Adam Weitsman announces NIL plans

[Cuseregular]

Is AW our biggest supporter?

#2

 

[zjscuse]

I don’t understand the agenda here on the part of Weitsman. He retweeted this garbage this morning. The divorce is final why not just shake hands and walk away? And I don’t understand the agenda of Adler other than to suck up to Weitsman. He is a SU alum and you would think he would not want to make University look bad any more than he already has by being Weitsman’s puppet. Quoting the attorney saying that Syracuse will have trouble competing without Weitsman does just that.

But make no mistake despite this bizarre war on Cuse, there are a lot of good people who love the program, are donating to SU and working hard on NIL to help Syracuse get back to where we need to be.

….. the agenda is the university foolishly pushed away its biggest donor during the nil era lol

 

[Cuseregular]

….. the agenda is the university foolishly pushed away its biggest donor during the nil are lol

Wrong and right. He’s not their biggest donor.

 

[richmondcuse03]

I mean the guy had special seats created for him. I’m sure he paid extra but the entire song and dance has been about him, not the school or programs. These stories only confirm that.

 

[richmondcuse03]

#2

That was based on some yearly lists. If you look at cumulative amounts, it’s different. Look at what the Lally’s did with one donation.

 

[zjscuse]

Wrong and right. He’s not their biggest donor.

Ok a very important chess peice may I rebute lol everyone crying about personal gain blah blah blah. Yea he’s a highly successful person the situation was win win for both parties. Who cares if its to better his brand it helped better ours! College sports are a dirty business always have been always will be. Moves like this will be the equivalent of the university deemphasizing football and throwing it into utter purgatory. Delusional is most definitely the correct word to use here.

 

[Consigliere]

And that is exactly why I felt he was getting more out of the relationship than Syracuse was. My hunch was only confirmed by what JB said off the cuff. But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe Dean Wormer really just does want to get rid of the jocks.

I wouldn't say he was getting more. It was simply a symbiotic relationship where both sides benefitted to some degree. There is now a philosophical difference on how that relationship should work and you can respect both sides. As such, the relationship, like any business deal that no longer works for both parties is terminated, or at least paused.

 

[Cusefan0307]

….. the agenda is the university foolishly pushed away its biggest donor during the nil are lol

He wasn’t and isn’t their biggest NIL donor.

 

[Consigliere]

#2

Upstate Shredding was the #2 donor to the Orange Club in 2018 and 2019 IIRC. If you have old game programs the top donors are listed in order of contribution. With the Legends Society launch and fundraising for the Lally Center I am not sure where he would stand now. And any data would not include his NIL initiatives. Whether that is incremental, or redirectional is unknown.

 

[Bill Orange]

I mean the guy had special seats created for him. I’m sure he paid extra but the entire song and dance has been about him, not the school or programs. These stories only confirm that.

There are four seats at the table that are next to opposing team's bench. I am sure the cost is similar, but you wouldn't know the gentleman's name that has them unless you read the story in which he was mentioned.

 

[JustPherU]

He wasn’t and isn’t their biggest NIL donor.

And the number 1 is?

 

[cto]

Is AW our biggest supporter?

Absolutely not. Several hundreds of people give more to SU than he does. And he's far from the biggest supporter of SU athletics. For starters, take a look at the John Lally Athletic Complex. Not just Lally himself, but all the additional donors who have given 100s of thousands to fund specific parts of it. Same with the Melo Center.

 

[Cusefan0307]

And the number 1 is?

If those people wanted to be known you’d hear about them, but they don’t do business the way Adam does.

 

[cto]

I mean the guy had special seats created for him. I’m sure he paid extra but the entire song and dance has been about him, not the school or programs. These stories only confirm that.

The seats were not created for him. They were created as a way to raise additional money for the AD. Court side seat-holders were offered a chance to buy them before they were "sold" to him.

BTW, seats and suites are technically not donations ... because you get something in return for your money. The IRS very specifically does not recognize seats and suites at arenas as charitable contributions because it considers them commercial transactions. You cannot get credit for a charitable donation from the IRS by buying seats.

