U of M NIL Policy Released
University has released their initial NIL policy via the Athletic department website.
Highlights: (emphasis mine)
Student-athletes’ use and monetization of their name, image and likeness may involve a wide range of activities including but not limited to:
- Traditional commercials or advertisements for products or services,
- Student-athletes developing and promoting their own business
- Personal appearances
- Student-athletes running their own camps or clinics
- Providing private lessons (and using their name or image to promote those lessons)
- Sponsored social media posts
- Autograph sessions
There are no limits on the amount of income a student-athlete may earn through name, image and likeness activities provided any compensation is for work actually performed.
Link: https://mgoblue.com/sports/2021/7/1/name-image-and-likeness.aspx
NIL Raffle Idea (Pay for top recruits):
Create annual signing day fund of Michigan fan donations. When player signs LOI to Michigan the players, in order to receive the money, will also autograph, say a certificate which is awarded by drawing to a lucky donor. Rewards are 3 tiered and split equally to players that fall within that category. If there are no players in the respective category, then save for next cycle. Tier breakdown:
247 Composite 1-25 50%
247 Composite 26-100 30%
247 Composite 101-247 20%
Brilliant. The SEC can do this legally now.
And so can we. Need to keep in mind the legislation being passed was meant to supersede NCAA rules. Now that the NCAA rules are "schools make their own NIL rules" NIL legislation is a moot point. The only concern now in Michigan is if the legislature creates a bill that adds restrictions.
Michigan’s NIL states the following, especially with regards to recruiting:
“Student-athletes may not receive compensation which is conditioned or contingent on enrolling at, or continuing enrollment at any specific collegiate institution, or on any specific athletic performance or achievement.”
So if there is a fan generated payment for say, a raffled autograph, as long as it’s maybe well after signing day, then that’s not really contingent upon enrollment, right? At least you can make the argument
Ding, ding! NIL legalizes bag money.
I was thinking more like PayPal lol
Hopefully they have time to actually go to school while making all this money. Michigan is paying for their education and medical care and room and board to actually play sports. Always amazing all these college athletes can't afford a pizza but can afford to live off campus, drive a car, wear gold chains, have a ton of tats. but somehow they are being mistreated. I don't think they shouldn't get paid but come on man.
Go Blue!!
"Drive a car" is a luxury, apparently. "Wear gold chains" - excuse me sir, your racism is showing. Also, athletes largely do not live off-campus, especially bball/football. "Michigan is paying for their education" - yeah, with company scrip. It costs them nothing and the benefit the school gets in return is immense.
The point is they are getting over $100k in benefits yearly from MICHIGAN!!!! They can at least go to class but I bet many in Football and Basketball don't that will get to profit from the NIL. I know Michigan is making fat cash but earn what your are given before you spend half your day making money off endorsements. Everyone on here preaches that we are better than everyone else well then go to school !!
Go Blue!!
There is nothing here about doing away with academic requirements. Anyone who chooses to focus on NIL-related profits to the detriment of their schoolwork will flunk out and no longer be of any value to themselves or the school. This may be a naive take at some schools, but Michigan does have some academic standards that athletes must maintain.
"Earn what you are given" lmao
JFC, Michigan's basketball team received an APR Recognition Award for being in the top 10% nationally in terms of multi-year academic completion for members of the basketball team, and the football team is consistently one of the top schools in the country by this metric. The vast majority of athletes at UM (and really college sports generally) "earn what they are given" and "at least go to class".
I know it's fun to create a strawman to then rail against, but do some fucking research before you pull out your dog whistle and go to town on it.
Daaanng...
Daleppard made even BronxBlue, a general voice of reason, drop an F-bomb!!
What happens when class interferes with practice?
The universe swallows its own bunghole in horror.
There is something weird about that poster. Click in his name. He's a computer generated bot.
You woulda been popular in the 19th century.
I wish his mentality wasn't still popular
Clearly you don't get the issue at all. It has nothing to do with the value of an education at UM and everything to do with how much revenue the school makes from said players choosing to play for UM.
Yes the school "pays" them over $100k but the school also makes that back x100 from revenue generated during the sporting events. So please don't pretend like room/board and tuition even come close to the value a student athlete brings in for the school.
If the school was losing money on scholarships, they wouldn't give them out.
All that's changing now is the student has a right to cash in on their name just like the school has been doing for decades.
I bet you go into work on the weekends because you're bored.
I hope you're trolling, but sadly, I'm afraid you're not. Take your racist bullshit elsewhere.
Shit is about to get crazy up in here!
Other notes:
- No selling jerseys or other official given apparel
- Michigan will allow usage of trademarks and facilities only on a case by case basis, and only at market rate
- No NIL activities during team activities, including travel...not sure how social media posts fit in with this
So just to clarify, if Nike wanted to pay UM for using its brand in commercials (which it probably already has the right to do), and wanted Hunter Dickinson to be in a commercial, then theoretically Hunter could appear with UM branded material- and likely wouldn't need additional permission from the university, right?
I think the point is that if Hunter Dickinson wanted to sell a signed picture with a Michigan logo on it he would have to pay the same licensing that the M-Den would pay to sell the same picture.
