Wow: Men's Basketball is 13th Most Popular Gophers Team for NIL Contracts at the U

Donate To GopherHole
Slightly non-sequitur to the OP, but NIL is paid directly to the athletes, no? So each athlete has to be accountable themselves and self-report income to the IRS, as they are essentially self-employed? How many of these kids are going to be getting slammed with tax bills/fines in years to come as they failed to properly report and pay taxes?
 


MNVCGUY said:
NIL only really got spoiled in the revenue sports where there are people out there willing to throw money around to try and help their team win. NIL was never meant to be a way for teams to buy/poach players....it was just easy to see that happening in basketball and football especially.

It would seem to be working as intended with the other sports based on the fact that the women's sports showed up well on this list.
Click to expand...
This is nothing new. NIL is just a more direct way to buy winning.

We spent 160 million in donated money to provide practice facilities to be competitive..... after we fell way behind. Eventually we will remodel the Barn or build a new arena- after we fell way behind. We hired a bargain rookie coach to be a HS recruit, build from the bottom up guy, just as the market was turning to a pay for play portal. Now we are just behind on something else.

It seems that we are usually working on an invention well after the real thing hits the market.
 

BleedGopher said:
Most NIL deals are done by small- to mid-size local companies who's owner/CEO is heavily invested in the program
Click to expand...
I would guess a significant majority of the total NIL deals signed by Gopher athletes are deals with DTA, which are funded by fan/booster donations with zero desire for any promotional benefit.

Literally nothing more than a legal laundering scheme for handing a varsity athlete an envelop of cash and saying "Thanks for playing for the Gophers!"
 

bga1 said:
This is nothing new. NIL is just a more direct way to buy winning.

We spent 160 million in donated money to provide practice facilities to be competitive..... after we fell way behind. Eventually we will remodel the Barn or build a new arena- after we fell way behind. We hired a bargain rookie coach to be a HS recruit, build from the bottom up guy, just as the market was turning to a pay for play portal. Now we are just behind on something else.

It seems that we are usually working on an invention well after the real thing hits the market.
Click to expand...
I disagree with the line about NIL. Yes, that is what it has come to mean in football and basketball where people continue to call pay for play NIL. But that is never what NIL was intended to be and it isn't what NIL is used for in the non-revenue sports.

It is really unfortunate that the idea of NIL has been so tarnished by the revenue sports who have predictably bastardized it into something that has nothing to do with what it was intended to be.

As to the part about the U being reactionary.....we aren't alone in that....lots of programs are constantly playing catchup. I get that fans would like to see us more on the cutting edge of everything but that isn't going to happen no matter how much any of us may want it to.
 


MNVCGUY said:
But that is never what NIL was intended to be and it isn't what NIL is used for in the non-revenue sports.
Click to expand...
Not as ubiquitously, but guarantee the top programs in these other sports are using it exactly that same way.

Nebraska and Texas in volleyball.

Oklahoma in softball.

etc
 

I also think there is some ownership on players to make themselves marketable in order to receive NIL funds. Companies want charismatic, successful, and marketable people if they're going to represent their brand.
 

well, if you actually read the article, it says this:

Five bucks for every autograph. Twenty grand for a podcast appearance. Social media posts in exchange for $10,000. An autographed hockey sweater: Another ten grand. Football players making thousands for going to lunch with donors.

The details in 272 endorsement deals recently signed by Gophers athletes are fascinating.

The Star Tribune obtained the University of Minnesota student-athlete NIL reports dating from August 2022 to January of this year.

Of the 272 recent Gophers NIL deals, social media-related endorsements accounted for 57% of those agreements. (numerical breakdown)
Social media endorsements - 155
Merchandise sales - 45
other - 26
Public appearance - 26
Autograph - 6
Outside camp - 6
operating own camp - 4
TV commercial - 3
Operating own business - 1

Now, the article does not say or break down whether the deals were made through Dinkytown Athletes or if individual students made deals on their own. it just states that these were name, image and likeness contracts reported to the U of MN.
 




MplsGopher said:
... what other kind of deal is possible?

I don't think this was in dispute.
Click to expand...

I was responding to a question about whether these deals were being made through Dinkytown Athletes, and I said the article did not make that clear. the point is that athletes - if they choose - can make NIL deals on their own, or they can work through Dinkytown Athletes. But either way, the deals are all counted as NIL deals as far as the U is concerned.
 

From a sponsorship standpoint, women's basketball players are probably easier to commit to. They stick around longer than many on the men's side. They have the opportunity to make more money in college than in the WNBA.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I disagree with the line about NIL. Yes, that is what it has come to mean in football and basketball where people continue to call pay for play NIL. But that is never what NIL was intended to be and it isn't what NIL is used for in the non-revenue sports.

It is really unfortunate that the idea of NIL has been so tarnished by the revenue sports who have predictably bastardized it into something that has nothing to do with what it was intended to be.

