying players the better. Michigan obviously has the capability to hit the max here, and I can't imagine that anyone has any illusions about the fact that they'll have to. I have no doubt that schools will continue to bring in outside money in an effort to win, and that Michigan won't be on the Kentucky/Memphis/OSU level there, but choosing between 200k and 250k is a lot different than nothing and 50k; the relative gaps will be smaller.

Speaking of NIL. Champions Circle has various autographed objects up for auction to support their NIL objectives:

Check it out as long as you do not bid on the thing I bid on.

[After THE JUMP: basketball speculation CONTINUES]

Harbaugh gonna Harbaugh. I'd be more surprised if this story ended up involving anyone else:

To the surprise of Ofc Cooper, the good Samaritan was @CoachJim4UM who wanted to help clear the road. Ofc Cooper then gave Coach a pair of work gloves and the two of them went to work. (2/3)

— Ann Arbor Police (@A2Police) February 23, 2023

I went to Home Depot once and the first person I saw was Harbaugh, wandering around looking for something like he was just a person, a normal person.

Your new punching bag. The NCAA has a new president. Here he is not saying "absolutely not" to a thing:

Asked if SEC football players should be paid—a question that his predecessors would have answered with a resounding “No”—Baker took a different tack. He paused, then said it was something he planned to address with his member schools and conferences. Pressed on what those conversations might entail, he remained vague.

“I guess what I would say is that I’m planning to have a conversation with the membership about change,” he said, adding that he preferred to have those talks before saying more. “We’ll see what that kind of change can look like. But I certainly believe there will be change.”

This may be more about the writing on the wall than any genuine change of heart from Generic Suit in Charge Of NCAA. But at least that's something? Baker also says you "don't have to treat everyone the same… and probably shouldn't," which is sensible enough.

[After THE JUMP: we are willing to compromise on toe length.]