This will be happening soon, no question about it. The news that the New York Times broke earlier today makes it clear that the NCAA has to act by July 1, 2021. If not, schools in the southern states where the new state laws will be kicking in come July will be at a serious competitive advantage. That would be a clear no-no, even for a behind-the times organization like the NCAA.
So what about Michigan? Are we positioned to move forward with NIL opportunities in a timely manner? I am not privy to what is happening within the athletic department, but I fear that we are a step behind. Why? First, because part of this functionality was mentioned in the job description for the Director of Player Personnel. If this is just one of the DPP's responsibilities, it may just be too much for him to handle. In my view, the DPP should focus on talent acquisition. In other words, high school recruiting and the transfer portal. NIL, of course, will play a huge role in talent acquisition and recruiting and our approach would need to be aligned with the recruiting staff. Nevertheless, the skill set to best avail ourselves of NIL would include specialists competent in agency, marketing and legal. Quite a different skill set from someone out there trying to identify and sell elite high school prospects on attending Michigan.
So what steps should Michigan take? I am no expert on the matter, but here are some scattered thoughts, in no particular order:
1) Legal/compliance experts to assess the new NIL regulations once they become known. To what extent, if any, can Michigan assist student/athletes in procuring NIL deals? From the NYT article it seemed as though athletes would not be able to sign apparel deals with firms that are in competition with the apparel firm that the college has contracted. So a Michigan player could not sign with Adidas since Michigan is Nike. But this begs the question, could the Michigan student sign with Nike? And even more interesting, could Michigan even agree to a new deal with Nike which would cut their annual fees from $ 11.4 million to, say $ 5 million, with the remaining $6.4 million being paid out to Michigan revenue-producing sports athletes. This would be an elegant way of shifting some of Michigan's athletic revenues directly into the pockets of the athletes generating those revenues. I would assume that such proactive steps on the part of the university would not be allowed under the new rules. However, this is an extreme example where funds are shifting from the university directly to the student-athletes. What about the grey areas where the university would simply be helping to facilitate the athletes' marketing efforts and not shifting cash from university coffers to the student-athletes? In other words, how pro-active can Michigan be with respect to NIL? For this, we need legal/compliance experts to be up to speed and not behind where other schools are.
2) Marketing/agency on behalf of Michigan student-athletes: Michigan is a client of IMG. IMG is a super-agency, representing everyone from athletes to super models. Most of you know about IMG Academy in Bradenton, but that is just a small part of their business. Are we talking with them about NIL and helping to put into place a vehicle that student-athletes can use to avail themselves of representation? Would this even be allowed by the NCAA (see point one above)? If so, this could be a mutually beneficial relationship. Here are some of the areas of expertise at IMG:
We work with our clients and partners to bring unmatched experiences in sports, events, media and fashion to the world. As part of the extensive Endeavor network, we are reshaping the way people engage with entertainment.
LICENSING
We support the world’s leading brands, institutions, events and trademarks through professional licensing management. By connecting our clients with properties interested in partnering as licensees, we help them monetize their intellectual property while creating new avenues for marketing and promotion.
We assist in navigating terms and conditions, consult on creative and strategic development and manage relationships at every step of the licensing process to help build partnerships that generate revenue and consumer loyalty for all parties.
Supporting our broader IMG Licensing service, our team at the IMG College Licensing is dedicated to the unique realm of collegiate licensing partnerships.
REPRESENTATION & MANAGEMENT
We represent and manage the careers of leading figures in sports and fashion, from athletes and analysts to models and designers.
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
For more than 50 years, we have provided representation and management to the athletes, coaches, institutions and personalities responsible for keeping sports a point of engagement and conversation every day around the world. From tennis and golf to bull riding and eSports, our clients' talent, expertise and leadership help define competition and commitment among players and fans alike.
Moreover, a targeted effort needs to be made by the university to identify boosters and alumni who would be willing to open their coffers to student-athletes. Again, there would be legal/compliance issues here with respect to what extent the university could help facilitate/broker such an arrangement between boosters/alums and student-athletes. Frankly, this could get quite dirty and I'm not quite sure now the university, Big Ten or NCAA could reasonably navigate through this process.
3) Marketing the benefits of Michigan and the NIL to targeted recruits: This is where there is an overlap with the DPP and recruiting staff. This will need to go to the top of the list as THE MAJOR selling point in recruiting athletes to Michigan. Why? Well, as Mark Richt just told the New York Times: "When I was playing college football my priorities were girls, football and then school. Now it's going to be money, girls, football, school." Given the recent lack of success of our football team, it is pretty clear that school is last on the list for most blue-chip prospects. We aren't too hot on the girls front as well, from what I understand. And, at least until now, money has been illegal. That is about to change. And if Michigan wants a chance to get their football program up-to-speed, this is a window of opportunity that, given recent seasons, can only help. We can only hope that the current football staff and athletic dept. are up to the challenge.