As to the part about the U being reactionary.....we aren't alone in that....lots of programs are constantly playing catchup. I get that fans would like to see us more on the cutting edge of everything but that isn't going to happen no matter how much any of us may want it to.
Click to expand...
I don't think it much matters what it was intended to be. What matters is what it has become. That's reality and it's a problem if we don't adapt to it.
 

bga1 said:
I don't think it much matters what it was intended to be. What matters is what it has become. That's reality and it's a problem if we don't adapt to it.
Click to expand...
I would contend that we are adapting to it. We are never going to be on the forefront of NIL/Pay for Play because we don't have the crazy boosters willing to throw around a ton of money, but football was able to retain nearly all of their key players. And if you believe Bomba$$, Payne was offered a good deal but it wasn't about the money.

Guys like Carrington and JOJ thinking they are going to be able to cash in somewhere.....yeah.....best of luck to them. Think they are probably in for a rude awakening.
 




MNVCGUY said:
I would contend that we are adapting to it. We are never going to be on the forefront of NIL/Pay for Play because we don't have the crazy boosters willing to throw around a ton of money, but football was able to retain nearly all of their key players. And if you believe Bomba$$, Payne was offered a good deal but it wasn't about the money.
Click to expand...
If it was about NIL then we have an NIL problem. If Payne wanted out- a hometown kid with a bright future here- that points to a coaching problem. Not one thing I have ever seen or heard prior to this event points to Payne having a bad attitude.
MNVCGUY said:
Guys like Carrington and JOJ thinking they are going to be able to cash in somewhere.....yeah.....best of luck to them. Think they are probably in for a rude awakening.
Click to expand...
Carrington and JOJ don't bother me- Payne does and then the combo of all three Minnesotans does because that's a bad look.
 

bga1 said:
If it was about NIL then we have an NIL problem. If Payne wanted out- a hometown kid with a bright future here- that points to a coaching problem. Not one thing I have ever seen or heard prior to this event points to Payne having a bad attitude.

Carrington and JOJ don't bother me- Payne does and then the combo of all three Minnesotans does because that's a bad look.
Click to expand...
No disagreement on it being a bad look.....but it is also a sign of the times. Loyalty to a state....a program....those are concepts that this new generation of players just don't seem to be wired with. I mean Fox outwardly talks about loving Minnesota but he already qualifies for AARP so he isn't part of that same generation :)
 

GopherMarroon said:
Misleading.

How many players are on a hockey team or football team.

How many on the basketball roster.
Click to expand...

Yeah.....it's incredibly misleading. Coming from the strib.....that doesn't surprise me.
 

bga1 said:
If it was about NIL then we have an NIL problem. If Payne wanted out- a hometown kid with a bright future here- that points to a coaching problem. Not one thing I have ever seen or heard prior to this event points to Payne having a bad attitude.

Carrington and JOJ don't bother me- Payne does and then the combo of all three Minnesotans does because that's a bad look.
Click to expand...
Forget them being Minnesota kids. Nobody cares. The only thing that matters in unrestricted free agency is that you free up every spot every year where you think you can replace him with a better player.

This is the only thing by which Ben Johnson will be judged.
 

MNVCGUY said:
No disagreement on it being a bad look.....but it is also a sign of the times. Loyalty to a state....a program....those are concepts that this new generation of players just don't seem to be wired with. I mean Fox outwardly talks about loving Minnesota but he already qualifies for AARP so he isn't part of that same generation :)
Click to expand...
It will soon be recognized as not a bad look if the ones who leave are replaced by better players. There is no loyalty to school or coaches in unrestricted free agency.

McCaffrey lost his own kid. Does anybody think if a good school promised Sam Hoighberg a starting point guard job plus big money he wouldn't be gone?
 

bga1 said:
If it was about NIL then we have an NIL problem. If Payne wanted out- a hometown kid with a bright future here- that points to a coaching problem. Not one thing I have ever seen or heard prior to this event points to Payne having a bad attitude.

Carrington and JOJ don't bother me- Payne does and then the combo of all three Minnesotans does because that's a bad look.
Click to expand...
It should bother us all as they stated the hiring of BJ was partly because of his relationship with mn high school players.
 

Dakota2 said:
Forget them being Minnesota kids. Nobody cares. The only thing that matters in unrestricted free agency is that you free up every spot every year where you think you can replace him with a better player.

This is the only thing by which Ben Johnson will be judged.
Click to expand...
Times change I guess. That's a whole different vibe than three years ago.
 

SelectionSunday said:
The demise of non-revenue sports is coming. Give it time.
Click to expand...
Yes, was surprised to see Men's Track and Field with 8 and Men's basketball only 6. U of M cut it's men's indoor track and field all together a few seasons ago. They do have NCAA championships for both indoor and outdoor track seasons, two different sports in a way. Cross country would be a 3rd
 

Dakota2 said:
It will soon be recognized as not a bad look if the ones who leave are replaced by better players. There is no loyalty to school or coaches in unrestricted free agency.

McCaffrey lost his own kid. Does anybody think if a good school promised Sam Hoighberg a starting point guard job plus big money he wouldn't be gone?
Click to expand...

Sounds like it was mutual that his own son would leave, so I wouldn't call it "lost"
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom