UW learning how to navigate NIL era

Jan. 23—LARAMIE — While deals at Power Five programs have dominated the discussion about the NCAA's new policy allowing student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness, schools like the University of Wyoming have also been forced to adapt to the NIL craze.

Roughly 40 UW student-athletes across all sports have agreed to NIL deals, ranging from in-kind sponsorships with companies like Liquid I.V. to commission-based arrangements with local retailers such as Brown and Gold Outlet.

Just under seven months into this new era, Wyoming — like countless other universities across the country — is still learning to navigate a topic that has turned college sports on its head. This process includes finding a middle ground between maximizing earning potential for student-athletes, while not getting swept up in what's happening at places like the University of Texas — where offensive linemen receive $50,000 per year from an Austin nonprofit — or even Brigham Young, which has a deal to cover the cost of tuition for walk-on football players.

UW athletics director Tom Burman recognizes a need to increase NIL opportunities for his student-athletes, who, at the high-end of their deals, are making a few hundred dollars at the moment. He's also aware this challenge isn't unique to UW, noting that "nobody is really creating significant NIL partnerships in the Mountain West."

"Right now, it's minimal," Burman said. "Cumulatively, it's not adding up to much, especially when you have to pay taxes on it, create an LLC and do all the work associated with it, if necessary. I think you'll see more this spring and summer. You'll see more kids do camps and clinics, and when they have more free time, they'll get out and do more work for entities. But right now, there's not a lot.

"There's some dialogue with some corporations, foundations and nonprofits that might benefit kids in the $1,000 range. We're not talking about a lot, but even that would make life a lot easier for a few (student-athletes). If you're a young person, and you can earn an extra $5,000 a year while you're competing in athletics on a full scholarship ... that's a pretty nice little boost. That's what we're trying to get to. We can't chase the money the SEC is doing. That's foolish, and we never have been able to do that."

The NCAA's policy is rather vague, directing athletic departments to adhere to state laws when it comes to NIL. With Wyoming being one of the few states without such laws, UW has been forced to create its own rules, modeled after what's happened in places like Florida, Colorado, California and Ohio.

UW tries to keep a "bare bones" policy in terms of what it restricts, but there are a few exceptions — such as endorsing alcohol, tobacco and marijuana products. The school frequently sends out potential opportunities and examples of what other student-athletes have done, while limiting its direct involvement in the facilitation of deals.

In addition to a lack of direction from the NCAA, there hasn't been much guidance in terms of what is and isn't technically allowed — with schools constantly trying to circumvent the few rules in place.

"People are just constantly trying to push the threshold and find creative loopholes, based on what's in their state law and things like that," UW associate AD for compliance Peter Prigge said. "There are a lot of conversations and trying to figure out how this works. We hit July 1, and everybody was going, 'What is happening? What is this?'

"We saw (Fresno State women's basketball's) Cavinder twins get a six-figure deal, and their picture is in Times Square and everything like that. Everybody was going, 'This is going to blow up; this is crazy,' but it really has kind of leveled off. Student-athletes are still going through the process of feeling it out, seeing what it looks like and hearing what other athletes are doing."

An area Wyoming where has placed an emphasis recently is education — not just with its student-athletes, but with local businesses, as well. Burman, Prigge and several other UW administrators had a call with 40 to 50 boosters last month to discuss the rules and what's possible in terms of future partnerships.

One business that's been particularly active in the NIL process is Brown and Gold Outlet, a UW-centric retailer with locations in Cheyenne and Laramie. Prigge says Brown and Gold is working with 10 to 12 student-athletes, including UW men's basketball players Xavier DuSell, Hunter Maldonado and Graham Ike.

These three have T-shirts and jerseys for sale at the store, with a percentage of the profits going back to them.

"It's awesome," DuSell said. "Going to the games or just walking around Laramie and seeing people wearing the shirt is kind of surreal. I'm just blessed to be able to have that opportunity."

While a growing number of UW student-athletes are getting involved with NIL deals, the reality remains that they face a disadvantage when it comes to market size and location. As the least-populated state in the country, there are only so many opportunities available in Wyoming. There's also an undeniable edge in exposure that Power Five programs provide.

Niccolo Posarelli — founder and CEO of Front Runner Sports, an agency that offers representation for student-athletes and consulting services for schools — hopes to see the gap reduced between the haves and have-nots of the NIL world. For UW, and the majority of its Mountain West brethren, however, that's not the case at the moment.

"The Mountain West is kind of in that middle ground between Power Five and heavy mid-majors that the average American probably doesn't know about," Posarelli said. "In my opinion, you just see a difference because of the infrastructure of the cities. I had a client at Washington State and a client at Wyoming, and the infrastructure and businesses that are there are really different in terms of what they can offer a kid financially and product-wise.