So what about Michigan? Are we positioned to move forward with NIL opportunities in a timely manner? I am not privy to what is happening within the athletic department, but I fear that we are a step behind. Why? First, because part of this functionality was mentioned in the job description for the Director of Player Personnel. If this is just one of the DPP's responsibilities, it may just be too much for him to handle. In my view, the DPP should focus on talent acquisition. In other words, high school recruiting and the transfer portal. NIL, of course, will play a huge role in talent acquisition and recruiting and our approach would need to be aligned with the recruiting staff. Nevertheless, the skill set to best avail ourselves of NIL would include specialists competent in agency, marketing and legal. Quite a different skill set from someone out there trying to identify and sell elite high school prospects on attending Michigan.
So what steps should Michigan take? I am no expert on the matter, but here are some scattered thoughts, in no particular order:
1) Legal/compliance experts to assess the new NIL regulations once they become known. To what extent, if any, can Michigan assist student/athletes in procuring NIL deals? From the NYT article it seemed as though athletes would not be able to sign apparel deals with firms that are in competition with the apparel firm that the college has contracted. So a Michigan player could not sign with Adidas since Michigan is Nike. But this begs the question, could the Michigan student sign with Nike? And even more interesting, could Michigan even agree to a new deal with Nike which would cut their annual fees from $ 11.4 million to, say $ 5 million, with the remaining $6.4 million being paid out to Michigan revenue-producing sports athletes. This would be an elegant way of shifting some of Michigan's athletic revenues directly into the pockets of the athletes generating those revenues. I would assume that such proactive steps on the part of the university would not be allowed under the new rules. However, this is an extreme example where funds are shifting from the university directly to the student-athletes. What about the grey areas where the university would simply be helping to facilitate the athletes' marketing efforts and not shifting cash from university coffers to the student-athletes? In other words, how pro-active can Michigan be with respect to NIL? For this, we need legal/compliance experts to be up to speed and not behind where other schools are.
2) Marketing/agency on behalf of Michigan student-athletes: Michigan is a client of IMG. IMG is a super-agency, representing everyone from athletes to super models. Most of you know about IMG Academy in Bradenton, but that is just a small part of their business. Are we talking with them about NIL and helping to put into place a vehicle that student-athletes can use to avail themselves of representation? Would this even be allowed by the NCAA (see point one above)? If so, this could be a mutually beneficial relationship. Here are some of the areas of expertise at IMG:
We work with our clients and partners to bring unmatched experiences in sports, events, media and fashion to the world. As part of the extensive Endeavor network, we are reshaping the way people engage with entertainment.
LICENSING
We support the world’s leading brands, institutions, events and trademarks through professional licensing management. By connecting our clients with properties interested in partnering as licensees, we help them monetize their intellectual property while creating new avenues for marketing and promotion.
We assist in navigating terms and conditions, consult on creative and strategic development and manage relationships at every step of the licensing process to help build partnerships that generate revenue and consumer loyalty for all parties.
Supporting our broader IMG Licensing service, our team at the IMG College Licensing is dedicated to the unique realm of collegiate licensing partnerships.
REPRESENTATION & MANAGEMENT
We represent and manage the careers of leading figures in sports and fashion, from athletes and analysts to models and designers.
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
For more than 50 years, we have provided representation and management to the athletes, coaches, institutions and personalities responsible for keeping sports a point of engagement and conversation every day around the world. From tennis and golf to bull riding and eSports, our clients' talent, expertise and leadership help define competition and commitment among players and fans alike.
Moreover, a targeted effort needs to be made by the university to identify boosters and alumni who would be willing to open their coffers to student-athletes. Again, there would be legal/compliance issues here with respect to what extent the university could help facilitate/broker such an arrangement between boosters/alums and student-athletes. Frankly, this could get quite dirty and I'm not quite sure now the university, Big Ten or NCAA could reasonably navigate through this process.
3) Marketing the benefits of Michigan and the NIL to targeted recruits: This is where there is an overlap with the DPP and recruiting staff. This will need to go to the top of the list as THE MAJOR selling point in recruiting athletes to Michigan. Why? Well, as Mark Richt just told the New York Times: "When I was playing college football my priorities were girls, football and then school. Now it's going to be money, girls, football, school." Given the recent lack of success of our football team, it is pretty clear that school is last on the list for most blue-chip prospects. We aren't too hot on the girls front as well, from what I understand. And, at least until now, money has been illegal. That is about to change. And if Michigan wants a chance to get their football program up-to-speed, this is a window of opportunity that, given recent seasons, can only help. We can only hope that the current football staff and athletic dept. are up to the challenge.
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