NIL struggles

[kingtidge]

I can only tell you what I have first hand knowledge of - no conjecture or assumptions. The bulk of Eddie’s package was paid through the collective but not funded by a single donor. In fact, our SyraCRUZ tailgate executed a small deal with Eddie through OrangeUnited. And locals have seen him on several commercials paid by businesses. It is certainly possible that there was one major donor who fronted a high percentage of the payments. It is even more possible that when Eddie came back with a higher than agreed upon price tag a single donor stepped up and funded a substantial piece of that increase. But no one patron covered the full cost.

And the INFLCR exchange as part of Project Accelerate offers guidance for the student athlete but is primarily a transaction engine for businesses and individuals to communicate and execute projects with them under the observation of Mark Wheeler and SU Compliance. I ran 100% of our SyraCRUZ Tailgate NIL projects through INFLCR before we grew too large and I turned administration of our program over to OrangeUnited. The platform is still live, though I cannot confirm it is still actively being used by SU.

Influencer

app.inflcr.com

Thx. for the clarification. Facts ALWAYS appreciated!

The tapping of one whale to cover eddie's late top-off request sounds very feasible as well. Portal was closing and he was gonna possibly walk (was it Tx A&M that was tampering with an upped offer late???, I forget)... and we needed to get him back across the line quickly.

Also, it looks like the administration signed a 5-year deal with INFLNCR in 2020 and the deal is up in November (if it isn't or will not be extended):

Syracuse expands partnership with INFLCR - Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse Athletics and INFLCR are extending and expanding their partnership with a five-year, department-wide agreement.

cuse.com

 

[Trueblue25]

I can only tell you what I have first hand knowledge of - no conjecture or assumptions. The bulk of Eddie’s package was paid through the collective but not funded by a single donor. In fact, our SyraCRUZ tailgate executed a small deal with Eddie through OrangeUnited. And locals have seen him on several commercials paid by businesses. It is certainly possible that there was one major donor who fronted a high percentage of the payments. It is even more possible that when Eddie came back with a higher than agreed upon price tag a single donor stepped up and funded a substantial piece of that increase. But no one patron covered the full cost.

And the INFLCR exchange as part of Project Accelerate offers guidance for the student athlete but is primarily a transaction engine for businesses and individuals to communicate and execute projects with them under the observation of Mark Wheeler and SU Compliance. I ran 100% of our SyraCRUZ Tailgate NIL projects through INFLCR before we grew too large and I turned administration of our program over to OrangeUnited. The platform is still live, though I cannot confirm it is still actively being used by SU.

Influencer

app.inflcr.com

Really generous sharing of information, jives. Thanks Consigliere

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think they did a fine job filling out the roster this year.
Cautiously optimistic. Lots of talented guys.
Can Red create a deep enough rotation to keep the top 10 guys engaged and playing hard?

 

[2B20Again]

Ah, the excitement of star-filled courtsides to drive a 16-17 record.

Amen. Not one celebrity made a free throw. All flash, no cash. Looking for pub in all the wrong places.

 

[atlanticuse]

I think they did a fine job filling out the roster this year.
Cautiously optimistic. Lots of talented guys.
Can Red create a deep enough rotation to keep the top 10 guys engaged and playing hard?

this year will show whether Red is capable of on-the-floor coaching.

 

[orangefog]

Amen. Not one celebrity made a free throw. All flash, no cash. Looking for pub in all the wrong places.

The point of the celebrities was to add to the game experience for the fans. And, I am sure the players enjoyed meeting Tom Brady, Giannis, Iverson...Most of those teams were terrible, at least having celebrities at games made them more interesting.

 

[Cusefan95]

The point of the celebrities was to add to the game experience for the fans. And, I am sure the players enjoyed meeting Tom Brady, Giannis, Iverson...Most of those teams were terrible, at least having celebrities at games made them more interesting.

I’d want to see some hard data showing that celebrities watching a terrible team help improve attendance or drive donations. I suspect they don’t move the needle at all, which is why you’re falling back on “fan experience”. For the record, I doubt there’s any data to support celebrities impact fan experience at all - but since whatever it does do plus $5 will get my a coffee at Starbucks, I don’t care.

Bringing Tom Brady was about feeding one man’s ego, and had no on-the-court positive impact on Syracuse athletics at all. So why do it, or pretend it mattered?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

The point of the celebrities was to add to the game experience for the fans. And, I am sure the players enjoyed meeting Tom Brady, Giannis, Iverson...Most of those teams were terrible, at least having celebrities at games made them more interesting.

