OT New NCAA NIL Memo is Scary and Stupid
So the NCAA released a memo that lays out the the new standard for NIL violations.
https://twitter.com/WinterSportsLaw/status/1619081230422790145/photo/1
It is deemed impermissible contact when an institutional staff member directly or indirectly contacts a prospect who is not in the NCAA Transfer Portal to discuss NIL opportunities.
What constitutes indirect contact? If a staff member is using a booster or an NIL collective as a go-between, then doesn't that fall within the scope of indirect contact?
Not only has this been happening, it's very likely staff members were very much directly involved in contacting prospects to discuss specifics about potential NIL deals.
Do they think a bushel full of 5* went to TA&M without being offered specific deals?
The memo also says that if a representative of the institution's athletics interests, which includes boosters and collectives, contacts a prospect or their family about potential NIL opportunities prior to the prospect signing with the institution, then that is an impermissible contact. WTF? How do they police that? I hate to break it to the NCAA, but this is likely occurring with every single 4 and 5-star prospect. These might be tough measures but what is the toothless NCAA going too do about it?
January 28th, 2023 at 5:13 PM ^
It's all getting too dirty - at this point just spin it off completely from the schools.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:27 PM ^
Putting "NCAA", "Scary" and "Stupid" in the same sentence is the definition of redundant.
January 28th, 2023 at 6:13 PM ^
It is all spun off from the schools but maybe you mean spin off into a different organization
January 28th, 2023 at 5:15 PM ^
By indirect they mean the most common way to communicate, which is through a 3rd party. That's how most of it goes. The school will use a player on their team that knows them or their old HS coach to contact the kid/family. They relay the info and if interest is mutual they hit the portal and go.
Rarely do these kids call an old recruiter from a school they passed on and ask if they're still wanted.
It still doesn't matter though. This will all go unenforced while The NCAA looks for cheeseburger crimes. As long as all the top programs do it, they won't enforce it and like NIL it's hard to prove intent. You'd have to have a time stamped communication to prove a player was not yet in the portal before talking to the new school. To enforce it you'd have to have power to monitor all communications of players and institutions and that's a massive LOL to even consider.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:20 PM ^
The NCAA in some circumstances could use FBI wiretaps, and... oh, never mind.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:43 PM ^
Use a third party and maintain plausible deniability. Tell the NCAA there is nothing to see here. Move on.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:18 PM ^
Nothing. If the feckless enforcement arm of the NCAA couldn’t stop cheaters before NIL, they aren’t going to start now. This decree is more about justifying having their skim off the top of college athletics’ dump truck of money.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:18 PM ^
Key phrase: “institutional staff member.”
January 28th, 2023 at 5:18 PM ^
NCAA definitely needs a makeover
January 28th, 2023 at 5:24 PM ^
You mean an erasure.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:44 PM ^
I was going to say "exit strategy" but I think you are more accurate.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:19 PM ^
Plenty of recruits have openly discussed their NIL deals before signing with a school.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:40 PM ^
Being in the portal is the key part everyone here has skipped over so far.
January 28th, 2023 at 6:04 PM ^
Correct. This isn't about schools/affiliates using NIL packages to entice recruits. This is about what is commonly referred to as "tampering." If a player is NOT in the Transfer Portal, then a school or its affiliates cannot have direct or indirect NIL conversations with that player.
Not permittable:
"Hey kid, if you jump in the portal we'll give you this yacht!"
Permittable:
"Hey kid that's currently in the portal, how would you like a yacht in exchange for an appearance at my boat store, afterl,of course, you sign with my favorite school?"
January 28th, 2023 at 7:45 PM ^
I remember pictures of high school players with a stack of fanned out Benjamin’s posting “blessed to commit to [SEC School]…” and no one batted and eye.
But a hamburger is an infraction.
January 28th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
The statement above I thought mentioned prospects prior to signing. Doesn’t that refer to high school recruits?
also Michigan and warde will follow this to the exact letter while no one else will.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:20 PM ^
I dont think this is very different from the current rules, which already prohibit "tampering" with enrolled prospects prior to entering the transfer portal.
January 28th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Yeah, and that continues unabated as well, lol
January 28th, 2023 at 5:25 PM ^
Wonder how much $ was spent writing this important guidance that I’m sure will be adopted with great speed, consistency and reverence.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:32 PM ^
lol NCAA
January 28th, 2023 at 5:39 PM ^
I think this is the NCAA attempting to make threats and protect amateurism when it’s all over anyway. It may not be the final attempt at a power grab, but it certainly is a last ditch effort for the sinking ship that is the ncaa.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:39 PM ^
I think this is the NCAA attempting to make threats and protect amateurism when it’s all over anyway. It may not be the final attempt at a power grab, but it certainly is a last ditch effort for the sinking ship that is the ncaa.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:41 PM ^
Eh, it's not like Santa informed Warde that someone hacked a computer to get a Brown Jug hamburger delivered to the Michigan tunnel. Small potatoes.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:50 PM ^
Think you are conflating recruiting out of HS and inducing guys to enter the portal. TAMU signed all those 5-stars out of HS for essentially pay for play. Which is also supppposssed to be illegal. Yeah right...
You can't make it make sense...NIL as a recruiting tool is always going to be a dirty, hot mess. Harbaugh was right the university experience should be transformational over transactional. Unfortunately, there's way too much money involved so that may not be realistic.
January 28th, 2023 at 5:55 PM ^
The quoted part sounds like it is only in reference to players already on a college team and not in the portal, not high school players.
January 28th, 2023 at 6:03 PM ^
It does only refer to currently enrolled students, like a tampering rule. Nobody bothered to read it.
January 29th, 2023 at 12:06 AM ^
If AD’s and coaches aren’t reading crap from the NCAA , why should the fans?
January 28th, 2023 at 6:23 PM ^
We obviously know the answer. They are going to flex some muscle with some Level II violations for a $20 burger. The new motto for the NCAA “where we strain gnats and swallow camels.”
January 28th, 2023 at 6:34 PM ^
NCAA Operating Procedures:
- Make a stupid-ass rule.
- Let everyone violate the hell out of it for decades with no punishment.
- Catch Michigan accidentally doing it once.
- Drag investigation out as long as possible to harm Michigan recruiting as much as possible.
- Give Michigan scholarship reductions and post-season bans.
- Rescind the rule immediately after Michigan is caught, but continue to punish only Michigan.
Previous victims include: Jamaal Crawford, Mitch McGary, Rich Rodriguez, Jim Harbaugh
January 28th, 2023 at 6:39 PM ^
Could it be that the NCAA “selectively” decides what institutions they attempt to apply this so called law to? For example the NCAA does not like how an institution or individual there responds to possible violation. They then dig this up. Of course the NCAA will never admit this but watch and see if this is selectively applied maybe even close by.
January 28th, 2023 at 6:42 PM ^
I wouldn’t read too much into the “direct of indirect” language— it’s a pretty common legal standard for things like witness tampering and it’d be kinda odd to leave it out
the bizarre theater of putting out a rule without any expectation it will be followed or intent to enforce it is the odd part of all this for me.
January 28th, 2023 at 6:44 PM ^
This is all getting way out of hand.
January 28th, 2023 at 7:33 PM ^
The NCAA is out of pocket
January 28th, 2023 at 7:44 PM ^
So if I'm reading this rule right a booster such as Phil Knight should not be contacting recruits about NIL money to attend Oregon right?
January 29th, 2023 at 12:17 PM ^
"Indirectly" means "not in the SEC."