Let’s Talk Lady Vols NIL

#51
#51
This is news? Mercedes? I’m pretty sure this would’ve been done already by a UT player if this had been the type of vehicle that Rickea wanted through her NIL deal with Mercedes.
volautoknox putting players in vehicles like this every day lol.
 
#53
#53
glv98 said:
So are you saying funds donated to the Vol Club can't be earmarked for Lady Vol basketball? If so I wonder why the LVs think moving new players to the Vol Club will give them more funds to work with. Sounded like they had some kind of guarantee.

I haven't gotten a reply to my email asking the Vol Club this question.
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I'm not saying it can and I'm not saying it can't. Any of these groups can do anything they want (within the framework of NIL) based on their own motivations. They can also say one thing and do another unless there is some sort of written contract between the donor and the group. It's not a good idea to tell donors they are going to support one group or sport over others and then do something different but without a written contract, they certainly could.
 
#54
#54
volfan102455 said:
There is only so much money - the question will eventually be - do you want the player or the better facilities? Lack of the best facilities, coaches, etc. will also be a factor.
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Indeed. One common observation I've heard over the years is just how average most professional team practice / training facilities have always been. I recall several articles with photos that showed those facilities to be real dumps. Like, borderline indistinguishable from a community recreational center in places. At the pro level, you're expected to handle your business, including your own development and your own physical maintenance. No one cares about giving you all the comforts, because you're not being paid to be comfortable, you're being paid to produce and to win. All that fancy locker room, fancy equipment, the shiny glitzy polish, all that - you don't get that crap in the pro leagues. You want comforts? Get them yourself, with your pro money.

Correspondingly, in college, where paying players upfront was never the plan, the money went into facilities and resources which were available to all who participated.

Not anymore though. Especially as it becomes more professional and less about supporting young adults, I would expect to see similar trends at the college level. If the only thing that gets you "top athletes" is direct payment, why spend 20 million on a fancy-pants weight room? Hell, you want training? Get it yourself. Because you'll be paid to do just that.
 
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#57
#57
volfan102455 said:
There is only so much money - the question will eventually be - do you want the player or the better facilities? Lack of the best facilities, coaches, etc. will also be a factor.

NIL should be the result of an individual player being recognizable enough that just who they are can be used for promotion. It is quickly turning into an employment like process verses what it was intended to be.

Using Clark as an example - she did not need Iowa for NIL. Her play on the court created the NIL opportunities. Same is true for Reese. Those opportunities will follow them into the next chapter of their life. For most players, the NIL will end when they have played their last game because it is not really something they created.
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Sorry but that is just mistaken. Schools are falling over themselves to get in the SEC or the BIG "10" because of the massive TV contract revenue that will flow to schools in those conferences-- they will have $ to maintain state of the art facilities.

NIL comes from businesses, corporations and private donors. It seems like the real action in NIL is getting to be a star at an elite program and then getting the pro-style promotion deals with big advertisers, like Clark with State Farm.

Clark and Reese may not be the best example because their careers arose during the transition period. JuJU may be the more relevant example. I have heard that she wanted to "play close to home" which is PR friendly way of saying that USC came up with a big NIL for her. But that package is chump change to what she is getting into now--AT&T campaigns etc. To get those really lucrative deals, you have to become a star player.

So, high schoolers do create their initial NIL deals by becoming "ranked" players. After that jump start, their value as endorsers to big companies will depend on whether they can attain celebrity status, which is not only about play on the court. Look at Rickea, great player, elite stats, and lets be honest, she looks like a model, But, she ain't doing State Farm and AT&T commercials. Tennessee as an also ran team just was not the platform.

I think that is a bit of a barrier right now for LV recruiting. It is not just the initial NIL deal but whether it is a platform for bigger things. To overcome that liability, the LVs will need to get back in the national conversation as a title contender

On facilities, super rich donors will always be happy to have their names brandished on a permanent building-- the Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags training facility.

Like everything else, NIL is going to become a rich get richer affair. The SEC and Big 10 schools are going to leave everyone else in the dust (with some ACC schools like Duke in men's b-ball maybe able to buck the trend).

But you will also see a big funding gap forming between the upper tier and lower tiers of those conferences.

For any given season, $ does not guarantee success. Over the long run, you would expect deeper pocket schools to outperform the paupers but there will always be Cinderellas, for whom everything comes together for one season, who beat the odds to some extent--kind of like NC St on the men's side this year.

Sports always finds a way to create a captivating story.
 
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