So the alumni association could pay athletes to advertise for them?
FIRE THE MONEY CANNON!!
That’s what I’m saying! Lol
Fans could actually have an impact on recruiting legally. I think we’re falling behind as a fan base if we’re not coming up with an idea and implementing it.
Little concerned that the M money cannon may not do what we hope. Currently one of the more lucrative avenues these kids have is social media influencers. Most SM influencers are more influential if they have access to the entertainment centers on the east and west coast. I wonder, is this the advent of the Rutgers dynasty?
Besides USC and UCLA, which schools are poised to take advantage of the coasts? CFB is a middle of the country sport.
Good. A small part of me was worried we’d fuck it up with some Michigan Difference morality bullshit
Give them time ...
Interesting that they forbid contracts with tobacco/strip clubs/gambling but they do not forbid contracts with alcohol companies or marijuana. There's language that athletes can't make contracts for "banned substances", which could mean marijuana given its federal designation. But leaving in the possibility of booze money is pretty big.
True. But these are also 18 year old kids so they won't be able to market alcohol anyways until they're upperclassmen. By that point the main guys the alcohol companies would want to go after are most likely already in the pros.
Is there actually a reason you have to be 21 to market alcohol? You don’t have to be 21 to sell or serve it.
Probably not, but given the settlement JUUL just had with North Carolina, I suspect companies would be wise to avoid the appearance of marketing age-restricted substances to kids.
They got that out pretty quickly. Methinks things are going to evolve rapidly over the next few years, so don’t anyone think the ground we’re standing on won’t shift.
Pay the kids and give me NCAA football 2022 and I'm happy!!!!
I'm going to assume that your comments don't have any ill-intent Daleppard, but they're incredibly out of touch and, as other users have pointed out, have a whiff of racial insensitivity. The stereotyping of athletes "wearing gold chains" is especially cringe-worthy. Do you have an issue if a non-athlete at U of M wears valuable jewelry?
We trust all other, non-athlete U of M students (including those on full academic or need-based scholarships) to juggle their academic and non-academic responsibilities appropriately. These are young adults and should be treated as such.
I'm sure there will be examples of athletes that struggle to balance their rigorous academic, athletic, and professional responsibilities. However, I fail to see how this is any different than the existing struggles experienced by all students attending college (i.e., athlete or otherwise). Learning to manage one's time effectively is a necessary skill for everyone. I'm sure that universities will continue to provide guidance and resources to help develop successful young adults.
I can't see how permitting athletes to benefit from their NIL should be thought of any differently than other students who have always been able to profit from NIL, which (in most cases) weren't of any significant value. I'm personally very excited for these athletes to have more opportunities to profit from their many years of dedication and hard work.
Id love to see the transition from
Here is what you can do
to
Here is what we are going to do
The only negative ramifications from this entire thing is sitting on your hands.
I agree, I am excited about this. I actually would love to start talking about what we as a fan base can do asap! *see my above posts. I’d love to see some ideas and see if the blog would be down too
Idea #1: MGoBlog Golf Outing to Benefit Mott Children's Hospital
- Standard charity golf outing format
- Entry Fee $1,000 per foursome
- Corporate Sponsorships / Donations from all the usual suspects (the main source of $)
- Giveaways, prizes, etc.
- Dinner included with short interview session with current M players
- M Players are paid a fee to attend and participate in interview, provide autographs, etc.
- Any $ raised beyond expenses will be given to Mott
Idea #2: MGoBlog Football Camp
- Standard Summer Football camp
- Camp will be run by local HS Coaches
- Current M players will be coaches as well
- Corporate sponsorships to raise additional funds beyond participant fee
Those are awesome because they are all about current players and provide cool fan opportunities as well.
I would also like to see something where people can contribute as little as a $1 throughout the year, and then annually that swath of money is given out to players, maybe through fan voting on the blog. Also, I definitely think something needs to be contributed to incoming players for recruiting purposes.
Also an update on the purse throughout the year on the blog is something that could be used on social media to attract recruits and keep fans engaged.
Most important question: when is the new College Football video game coming out?
Take my money.
Sounds like Dave Portnoy started a sports marketing company and is signing college athletes. I couldn't care less what your feeling are about Portnoy or Barstool in general, I'd be on the phone with him right now about trying to get him to focus on Michigan athletes. Again, couldn't care less about your personal feelings about the guy. He's one of the best marketers in the world and his audience is precisely the age group that these players are in.
Not to mention the $41 million dollars he raised with the Barstool Fund to support small businesses during the pandemic. Several even in Ann Arbor like the Maize N Blue Deli. Dude has my respect.
Some of these big time athletes are about to hit the jackpot. What a Time to be alive for these folks.
The language about requiring work for the compensation is interesting. I think that's consistent with the NCAA rule (the WTKA gang talked about this this morning). It should be a very easy bar to clear. How long does it take to pose for a photo that a car dealership can hang up in its showroom?
Some interesting tweets from Michigan officials on the policy they've chosen. It mirrors the state law because they don't want to be seen influencing legislation. To that I say why the fuck not. This is one of the first cracks I'm seeing where Michigan will be dipping their toes in instead of diving in the deep end.