Indiana NIL guru says settlement threatens 'what we love about college sports'

Any day now, a federal judge is expected to give final approval to a $2.8 billion settlement of three antitrust lawsuits that could dramatically alter the landscape of college sports. And given the tumult since the creation of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness opportunities for athletes, that’s saying something. In addition to awarding damages to athletes over the last decade who lost out on NIL opportunities, the settlement agreement lays out a framework for compensating athletes going forward that smashes the status quo. Under the deal, schools will be able to pay athletes directly for the use of their names, images and likenesses as a form of revenue-sharing. However, athletes still will be able to receive money from other NIL sources, and that includes what we call NIL collectives—independent groups, usually founded by alumni and boosters, that pool money for NIL deals benefitting their schools’ athletes. There are rules in the settlement for what qualifies as a legitimate deal via collectives, but this element of the settlement has its skeptics. In a special edition of the IBJ Podcast, host Mason King consults Pete Yonkman, president of Bloomington-based Cook Group and the founder of two collectives established to help Indiana University athletes benefit from NIL opportunities. If the settlement agreement is approved as anticipated, Yonkman foresees a blizzard of lawsuits and a college sports landscape with only a relative handful of schools that can attract top talent and compete for championships. What's at stake, he says, is "what we love about college sports." He also suggests a framework for a solution.