"Going forward, hopefully soon, there is going to be some middle ground between mid-majors and Power Fives. But with strength of schedule, exposure, TV rights, all that stuff, it's tough. It's tough to compete with those places, where you basically have to pay to play them."

Despite these obstacles, Posarelli said he can see significant earning potential for high-profile UW student-athletes.

The average starter would still likely be limited to the low thousands in terms of annual income, but for an emerging star — say Josh Allen in 2017 — the precedent has been set for Group of Five players to receive significant NIL deals.

"Let's say I'm the face of the program at a mid-major," Posarelli said. "A good example is Malik Willis, the quarterback at Liberty. He did really well in NIL, and he's at a smaller-tier school than Wyoming. He just did so much stuff and had this crazy exposure that he ended up doing really well.

"I could see a guy like that going to Wyoming and making $20,000 or $30,000, maybe $50,000 (off five to 10 deals per year) if he's really leveraging himself well and has someone working for him."

Building a brand

While the five-figure deals available at larger programs aren't likely coming to UW anytime soon, that doesn't mean opportunities aren't available in Laramie.

Prigge points to the NIL success of Missouri offensive lineman Drake Heismeyer, who has turned his love for food into a revenue stream, as one example.

"These deals don't have to be huge," Prigge said. "There is a great following (for) Drake Heismeyer ... Probably his last 50-60 posts on Instagram have all been about food, so this dude — offensive lineman, big boy, the whole thing — he takes all this stuff to restaurants and says he'd love to post and say everyone needs to come down.

"One of the places he goes to is Mellow Mushroom pizza, or think from a standpoint in Laramie, they go to Born in a Barn, they go to Rib and Chop, they go to The Library. He could probably go into one of these places and say, 'I'll post on social media, guys. I have a good following with athletes and fans, and you give me a free meal or a $25 gift card.' If you get 100 free meals at roughly $10-$20 a meal, you're doing pretty good. The biggest thing is they think too big on this."

Posarelli notes that as much as an individual's athletic success plays a role in their marketability, their ability to build a brand is equally pivotal.

"It could be the last guy on the bench going to get pizza money if he builds out his Instagram better or does TikTok, or does podcasts or Q&As with fans," he said.

Social media is one massive aspect, as is finding ways to differentiate oneself from the standard student-athlete.

"Just finding opportunities where they can show themselves as more than just a blank player," Posarelli said of his message to prospective clients. "What we try to talk about all the time is how can I continuously be different than the receiver to the left or right of me. Go start a podcast or one of those other avenues that are important.

"You look at guys at the next level, what you're striving to be. Let's use Tom Brady, for example. He has all the endorsements going on, but also has nonprofit work, he has a podcast, he has his own logo and his own brand. Those are all things you can do now. We try to get each one of our kids going with some nonprofit or charity work, because it's good public light as you reach out to businesses looking for money."

Brave new world

When combined with the NCAA's new one-time transfer rule that allows players to move between schools freely without having to sit out a year, NIL has given college coaches a decision to make — embrace it, or fall behind the times.

UW men's basketball coach Jeff Linder discussed the topic last fall, and while he expressed frustration with how it has "turned into more of recruiting inducements and legalized cheating," he also acknowledged that there is no choice but to adapt.

"It's one of those deals where you can sit there and complain about it, but if I want to sit here and complain about it, I'll probably be a high school coach here in a matter of years," Linder said. "You have to figure out a way to compete with the other teams in your league and around the country in order to be at this level. If not, you might as well go down to Division II."

'Wild, wild West'

As UW attempts to provide its student-athletes with NIL opportunities, while also keeping itself out of the NCAA's crosshairs, the fact remains there is little clarity on what is actually allowed — and what, if any, repercussions await those who cross the line.

The aforementioned deals involving Texas and BYU student-athletes are far from the only ones of their nature. Miami booster John Ruiz announced last week he had struck deals with 10 UM football players totaling nearly $400,000 to promote his medical technology product, LifeWallet, and that's just one example.

NCAA enforcement currently has in the neighborhood of 10 active investigations into NIL practices at various schools. Whether anything will come from these, however, is yet to be seen.

"(There are things that are) outside the bounds of what we're talking about here," Prigge said. "Until something happens from the NCAA and this stops, or somebody gets in trouble for it, it's literally the wild, wild West."

Josh Criswell covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at jcriswell@wyosports.net or 307-755-3325. Follow him on Twitter at @criswell_sports.