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Message: [QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 4264768, member: 405"] They can't pay them DIRECTLY, in pay-for-play recruiting scenarios. But they can use them for local advertising (for my Mazerati dealership rather than Buddy Buckets t-shirts), or for pooled benefits that are not strictly pay-for-play quid-pro-quo's. From the article that you apparently didn't read on FiveThirtyEight: "The news may have reverberated more [B][SIZE=5]had the NCAA not [URL='https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/NIL/NIL_QandA.pdf']specifically approved[/URL] months ago that [U]boosters[/U][/SIZE][/B] — who have been banned historically from facilitating benefits to athletes and their family members — [B][U]are free to enter into NIL agreements provided they operate independent of the university and its athletic department[/U]. They cannot push contracts to induce athletes to enroll, either. [/B]But that didn’t stop Texas’s Clark Field Collective from [URL='https://www.si.com/college/2021/12/07/texas-offensive-line-nil-deal-nonprofit']providing $50,000[/URL] to every Longhorns offensive lineman on scholarship or Built Brands from [URL='https://universe.byu.edu/2021/08/12/built-brands-enters-nil-partnership-with-byu-football-to-pay-walk-on-tuition/']providing free tuition[/URL] for every one of BYU’s 36 walk-on players. The NCAA defines boosters as “any third-party entity that promotes an athletics program, assists with recruiting or assists with providing benefits to recruits, enrolled student-athletes or their family members.” This catch-all label could also include collectives, or groups typically founded by university alumni that pool and allocate financial resources for athletes by way of NIL contracts. " This is what the NCAA said in its July 1, 2021 guidance: "12. [B]Can individuals enter into NIL agreements with boosters? Yes, provided the activity is in accordance with state laws and school policy, is not an impermissible inducement and it does not constitute pay-for-play.[/B] 13. Do other sections of NCAA Bylaw 12 outside of NIL still apply under the interim policy? Individuals and institutions in states with NIL laws or executive actions with the force of law in effect: NCAA rules, including prohibitions on pay-for-play and improper recruiting inducements, remain in effect, [B]but NIL activities protected by state law will not impact eligibility. [/B]Individuals where there is no state law or executive actions: [B]If an individual chooses to engage in an NIL activity, eligibility will not be impacted by NCAA amateurism and athletics eligibility bylaws[/B], but other NCAA rules, including prohibitions on pay-for-play and improper recruiting inducements remain in effect." [SIZE=6]So, if it's advertising for a local business, or promotional appearances, or benefits given to [I]groups of athletes[/I], but not singled out as a "bag for that guy to come to my school", [U]then it's all OK. THE NCAA SAID SO.[/U][/SIZE] A year ago, the NCAA thought of these collectives as banding together to invest in bringing student athletes into the community, like public appearances at Boys & Girls Clubs, or stuff like that. They probably also thought of collectives as a natural extension of initiatives that college athletic departments put together to invest in facilities, or promoting local businesses. Boosters giving $50,000 to every lineman, or scholarships to every walk-on, toe the line. You are not paying the specific player to come to your school, you're providing benefits to them all. The NCAA cannot reverse itself now, and have it stand up in court, after it already issued a ruling that said booster groups can fund players, [U]so long as it's not a contract to come play for my school[/U]. That's a loophole the size of the Grand Canyon. Sometimes I feel like you just want to argue for the hell of it, when you obviously didn't bother to read something that you've wrongly responded to about 3 times. [/QUOTE]

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