On the latest episode of Sporticast, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the week’s biggest sports stories, including a crazy few days in college sports.
As much of the college athletic leadership gathers in Atlanta for the national championship game, it feels like the industry is crossing some kind of Rubicon into a messy — and necessary — new reality of athlete compensation. The House vs. NCAA The settlement is still awaiting final approval, but schools are preparing for a near future in which they will share revenues directly with athletes. That has led to an important question: what do athletes have to give up in return to share in those millions?
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On Sunday Sportico published the first public accounting of what a Big Ten school’s revenue-sharing agreement entails. It includes language protecting the school from lawsuits, allowing the university to sell athlete NIL to “any third parties” and adjust financial concessions up or down depending on an athlete’s performance on the field. It also asks the athlete to waive any legal claim to employee status, to pay back some of the money if he/she transfers, and contains a morals clause often found in coaches’ contracts.
These documents are also in the news this week amid a controversy surrounding former Wisconsin defenseman Xavier Lucas. Lucas is trying to transfer to Miami despite Wisconsin reportedly blocking him from the transfer portal. The school has said it has signed a two-year NIL agreement with Lucas, which could be similar in language to the contract being viewed by the school. Sportico.
But before anything else, they discuss the Buffalo Bills. For years, the team has relied on enthusiastic fans to help clear their stadium after snowstorms, a task for which they faithfully paid the Bills $20 an hour. However, the team’s new $2.1 billion stadium won’t be able to utilize this tradition. The team is building “one of the largest snowmelt systems in the world,” according to a recent publication Sportico story. The hosts talk about that, and the fanbase’s love for Zubaz.
They’re also talking about an ownership dispute in the NFL playoffs. Billionaire Josh Harris owns the Washington Commanders, who will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL championship game. Harris is also part owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, which may require delicate rhetoric as he discusses the game in the coming week. The hosts talk about how Harris can best convey his love for Philadelphia and his desire for the city’s NFL team to lose on Sunday.
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