Jay Greeson: 5-at-10: NIL starts and deals are happening, Suns advance to NBA Finals, hail state

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Jul. 1—Happy NIL day

So it starts today. Name, Image and Likeness is official.

Amazingly, the issue that the NCAA has forever said will topple college sports has been addressed by the NCAA in a very shrug-of-the-shoulders way.

The questions now no longer linger on whether the players get paid for their NIL, it's who will get paid. And how much.

And there are a slew of other details to negotiate, including what personal endorsement deals will look like and the extent of where the NFTs (non-fungible tokens) will go.

Take the details of a test NFT offered by Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. (Yes, his name is Kool-Aid, and yes, if I were a marketing guy at Kool-Aid, I would be making inroads.)

His reps floated an NFT for a since-pulled price that includes "admission to an Alabama home game from Kool-Aid's personal tickets" as well as a postgame meet-and-greet with the young Tide DB and working out with McKinstry. Somewhere, Lord Saban longs for the good ol' days of $100 handshakes and every starter driving a Dodge Charger.

It also makes you wonder who will get the first eye-popper deal, because these little things will be everywhere.

And it might not be who you think for the reasons you think. One of the first major deals was signed by Fresno State basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who already have social media followers in the millions on TikTok. The twins inked with Boost Mobile early Thursday morning.

The early check-cashers will be less about star power or in-their-sport success as it will be about social media reach. One firm valued UConn star freshman basketball player Paige Bueckers' 730,000 combined followers on Twitter and Instagram at more than $380,000 in terms of reach and marketability. The Cavinder twins have more than 5 million combined on their various accounts and close to 70,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel.

So yeah, the five-star QB will get a Tahoe from Billy Bob's Chevy dealership downtown, but the big dollars are destined initially for the athletes who have a big social media reach.

And then there were three

So the Phoenix Suns clipped the Clippers to win the Western Conference Finals 4-2.

Chris Paul played like a warrior poet, crushing his former team in their building despite the pesky and persistent efforts of Pat Beverley. (Side note: I would love to have Pat Beverley on my team; I hate when Pat Beverley plays on the team my team is playing. And that's a high compliment.)

Paul had 41 and was at his all-time best, which is saying something considering he's among the all-time best at his position.

Which brings us to this question this morning: Where does Chris Paul rank all time among point guards? Also, how much would he move up the rankings with a title? Could he pass, say, John Stockton if he leads the Suns to a championship?

Paul's Suns await the winner of the East, a battle between teetering rosters that are adding key names to the injury report on a game-by-game basis. Game 4 between the Bucks and the Hawks is tonight, and the status of each team's best player — Milwaukee's two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Atlanta's rising star Trae Young — is unknown. I expect each to try to give it a go. I also expect neither to be at 100%, but I would think Young has a better chance to be closer to full-go than Giannis.

That would be extremely good news for one aggressive bettor and Hawks fan whose story started circulating this week.

As Nate McMillan was trying to lift the Hawks from their first-half mediocrity, one Hawks believer — Mader if this is you, uh, maybe you could buy us a CoCola or 20 — put $10,000 on the Hawks to win the East at plus-5000 (bet $100, win $5,000). Two more wins nets that bettor $500K.

But that's not all. The same bettor put another $10,000 on the Hawks to win the whole thing at +15000, and six more wins would mean an additional $1.5 million.

Giddy up.

Hail state

Man, a vast majority of Starkville descended on Omaha over the last 72 hours. And those who made the journey will never forget it.

Mississippi State upset Vandy to win the College World Series and captured its first team national title in school history.

That makes it cool. It's doubly cool for a baseball program that has long been viewed as one of the true blue bloods, even without a natty.

Now, that line item is wiped away. And I know this: All of the State fans who made the trek will never forget it.

Deep down I know it will be a long shot for Auburn to ever win another major sport natty, and I missed the 2010 BCS title game.

If they get back, this guy will be there.

So for the State fans who trusted their gut and made the move and the sacrifice to see it in person, congrats. I'm sure you'll never forget it.

This and that

— Yes, today is the first day a lot of college athletes can sign endorsement deals. But it will forever be Bobby Bonilla Day for a lot of us. The former Mets outfielder who took deferred payments rather than a $5-plus million buyout for the Madoff-made, cash-strapped Mets at the time gets $1.193 million on this day through 2035. Bonilla's deferred payments turned $5.9 million into $1.19 million — plus interest — for 25 years. As Wind in His Hair told Dances With Wolves, "Good trade."

— Speaking of the NBA playoffs, Frank Kaminsky did himself no favors late Wednesday night. Pat Beverley was tossed for two-hand-shoving Chris Paul in the back. Kaminsky was right there and pretty much played patty-cake with a frustrated Beverley, who just put hands on Kaminsky's team's superstar. Uh, Frank, you gotta light Beverley up right there, my man.

— How about some crazy baseball stats for $100, Alex? (Side question: That "Jeopardy!" reference has always ended with Alex; now that Alex is taking the dirt nap, should we change it or leave it out of respect?) Anywell, according to Stats by Stats on the interwebs, Wednesday night was just the second time in the live ball era that five MLB teams had half-innings with seven-plus runs scored. The last was in 1930 when the Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Senators and Robins did it. Yeah, when you're joining a team list with the Robins, you're doing something that has not been done in a while.

— Bill Cosby was released from prison on a procedural technicality. So there's that. As far as the longstanding 5-at-10 ban on references to his once-beloved TV show and his all-time great stand-up routine, I say they remain in place. He was not found innocent of the despicable charges levied against him. He was freed on some legal maneuvers from his high-dollar defense team.

— Case in point No. 4,507 that the kneeling protest during the national anthem is a "Look at me, I'm woke and with it; dang the Man" comes from Roseanna Arquette, who says she'll kneel for the national anthem for the rest of her life. Have we heard from the breakfast-rush waitress at the Golden Corral in Dayton yet, because they have the same big-picture impact in my mind. At least the waitress in Dayton brings those yummy yeast rolls. Name the last thing Arquette did that you remember.

— Braves found a way to take the bullpen-related stress off their fan base. Score 20 bleepin' runs.

— Warning, there's some graphic details in this story about the assault allegations against Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer. Harsh stuff.

— You know the rules. Here's Paschall on the ever-spinning turnstile of the UT transfer portal.

— Been a big week for awards for Baylor baseball. Cooper Kinney was named Gatorade state player of the year. MaxPreps' final ranking has the Red Raiders as the No. 8 team in the country.

— Holy Buckets of generosity and game-changing change. David Geffen, who has made a few dollars in the entertainment industry, donated $150 million to Yale's aptly renamed Geffen School of Drama, and now every drama major can go to the Ivy League school tuition free. Really.

— While we are talking about NIL, it appears that a) some Iowa hoops guy is doing an autograph signing at a Des Moines fireworks shop and b) Auburn QB Bo Nix has inked a deal with Milo's Sweet Tea.

Today's questions

Got a mailbag question? Need it ASAP.

What game did your team play that you missed that you know will forever eat at you?

Where is Chris Paul all time among point guards?

As for today, July 1, let's review.

Wow, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was released on this day 30 years ago. Yes, 30 years ago.

One, that movie holds up exceptionally well. Two, I assert that it's there with "Aliens," Godfather 2 and "The Empire Strikes Back" as the best true sequels ever made. Three, well, you get the idea. I am a fan.

Happy birthday Dan Aykroyd, who is 69 today. First, kudos to one of the original out-kick-your-coverage dudes, since he married Donna Dixon. Hubba hubba.

Second, what's Aykroyd's Rushmore? Go and remember the mailbag.