I guess some posters want to ask Spike Lee, Fat Joe and John McEnroe why they paid good money to sit courtside for terrible Knicks teams over the year. Some people think Jack Nicholson started the trend, but it goes back to the Ben Hur days. Celebrities use to line up for the chariot races.

Maybe Weitsman paid these celebs through their charities, but many of them enjoyed their experience at the Dome. Not all, but some were really into it.

 

[orangefog]

I’d want to see some hard data showing that celebrities watching a terrible team help improve attendance or drive donations. I suspect they don’t move the needle at all, which is why you’re falling back on “fan experience”. For the record, I doubt there’s any data to support celebrities impact fan experience at all - but since whatever it does do plus $5 will get my a coffee at Starbucks, I don’t care.

Bringing Tom Brady was about feeding one man’s ego, and had no on-the-court positive impact on Syracuse athletics at all. So why do it, or pretend it mattered?

The comments section on posts about those games are loaded with people saying how much they enjoyed having the celebrities at games. Some of those celebrities more than others. Many people got to interact with them. The players got to meet them. Don't you think the players enjoyed meeting most of those celebrities, particularly guys like Giannis and Iverson? I don't think they improved the attendance, I don't think it was intended to. But, it improved the game experience for many. You can't say you don't care, because this obviously bothers you quite a bit. There is no arguing, Adam definitely likes the attention when bringing celebrities. To that he says "so what?" It's weird to be bothered by it so much.

 

[Cusefan95]

The comments section on posts about those games are loaded with people saying how much they enjoyed having the celebrities at games. Some of those celebrities more than others. Many people got to interact with them. The players got to meet them. Don't you think the players enjoyed meeting most of those celebrities, particularly guys like Giannis and Iverson? I don't think they improved the attendance, I don't think it was intended to. But, it improved the game experience for many. You can't say you don't care, because this obviously bothers you quite a bit. There is no arguing, Adam definitely likes the attention when bringing celebrities. To that he says "so what?" It's weird to be bothered by it so much.

…can we monetize those comments?

Because if it’s not monetizable to a significant dollar value or help with on court performance - does that really benefit Syracuse athletics in any tangible way? (Hint: it doesn’t). It’s about one man’s ego trip getting publicity for himself while providing no (or relatively low) value to Syracuse athletics. And some are shocked that Syracuse isn’t interested in that arrangement?

His PR work in duping some fans into thinking he’s been wronged here is top notch though. I give it five stars.

 

[orangefog]

…can we monetize those comments?

Because if it’s not monetizable to a significant dollar value or help with on court performance - does that really benefit Syracuse athletics in any tangible way? (Hint: it doesn’t). It’s about one man’s ego trip getting publicity for himself while providing no (or relatively low) value to Syracuse athletics. And some are shocked that Syracuse isn’t interested in that arrangement?

His PR work in duping some fans into thinking he’s been wronged here is top notch though. I give it five stars.

He was spending his own money. He was filling seats, which he purchased (money), with people he chose to bring. Who cares why he brought them? Why does it bother people so much. But, a benefit is that the players got to interact with the celebrities. It was a little perk. Not a huge one, but I am sure the players liked it.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

…can we monetize those comments?

Because if it’s not monetizable to a significant dollar value or help with on court performance - does that really benefit Syracuse athletics in any tangible way? (Hint: it doesn’t). It’s about one man’s ego trip getting publicity for himself while providing no (or relatively low) value to Syracuse athletics. And some are shocked that Syracuse isn’t interested in that arrangement?

His PR work in duping some fans into thinking he’s been wronged here is top notch though. I give it five stars.

Why does it have to be monetized? This is Syracuse, NY, in Central New York. All people do is complain that attendance is down because the team stinks. Breaking News: The attendance was down before the team stunk. Not everyone can afford tickets but they can afford $200 for a 55 inch TV on Black Friday and a six pack of Utica Club.

Weitsman is polarizing. Man lands on moon. We've known that. And Tom Brady and Josh Allen aren't going to go on Ticketmaster or Stubhub and purchase their own tickets.

Not everything Weitsman does is going to be a home run. I'm sure Pickens and the Walton family and even Lally have had swings and misses. He's new school. They are old school. But people shouldn't automatically denigrate him because he's Adam Weitsman.

