NEXT LEVEL COLLECTIVE
Articles By This Author
A Sit-Down with Tobe Awaka to Discuss Tennessee Volunteers Basketball, NIL and Life
I had the opportunity to interview my client, Tobe Awaka, who is one of the Tennessee Volunteers Men’s Basketball Team’s biggest weapons returning next season. Who doesn’t enjoy watching his athletic 6’8, 250 lb. frame overpower, out-rebound and out-hustle his opponents? Throughout his true Freshman season, Awaka remained a consistent and reliable defending and rebounding […]
A Short NIL Discussion with Jay Graham
I recently sat down with Jay Graham to obtain his thoughts on NIL at the collegiate level. Graham is well-known to East Tennessee and the Vol Nation fanbase as a former Running Back (“RB”) at the University of Tennessee. After playing for 6 seasons as an NFL RB (playing for the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks […]
NIL from the Perspective of a Female Tennessee High School Athlete
Name, Image & Likeness (“NIL”) deals are here! In Tennessee, NIL has already positively impacted collegiate and high school athletes! My Q&A session below with Five-Star Volleyball phenom, IMG commit and Bradley University commit, Amanda Mack, hopes to provide you with a unique perspective on the positive roles high school NIL is actually playing in […]
Recent High School NIL Restrictions — and Recommendations — for TSSAA Schools, Coaches, Athletic Directors, other School Officials and Booster Clubs in Tennessee.
“In December 2022, the TSSAA Legislative Council unanimously approved changes to the Amateur Rule of the TSSAA Bylaws after extensive discussion with the membership at the TSSAA Administrators Meetings in September and Regional Meetings in November.” Name, Image and Likeness and the TSSAA Amateur Rule | TSSAA TSSAA Schools, Coaches, ADs, other School Officials and […]
The Important Voices in NIL Today
Who should you listen to when it comes to NIL? With all the Collectives, clever graphics, social media presence and smart marketing, it can be hard to discern. In my opinion, the most important voices in NIL right now include (in no particular order):
NIL for High School Athletes in Tennessee: Are Restrictions on Specific Types of Businesses Warranted?
“The Times, They-Are-A-Changin’” – quickly across the Tennessee high school NIL landscape. This past December (2022), Tennessee became the 22nd state to permit high school Name, Image & Likeness (“NIL”), in addition to the District of Columbia. The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (“TSSAA”) decided to allow high school NIL only under a number of […]
The NIL Saga of Jaden Rashada
By: John Foster and E. Michael Brezina, III The public wasn’t supposed to know about the confidential big-money world of NIL Collectives and college football. But Jaden Rashada’s unfortunate NIL saga at the University of Florida (“UF”) pulled back the proverbial curtain for the country to catch a glimpse. Rashada became a big name for […]
Pros and Cons of NIL for Student-Athletes
The following is a non-exhaustive list of Pros and Cons of Name, Image & Likeness (“NIL”) – especially in the collegiate space: Pros: 1. Freedom and Equal Protection. Each student-athlete is now free to capitalize on his/her NIL. Before NIL was permitted, collegiate student-athletes were arguably not equally protected under the law. This is an odd […]
NIL: the Wild, Wild West. How did we get here?
Have you heard collegiate Name, Image and Likeness (“NIL”) referred to as “The Wild, Wild West?” To understand why, don’t think Billy the Kid or Pancho and Lefty. Think profiteering and seemingly endless freedom without much governmental authority or intervention. NIL across America has become big business. Yahoo Finance reports the first year of NIL […]
What is a Collective?
A Collective is a pool of money raised and used to provide financial NIL opportunities to student athletes. This term may apply in the collegiate or high school space. Kristi Dosh, founder of the Business of College Sport, has said this about Collectives: “… [T]he basic premise of most (Collectives) is that an alum, or […]