 

[CuseCPT]

This is how competitive and powerful people react when acting magnanimously for years and years going above and beyond to support a cause/university they didn’t even go to, developing relationships and a love for the people and institution along the way only to be rudely (emphasis on rudely without ANY respect), rudely be thrown to the curb and disrespected only because you don’t fit the institutional profile and “look” of whom you want supporting you.

And then after a lifetime of trying to do the opposite and being successful doing it the right way, giving back etc., have so many say well they must know he’s still dirty or something suggesting dark nefarious ill begotten gain as the excuse when they know full well that’s bs but still do nothing to counter the narrative, in fact continuing to say nothing at all.

Don’t blame the guy, I hope he goes scorched earth and it results in new leadership that gets it that guys like this don’t grow on trees and they should be coddled and supported.

I certainly would do this if I were in his position and treated this way. Now that I know with CERTAINTY that the guys above board in his dealing and they don’t like his style of flying too close to the sun as he brings attention to his own causes too, it’s unconscionable what syracuse is doing to this guy.

Not that they’ve chosen to push him aside but no the manner af how they’ve done it (not returning his calls emails to have a meeting of the minds, not letting him bid on dome naming rights, etc - all of which I know with CERTAINTY to be true), not giving a modicum of respect in the process to allow people like you - not you specifically - but his critics to say he’s dirty or must be dirty.

Very nice school. I didn’t go to syracuse but have been a 50+ townie fan fanatically devoted my whole life. I went to a different school in part for the purity of the place re sports (could’ve played at SU), avoiding this type thing, so I look at them and the level of sport transactionally as a business.

The business of sport at the high level they inhabit, what they’ve done to this guy is simply bad business (again the manner of which, not the decision), and simply wrong ethically and morally.

I get it his reaction, syracuse is reaping what they sow, expect more for a while until, like me and others like me certainly I’m sure, the slow ugly mess of a separation occurs and mellows with time.

I agree that he is competitive and powerful, disagree with just about everything else you said.

 

[CuseCPT]

I wouldn't say he was getting more. It was simply a symbiotic relationship where both sides benefitted to some degree. There is now a philosophical difference on how that relationship should work and you can respect both sides. As such, the relationship, like any business deal that no longer works for both parties is terminated, or at least paused.

If the relationship was truly symbiotic, I think it would have been continued and nurtured.

 

[ROCuse]

Absolutely not. Several hundreds of people give more to SU than he does. And he's far from the biggest supporter of SU athletics. For starters, take a look at the John Lally Athletic Center. Not just Lally himself, but all the additional donors who have given 100s of thousands to fund specific parts of it. Same with the Melo Center.

That’s the problem I have with the quotes in the article. “Shock and surprise” “…pushing away your biggest supporter.” It’s disingenuous. And it reads like SU has no other big donors and we’re doomed without Adam Weitsman.

We don’t even know how much he’s given in NIL and what percentage of the overall NIL it is.

 

[Cuseregular]

I agree that he is competitive and powerful, disagree with just about everything else you said.

So you, like many I know, are suggesting he’s dirty. Would you people quit beating around the bush show some evidence of this already?!

I know him tangentially having met several times, and I’d like to believe my sh!te detector at age 60 on character is good.

 

[Cusefan69]

That’s the problem. We are getting one side of the story. Nobody is talking to anyone else who supports NIL at Syracuse besides Weitsman.

Why?

The same can be said about Brent Axe and Syracuse.com.

I generally appreciate the coverage, but one side is missing.

Wait a second...I was told Axe was a true journalist and asks the tough questions to both sides. Am I hearing correctly that Axe is just grinding the other side without fair reporting on Syracuse? How come our purist fans who were outraged about Axes not towing the company line on the radio are not outraged by his slanted writing on this topic? It's an outrage I tell ya, an outrage! (Crickets).

 

[Consigliere]

You can spew misinformation and nonsense, Scott. I really could care less. But get your facts straight, please. I don't have an agenda. I am not Adam's puppet. I don't hate SU. I went to SU. I'm a proud alum, class of 2000. Today's article is based on comments from a NIL expert. I asked SU for comment. They declined. Also, in the almost seven years I've written for the site I run, I've written thousands of articles. 95 percent of them are positive about my alma mater.