 

[Cusefan95]

He was spending his own money. He was filling seats, which he purchased (money), with people he chose to bring. Who cares why he brought them? Why does it bother people so much. But, a benefit is that the players got to interact with the celebrities. It was a little perk. Not a huge one, but I am sure the players liked it.

Is meeting Tom Brady a "perk" that would convince any player to come to Syracuse? Since the answer is "no" - how exactly is this a benefit that matters in the grand scheme of things? And lots of people buy seats, so BFD.

I'm not bothered by AW spending money as he sees fit. I am annoyed by him (and you) pretending what he did spend was some huge benefit to Syracuse athletics. It wasn't. He could be an asset to Syracuse...he doesn't want to be. Period, end of story.

 

[orangefog]

Is meeting Tom Brady a "perk" that would convince any player to come to Syracuse? Since the answer is "no" - how exactly is this a benefit that matters in the grand scheme of things? And lots of people buy seats, so BFD.

I'm not bothered by AW spending money as he sees fit. I am annoyed by him (and you) pretending what he did spend was some huge benefit to Syracuse athletics. It wasn't. He could be an asset to Syracuse...he doesn't want to be. Period, end of story.

I didn't say it was a huge benefit to Syracuse athletics. But, it clearly bothers you a lot. Apparently you need things to be angry at. But, don't say that you don't care, because clearly you are all worked up about it. Don't worry, he isn't allowed to do it anymore.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

There's a reason why tv broadcasts incessantly show "celebrity row" at Knicks and Lakers games, and Taylor Swift's box for the Chiefs. Whether it is meaningful to you personally or not, the idea is that it generates interest, raises a team's profile, and gives editors/producers an additional color in the palette. It's fluff, sure. And if any of our celeb visits made it onto SportsCenter, it would have elevated our profile in some way—even if it's just to generate the question "Why are they there?"

I don't know if we did make it on SportsCenter because of that, because we probably weren't on because we weren't a ranked/highly-regarded team. But, the idea is the same. If recruits were watching us on some streaming service, same thing i guess.

It's superficial, but we're in a superficial world. Maybe it was naive to think it could be a differencemaker, but it doesn't have to be the factor that convinces a good player to sign up with us. Seeing Michael J Fox courtside isn't going to convince free agents to sign with the Knicks. But, it still reinforces the profile that New York is a more attractive locale than Milwaukee.

If Adam W gets his jollies from setting up that kind of thing, on his own dime, i'm not seeing how it hurt us. If those transactions benefited the foundations and charitable organizations associated with those celebrities, that's a good thing.

He's choosing to spend his money in a way that gives him enjoyment. He's a very wealthy man in a small city. Lots of people want fame. How else do you get it in Syracuse? Seems like he's enjoying his life and even though his tastes aren't mine, that's all rather incidental. Did he hurt or embarrass us?

 

[orangefog]

There's a reason why tv broadcasts incessantly show "celebrity row" at Knicks and Lakers games, and Taylor Swift's box for the Chiefs. Whether it is meaningful to you personally or not, the idea is that it generates interest, raises a team's profile, and gives editors/producers an additional color in the palette. It's fluff, sure. And if any of our celeb visits made it onto SportsCenter, it would have elevated our profile in some way—even if it's just to generate the question "Why are they there?"

I don't know if we did make it on SportsCenter because of that, because we probably weren't on because we weren't a ranked/highly-regarded team. But, the idea is the same. If recruits were watching us on some streaming service, same thing i guess.

It's superficial, but we're in a superficial world. Maybe it was naive to think it could be a differencemaker, but it doesn't have to be the factor that convinces a good player to sign up with us. Seeing Michael J Fox courtside isn't going to convince free agents to sign with the Knicks. But, it still reinforces the profile that New York is a more attractive locale than Milwaukee.

If Adam W gets his jollies from setting up that kind of thing, on his own dime, i'm not seeing how it hurt us. If those transactions benefited the foundations and charitable organizations associated with those celebrities, that's a good thing.

He's choosing to spend his money in a way that gives him enjoyment. He's a very wealthy man in a small city. Lots of people want fame. How else do you get it in Syracuse? Seems like he's enjoying his life and even though his tastes aren't mine, that's all rather incidental. Did he hurt or embarrass us?

