CU At The Game Podcast – Special Episode: An Insider’s Look at CU’s Challenges in the Ever Evolving Landscape of NIL

Welcome to a special episode of the podcast. I am joined for this episode by Tim Shannon, an attorney – and CU Buff! – from the Boulder law firm of Hutchinson, Black and Cook. The HBC firm specializes in sports law, and I am grateful to Tim for taking the time to talk with us about Name, Image and Likeness, and how the brave new world of NIL is affecting CU athletics.

Tim opens with a brief but informative history of how we got to where we are today. He discusses the O’Bannon and Alston cases which led the NCAA to basically concede defeat and leave the schools and states to determine NIL marketplace rules.

We then shift to how NIL has evolved from the opening bell on July 1, 2021, to the present day. It’s been a wild ride … with Texas offering its offensive linemen $50,000 apiece, Texas A&M basically buying the highest rated recruiting Class in the history of the recruiting services, with both of those stories being trumped by the Jaden Rashada $13.8 million contract fiasco.

But how does all of this affect dear ol’ CU going forward? Coach Prime has insisted that CU is “not about the NIL, but the NFL”. Will that strategy work, or will it take contributions to CU Collectives like Buffs4Life, and Coach Prime’s own cache as a revenue generator to stay in the recruiting and Transfer Portal game? How is the law firm of Hutchinson, Black and Cook working to help CU student athletes to get the most of the ever-changing NIL landscape?

… Let’s find out …

Note I … In the podcast, Tim referenced the absurdly brief set of NIL “guidelines” the NCAA issued for use by schools after July 1, 2021. If you want to check out the NCAA NIL “policy”, you can find it – all six paragraphs of ithere. The Colorado state NIL law, which does go on for seven pages (but doesn’t offer any penalties for non-compliance), can be found here.

Note II … Tim also mentioned a new initiative for NIL funding, with Texas A&M indicating it could direct NIL funds through its 12th Man Foundation. Tim noted, though, that the initiative hadn’t been approved by the NCAA, and, sure enough, the NCAA sent out a memo this week reminding schools that they cannot directly participate in the world of NIL. Just goes to show how fluid the world of NIL remains …

Most recent CU at the Game Podcast episodes … 

Below is Episode 5 of Season 4 for the CU at the Game Podcast. You can listen to the podcast simply by clicking on the play button below, or listen to it at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio … or wherever you find your podcasts!

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