The WWE enters the NIL ring

Now Presenting This Week in NIL, a newsletter about everything you need to know to keep up with the rapidly changing world of name, image, and likeness in college sports!

This Week in NIL:

🤼‍♂️ The WWE announces extensive partnerships with college athletes

🏎️ A Quinn Ewers car deal gets complicated

👀 NIL Deals you need to see including 50k to Texas O-Line

A new talent pool for the WWE

WWE @WWE

The inaugural #WWENIL class has been revealed!

wwe.comWWE unveils inaugural NIL classWWE unveiled 15 college athletes who will be among the first to participate in the company’s newly formed NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that provides a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

The WWE has unveiled 15 college athletes who will be among the first to participate in the company’s newly formed NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program that provides a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

The inaugural “Next In Line” class includes athletes from 13 universities, seven NCAA conferences and four sports. All athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., in addition to resources across the organization, including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract.

Some notable inclusions: Haley (342k Instagram Followers) and Hanna (335k Instagram followers) Cavinder: Fresno State basketball, Jon Seaton (1.6M Tiktok Followers): Elon Football, Gable Stevenson (Olympic Gold Medalist): Former University of Minnesota Wrestler

Our Takeaway:

It pays to build a brand. For the 8 In The Box Team, Northwestern star defensive lineman Joe Spivak is a particularly exciting inclusion given our past work together. Him being included in this list is no accident, and he mentioned to us back in the summer that working with the WWE is an opportunity he would be extremely interested in. So, Spivak got to work not only hosting a show during the football season, but also posting on Instagram building a persona that the WWE would be interested in working with and culminating in this incredible hype video.

A Quinn Ewers Timeline

Mit Winter @WinterSportsLaw

I’d advise against any NIL deal being contingent on the athlete remaining at a specific school or not entering the transfer portal. Likely violates the NCAA’s NIL rules, some state laws, and some school NIL policies. https://t.co/hCf0avNQrj

Darren Heitner @DarrenHeitner

Is an #NIL deal that voids upon a player entering the transfer portal a violation of the NCAA’s interim policy? It’s not clear and it may present an interesting case should the NCAA decide to look into this Quinn Ewers situation. https://t.co/jvS8wcW3v9

A timeline:

August 2nd, 2021: 5 Star Quarterback Quinn Ewers skips his senior year of high school to enroll early at Ohio State.

August 28th, 2021: Ewers gets a Supercharged Ford F-250 Tremor from Ricart Automotive

August 31st, 2021: Ewers signs a $1.4 Million autograph deal over three years.

December 3rd, 2021: After playing just two snaps all season, Ewers entered the transfer portal and is predicted to enroll at a school in Texas.

Rick Ricart confirmed Ewers truck lease was revoked after his transfer, but that may run afoul of NCAA rules prohibiting NIL deals being contingent on university enrollment. Could this be one of the multiple situations/schools the NCAA is currently investigating for NIL violations?

Our Takeaway:

This was inevitable… right? With no national NIL law implemented and the win-at-all-costs mindset in college sports prevailing there was bound to be cheating. At least it is above ground and reported now instead of shady bagmen that forced the FBI to get involved.

NIL Deals you need to 👀

1. A partial answer to our question last week on what the $10 Million NIL from from the University of Texas is all about:

   Kristi Dosh @SportsBizMiss

   Newly formed @hornswithheart has raised enough money to give every offensive lineman at Texas $50,000 annually to promote charitable causes. I've got all the details on this groundbreaking NIL deal.

   

   businessofcollegesports.comTexas Offensive Linemen to Receive $50,000 Each to Promote CharitiesNewly formed Horns with Heart has already raised $800,000

   2. Sedona Prince x Quizlet

   NIL / Agent Tracker @tracker_nil

   Oregons Woman’s Basketball, @sedonaprince_ has partnered with @quizlet #NIL

   

   3. FTX x UCLA WBB

   Student Athlete NIL @AthleteNIL

   .@DominiqueOnu & her teammates at UCLA are partnering with @FTX_Official to become their 1st WBB sponsored team 📈 Other FTX notable partnerships include 👇 @TomBrady @StephenCurry30 @KentuckyMBB @11Deshaun

   

   4. Duke’s Mayo Bowl

   Darren Heitner @DarrenHeitner

   1 player from the winning team in the @DukesMayoBowl will be offered a $5k contract to help continue to tell the story of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl into the offseason. @DukesMayonnaise plans to provide other #NIL opportunities to UNC and USC players as well.

   

   

   Thanks so much for reading! This Week in NIL is brought to you by the team at 8 In The Box Productions: we create branded video content for student-athletes and brands. If you want to get in touch or provide any feedback our email is here! Finally, if you enjoyed this newsletter please consider subscribing and sharing with someone who you think would enjoy it too!