'23 CA QB Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee Verbal)

[ACamp1900]

Jimmy Haslam
There's a reason they're the Browns of college football

Between my team’s owners of Haslam, Moreno and Mario (Yes I know he just sold majority shares on my Pens) I would love for two to sell the team, no doubt….

 

[NDLS_USMC]

@IrishLax looking very accurate in stating the next few years will be "interesting" and NIL will be the biggest factor in recruiting in many instances...more than coaches, culture, playoff history, etc.

 

[tko]

What are the mechanics for the payout? Does he have some offshore account they wire the funds to once he signs? Is it performance based, monthly installments? This will not end well.

 

[jason_h537]

So how’d he get 8 mil??? From some UT NFT?? Just random boosters?? Exactly where?? I can’t believe Tenn can somehow pony up that kind of money in a world where ND seemingly can’t compete dollar wise,… I’m not sure I’m grasping where this is all coming from

Because the school isn't paying it. You think Tennessee is dipping into their endowment to give a kid 7 fingures? It's the same people as always. It's the bag men, it is just above board now.

And large public universities will always have more bag men than a small private institution. I am willing to bet most die hard Notre Dame fans didn't get into Notre Dame.

Im from LA. Let's say I got accepted by USC, UCLA, Loyola, Pepperdine, but I chose UCLA because go Bruins. But hold up, i got into Stanford too. That's a game changer. I'm not a cardinal fan bit I'm not gonna say no to a Stanford education.

I hetbthere a lot of rich Tennesse fans who went their because they loved the Vols and are now willing to pay kids to make their team better. I bet there are significantly less Notre Dame fans like that. Both because of the type of school it is and the size of the student body.

 

[ACamp1900]

Because the school isn't paying it. You think Tennessee is dipping into their endowment to give a kid 7 fingures? It's the same people as always. It's the bag men, it is just above board now.

And large public universities will always have more bag men than a small private institution. I am willing to bet most die hard Notre Dame fans didn't get into Notre Dame.

Im from LA. Let's say I got accepted by USC, UCLA, Loyola, Pepperdine, but I chose UCLA because go Bruins. But hold up, i got into Stanford too. That's a game changer. I'm not a cardinal fan bit I'm not gonna say no to a Stanford education.

I hetbthere a lot of rich Tennesse fans who went their because they loved the Vols and are now willing to pay kids to make their team better. I bet there are significantly less Notre Dame fans like that. Both because of the type of school it is and the size of the student body.

To the first paragraph,… absolutely not what I’m thinking,… lol

It does amaze me that UT’s alum can cover 8 mil for one kid tho,… I guess ND just missed that mega money alum huh??

 

[hungryhippo]

I know there's a lot of cards to be played with NIL and it will evolve.

That said, one of the biggest deterrents to off the rails spending would be for Nico, the first multi-million signee to bust. Start stacking those deals on top of ones like Ewers, who reportedly raked in nearly a mil for a RS season in Columbus only to transfer to Texas. And you might have some legitimate businesses reassess the value of high school kids, and even pure booster funds might re-evaluate how freely to toss cash at kids just to get them committed.

A few high-profile busts in a row could do more than whatever NCAA legislation is in the pipeline to stop NIL from becoming the next CFB arms race.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Ewers didn't get his money from OSU boosters, though.

His deal was a more traditional one that enticed him to reclassify so he could get it earlier and then enticed him to leave Ohio State because the NIL effectively required him to get on the field and find playing time.

I expect a lot of schools are throwing money out now because they don't expect to be able to do this in a few years so there's no reason to save. OTOH, I don't see a will to change this within the NCAA membership.

 

[NDohio]

To the first paragraph,… absolutely not what I’m thinking,… lol

I died amaze me that UT’s alum can girl over 8 mil for one kid tho,… I guess ND just missed that mega money alum huh??

Don't we have our own Nicco that has a few extra bucks laying around...

 

[stlnd01]

OTOH, I don't see a will to change this within the NCAA membership.

I'm not an expert in NCAA governance (who is?) or NIL rules but the number of NCAA member schools that can realistically expect boosters to throw *millions* at a recruit is really pretty small, compared to the number of NCAA member schools that can not. Why would the overall membership not want to set a cap, or at least some ground rules, that would prevent this sort of thing?

I agree with Hippo too. The market will sort this out too. Even for big-money boosters - or whatever kombucha drink Quinn Ewers was hawking - handing this kind of cash to high school kids is going to turn out to be a losing investment, a lot of the time.

It'll be a weird couple years where Top 5 QBs from Southern California go to random wannabes like Tennessee. And then it'll stabilize.

 

[GATTACA!]

 

[Irishnuke]

This is so f’n dirty.

 

[jprue24]

So how’d he get 8 mil??? From some UT NFT?? Just random boosters?? Exactly where?? I can’t believe Tenn can somehow pony up that kind of money in a world where ND seemingly can’t compete dollar wise,… I’m not sure I’m grasping where this is all coming from

A "collective". Basically boosters created a company. That company signed a contract with Nico that pays him $350k up front. Once he starts school, he gets monthly progressive payments through his jr. that brings the total amount to $8M. He in return does social media stuff, appearances, and other NIL (autographs, whatever) stuff.

I bet there isn't a shred of evidence that the university played any part in the development of this contract.

For everyone, who the hell are you to tell someone they shouldn't/can't make money off their NIL. This is America damnit.

 

[benneboy]

A "collective". Basically boosters created a company. That company signed a contract with Nico that pays him $350k up front. Once he starts school, he gets monthly progressive payments through his jr. that brings the total amount to $8M. He in return does social media stuff, appearances, and other NIL (autographs, whatever) stuff.

I bet there isn't a shred of evidence that the university played any part in the development of this contract.

For everyone, who the hell are you to tell someone they shouldn't/can't make money off their NIL. This is America damnit.

I get all that for the most part. What I don't get is how you tie it to a specific school? You can pay them based on performance but not at a specified university right? So what stops him from signing the contract and flipping somewhere else?

 

[jprue24]

I get all that for the most part. What I don't get is how you tie it to a specific school? You can pay them based on performance but not at a specified university right? So what stops him from signing the contract and flipping somewhere else?

From what the lawyer in The Athletic article said, these collectives are taking advantage of some of these kids in a substantial way. I do take that with some apprehension because that article is free exposure for that lawyer, so he has incentive to talk up his deals. That all said, I have zero doubt that there are safe guards in place that will make it difficult for the player to fulfill the contract at a different school.

That $350k though? That's Nico's.

 

[stlnd01]

From what I read in that Athletic article, his NIL rights are now owned by the "collective" - which then presumably sells his NIL into endorsement deals for whatever they can get. So he can transfer but he can't bring his NIL rights with him to the new school. They're owned by Tennessee's boosters. I'd guess they have some sort of protection written into the contract where they don't have to keep paying him if he leaves Tennessee (or fails to "conduct himself with the utmost character and integrity.")

Five-star recruit in Class of 2023 signs agreement with collective that could pay him more than $8 million

Two NIL experts The Athletic spoke to believe this deal is the largest individual NIL deal signed by a non-professional athlete.

theathletic.com

But in exchange for receiving his lucrative advances, the player hands over to the collective exclusive rights to use of his NIL, which would then negotiate outside opportunities on his behalf. In theory, that could dissuade him from entering the transfer portal, as he would not be able to make paid appearances promoting his next school.

 

[T-Boone]

How much is that Manning kid going to get?

 

[Irishnuke]

How much is that Manning kid going to get?

His family is already loaded. It’s probably not as important to them.

 

[NDFAN2008]

This is why Notre Dame is going to have a hard time competing with these teams throwing millions at players. Their 3,000 dollar per player NIL/NFT thing is pocket change. This is why we probally won't get Carnell Tate and whose to say Moore doesn't get a 5 MIL deal with Texas A&M kinda hard to turn down that kind of money?

 

[NDRock]

His family is already loaded. It’s probably not as important to them.

You know what people with a lot of money like? More money. Judging by the amount of commercials that family makes, they don’t turn down many opportunities to get paid. Which is fine by me.

 

[Irish#1]

From what I read in that Athletic article, his NIL rights are now owned by the "collective" - which then presumably sells his NIL into endorsement deals for whatever they can get. So he can transfer but he can't bring his NIL rights with him to the new school. They're owned by Tennessee's boosters. I'd guess they have some sort of protection written into the contract where they don't have to keep paying him if he leaves Tennessee (or fails to "conduct himself with the utmost character and integrity.")

Five-star recruit in Class of 2023 signs agreement with collective that could pay him more than $8 million

Two NIL experts The Athletic spoke to believe this deal is the largest individual NIL deal signed by a non-professional athlete.

theathletic.com

And that's the way all of these deals will work. You leave, contract null and void. These boosters may be fans, but their not fanatical to the point they're just going to throw money away. These contracts will give them some protection and any income derived from appearances, endorsements, etc. probably gets split where the boosters get part of their investment back.

Given what the courts have said so far, I'm not sure the NCAA or any school can put a limit on NIL money. These are personal contracts between the player and the bagmen.

 

[FWIrish4]

I love the Cover 3 podcast for national coverage, but man their takes on this were tough to listen to.

I was disappointed because not a single one of them brought up the fact this against the rules of NIL by signing a current high school junior contingent upon going to a certain school. They even admitted that this is morphing into professional sports and a minor league baseball setup with kids able to “transfer up” from lower conferences at will. Hell they even brought up another school “buying” out the deal so he can transfer. They all seemed completely fine with all of this, which I was shocked by.

I’m all for kids making money within the original intent of NIL, but this is not it.

 

[NDdomer2]

I love the Cover 3 podcast for national coverage, but man their takes on this were tough to listen to.

I was disappointed because not a single one of them brought up the fact this against the rules of NIL by signing a current high school junior contingent upon going to a certain school. They even admitted that this is morphing into professional sports and a minor league baseball setup with kids able to “transfer up” from lower conferences at will. Hell they even brought up another school “buying” out the deal so he can transfer. They all seemed completely fine with all of this, which I was shocked by.

I’m all for kids making money within the original intent of NIL, but this is not it.

most people are fine with it because its not new. The contracts, public reporting, and $ values may be new, but thats about it.

 

[ThePiombino]

most people are fine with it because its not new. The contracts, public reporting, and $ values may be new, but thats about it.

The irony in all of it is NIL is supposed to be a means of student-athlete empowerment. Yet all this Nico deal did was take away that empowerment and give it outright to the folks who used to have to hide in the shadows to do this sort of stuff. By legalizing the process and making it "above board", they have in essence given the kids a power just so they could take it away. LMFAO can't make this stuff up. LONG LIVE THE NCAA

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[IrishLax]

I love the Cover 3 podcast for national coverage, but man their takes on this were tough to listen to.

I was disappointed because not a single one of them brought up the fact this against the rules of NIL by signing a current high school junior contingent upon going to a certain school. They even admitted that this is morphing into professional sports and a minor league baseball setup with kids able to “transfer up” from lower conferences at will. Hell they even brought up another school “buying” out the deal so he can transfer. They all seemed completely fine with all of this, which I was shocked by.

I’m all for kids making money within the original intent of NIL, but this is not it.

The biggest issue is the unrestricted transfer market. We've basically got "free agency" and pay-to-play without contracts. So teams with "collectives" will protect themselves from poaching by owning the player's NIL for a stipulated period of time, and teams that don't will have open season on their best players.

The second issue is, as you said, it's 100% against the rules to do what Tenn and A&M Are doing regardless of how well the contracts are being written. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

 

[irish2104]

The biggest issue is the unrestricted transfer market. We've basically got "free agency" and pay-to-play without contracts. So teams with "collectives" will protect themselves from poaching by owning the player's NIL for a stipulated period of time, and teams that don't will have open season on their best players.

The second issue is, as you said, it's 100% against the rules to do what Tenn and A&M Are doing regardless of how well the contracts are being written. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

I believe a LOT of schools are going to want to start cracking down on this not just ND... Is just so bad for the sport with how unstructured and unbalanced it is... LOTS of bad publicity for AM and UT... in addition to like legislatures start getting involved protecting State U...

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I believe a LOT of schools are going to want to start cracking down on this not just ND... Is just so bad for the sport with how unstructured and unbalanced it is... LOTS of bad publicity for AM and UT... in addition to like legislatures start getting involved protecting State U...

It was an easier set of rules to apply and enforce when athletes weren't supposed to be getting anything.

Under our new reality it's going to be basically impossible to enforce the spirit of the rules. It's much, much easier for well-heeled boosters to work the fuzzy edges and loopholes of rules that allow cash payments to recruits than it was to get past a straight prohibition.

 

[irish2104]

It was an easier set of rules to apply and enforce when athletes weren't supposed to be getting anything.

Under our new reality it's going to be basically impossible to enforce the spirit of the rules. It's much, much easier for well-heeled boosters to work the fuzzy edges and loopholes of rules that allow cash payments to recruits than it was to get past a straight prohibition.

I mean there are going to be tax records with this much money changing hands... U can't give someone more than 10000 in cash without raising some red flags...

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I mean there are going to be tax records with this much money changing hands... U can't give someone more than 10000 in cash without raising some red flags...

Yeah but under the old rules that would be enough. Now the NCAA would have to effectively litigate the transaction itself against interested parties who have access to resources.

The NCAA waved the white flag on transfer rules because it couldn't fight everybody who lawyered up to litigate for their transfer exception. This will be the same situation but worse by orders of magnitude.

 

[IrishMoore1]

Nicholaus Iamaleava - Not sure if this has been mentioned or if I'm the only one, but this kid's name screams transfer after I get paid.

 

[Irish du Nord]

I believe a LOT of schools are going to want to start cracking down on this not just ND... Is just so bad for the sport with how unstructured and unbalanced it is... LOTS of bad publicity for AM and UT... in addition to like legislatures start getting involved protecting State U...

What happened at Toledo?