Neil - I appreciate your posts, your blog and the information you share. Thank you. Full disclosure, I knew Adam very casually back in the 90s when he owned the building I worked in and would visit us regularly. Always enjoyed talking with him then and think he is a better man today as that was prior to his legal issues and becoming a father. I have been one of the biggest supports of Adam on this forum from the beginning refuting claims of others who denigrated his motives and character.

I am also a proud alum, class of, well a few years before 2000, and appreciated his support of the University and its programs.

On the other hand I am very critical of the NCAA and it's failure to put any kind of reasonable guard rails around the whole NIL fiasco. I am the founder of the SyraCRUZ Tailgate NIL initiative (we are open for 2023 donations, btw. Jump on board!) We have seen the positive side of what NIL can do for our student athletes. We supported Enrique Cruz, Chris Elmore, Benny Williams, Joe Girard, Olivia Owens, Dyaisha Fair and Riley Figueiras last year and that project has only heightened our passion. However, the darker side more than counteracts all of those positives.

Here's what I know. Boosters CANNOT be involved in recruiting. NIL deals CANNOT be tied to a requirement that a student athlete attend a specific school. Public outrage is growing daily from the House Commerce committee hearings to the new head of the NCAA to the Charles Barkley interview on 60 Minutes. Something is coming to police the abuses of these givens and while Adam's deals complied with the letter of the law if you squint enough, he was obviously recruiting star high school players to come to Syracuse. I would like to be able to rationalize that everyone else is doing it, so we should too, but that's not me. I understand that Adam feels he cannot do things low key and I respect that and his decision to step away from using NIL as a recruiting tool.

What bothers me, though, is that he apparently will not be participating in any NIL opportunities for current and enrolled student athlets, either through the known collectives or on his own. This lower key level of support doesn't get the publicity of the six and seven figure offers to recruits but is argualbly more important to a broader number of student athletes and fosters a culture and perception that the Syracuse Orange community takes care of their players. Hopefully he can find a way through this.

And next time you talk to him, tell him his old Endicott Johnson buddy says hello and thank you for everything you do for the community,

 

[cusefan88]

Absolutely not. Several hundreds of people give more to SU than he does. And he's far from the biggest supporter of SU athletics. For starters, take a look at the John Lally Athletic Center. Not just Lally himself, but all the additional donors who have given 100s of thousands to fund specific parts of it. Same with the Melo Center.

Cliff Ensley as well. Gave to SUAD for facilities and helps run the football-focused NIL Collective.

 

[Cuse181]

So we can all agree AWs NIL lawyer/advisor is a pretty partial party in this discussion, right? Fine to get his perspective but it’s obviously heavily biased toward the interests of his client and we shouldn’t be surprised he made such a matter of fact statement.

 

[Consigliere]

If the relationship was truly symbiotic, I think it would have been continued and nurtured.

“Was” is the operative word here. The relationship changed when the methods were addressed.

 

[CuseCPT]

So you, like many I know, are suggesting he’s dirty. Would you people quit beating around the bush show some evidence of this already?!

I know him tangentially having met several times, and I’d like to believe my sh!te detector at age 60 on character is good.

I don't think he's dirty. He's obviously a very capable businessman and he does a lot of great charitable stuff. I'll key on the word you used that I really started to disagree with you on, magnanimous. I don't think his relationship with SU was as magnanimous as he loudly proclaims it to have been. I think he was using the school for a lot of the perks of owning a sports team and none of the headaches and that based on the balance of costs, benefits, and risks, the administration wisely decided the arrangement was not in their best interest to continue.

 

[cuseallday]

That’s the problem. We are getting one side of the story. Nobody is talking to anyone else who supports NIL at Syracuse besides Weitsman.

Why?

The same can be said about Brent Axe and Syracuse.com.

I generally appreciate the coverage, but one side is missing.

If and when SU comments, I will gladly write about it and tell their side of the story.