Well said. I don’t understand why it makes people so angry.

 

[MamesJungro]

Well said. I don’t understand why it makes people so angry.

It comes off as transparently corny to pay people to hang out with you. MJF, Chalamet, and others go to Knicks games because it’s actually cool and fun to be publicly associated with the team. Gronk and Brady showed up because they were paid and people understand that.

As far as I know, there was no follow-up engagement strategy, no plan to leverage the appearance as a perk for major donors. It was purely for AW’s Instagram. Which—fine, whatever. But if it’s going to be framed as some kind of program benefit, I honestly think just paying NIL directly would be a better investment.

 

[kingtidge]

He's choosing to spend his money in a way that gives him enjoyment. He's a very wealthy man in a small city. Lots of people want fame. How else do you get it in Syracuse? Seems like he's enjoying his life and even though his tastes aren't mine, that's all rather incidental. Did he hurt or embarrass us?

Maybe arguably, but that's immaterial.

He's persona non grata with the $25-mil mega-whale donor and BOT member with their name on buildings.

They've said their money goes away if AW is involved. It's a powerplay they can and have made.

You don't have to like or agree with their take on it. I don't agree, but I also know where the real bread is buttered.

Mega-whale gets their way. End of...

 

[orangefog]

It comes off as transparently corny to pay people to hang out with you. MJF, Chalamet, and others go to Knicks games because it’s actually cool and fun to be publicly associated with the team. Gronk and Brady showed up because they were paid and people understand that.

As far as I know, there was no follow-up engagement strategy, no plan to leverage the appearance as a perk for major donors. It was purely for AW’s Instagram. Which—fine, whatever. But if it’s going to be framed as some kind of program benefit, I honestly think just paying NIL directly would be a better investment.

Your opinion is fair. With regard to leveraging the celebrity visits, Adam has told me he would have been open to doing other things along with going to games. For instance, a major political figure could speak at the school, or something like that. But, he wasn't asked to do that before being shut down.

 

[SanDiegoCuse]

It comes off as transparently corny to pay people to hang out with you. MJF, Chalamet, and others go to Knicks games because it’s actually cool and fun to be publicly associated with the team. Gronk and Brady showed up because they were paid and people understand that.

As far as I know, there was no follow-up engagement strategy, no plan to leverage the appearance as a perk for major donors. It was purely for AW’s Instagram. Which—fine, whatever. But if it’s going to be framed as some kind of program benefit, I honestly think just paying NIL directly would be a better investment.

MJF at Knicks games?!

 

[atlanticuse]

There's a reason why tv broadcasts incessantly show "celebrity row" at Knicks and Lakers games, and Taylor Swift's box for the Chiefs. Whether it is meaningful to you personally or not, the idea is that it generates interest, raises a team's profile, and gives editors/producers an additional color in the palette. It's fluff, sure. And if any of our celeb visits made it onto SportsCenter, it would have elevated our profile in some way—even if it's just to generate the question "Why are they there?"

My daughter is 100% an NFL and Chiefs fan because of TS.
She didn’t even know her aunt and uncle lived in Overland Park for 30 years.

 

[rrlbees]

Well said. I don’t understand why it makes people so angry.

Don’t bother.

 

[dasher]

Maybe arguably, but that's immaterial.

He's persona non grata with the $25-mil mega-whale donor and BOT member with their name on buildings.

They've said their money goes away if AW is involved. It's a powerplay they can and have made.

You don't have to like or agree with their take on it. I don't agree, but I also know where the real bread is buttered.

Mega-whale gets their way. End of...

How do you know that they have said that? I mean, I know that is the rumor. But can you say that as a fact?

 

[Cappy3]

How do you know that they have said that? I mean, I know that is the rumor. But can you say that as a fact?

Do you know differently Dash? I know you’ve said you were trying to work out a settlement.

 

[Scooch]

He was spending his own money. He was filling seats, which he purchased (money), with people he chose to bring. Who cares why he brought them? Why does it bother people so much. But, a benefit is that the players got to interact with the celebrities. It was a little perk. Not a huge one, but I am sure the players liked it.

I suspect the reason why it bothers some folks is because AW desperately and incessantly wanted to be praised for doing it. That seems inarguable, since he still talks about it years after it happened.

I'm not the starf*&#er that some folks are, but it was neat that some celebs came to our games. I just didn't feel any need to profusely thank AW for paying them to do so.