Penn State's NIL Collective, Like Many Others, Looking for Clarity as Rules Change

"I'm honestly surprised there haven't been lawsuits yet," said an official from Happy Valley United, Penn State's NIL collective.

A general view of Penn State's Beaver Stadium, home of the Nittany Lions football team. | Matthew OHaren-Imagn Images

On July 24, a dozen Penn State football players are scheduled to appear at an event in New Jersey organized by Happy Valley United, Penn State's official NIL collective. The players will interact with fans, represent sponsors and get paid for their appearances. Such events used to be common NIL deals.

But under new rules issued by the College Sports Commission, which oversees the NIL approval platform known as NIL Go, college athletes no longer can earn money by appearing at fundraisers for collectives. The CSC said such appearances don't hold a "valid business purpose" and would be denied.

For several reasons, Happy Valley United's "We Are .. at the Shore" event will go on with its group of Nittany Lions, including quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Katryon Allen. But in the future, Penn State athletes could face delayed approvals or even denied NIL deals because of evolving, and unclear, rules regarding them.

Further, Happy Valley United, like many collectives, wants more plain-language guidance from the people deciding what constitutes a legitimate NIL deal. As Rich Stankewicz, Happy Valley United's director of operations, said, "This has all been a massive mess since NIL Go was announced."

"I'm honestly surprised there haven't been lawsuits yet, to be 100 percent honest," Stankewicz said in an interview. "I think that's going to be in the August, September timeframe when we start to really hear about that, because they are going to be turning down things that are real deals."

What is a "valid business purpose" in NIL?

As part of the House vs. NCAA settlement, the College Sports Commission was created to determine whether NIL deals worth at least $600 are "fair and comply with the rules." NIL Go is the portal to which schools report NIL deals for approval. The process has created confusion over what constitutes a compliant NIL deal and frustration over delays in getting approvals.

That could have affected Happy Valley United's "We Are ... at the Shore" event, which serves as an unofficial kickoff to the Penn State football season. Head coach James Franklin and a host of current and former players will gather at the Union League National Golf Club in New Jersey with fans, sponsors and corporate partners to talk all things Penn State football.

The current Penn State players scheduled to appear still can do so for two reasons. First, Happy Valley United engaged the players in contracts before July 1, when the College Sports Commission launched the NIL Go portal. Second, Stankewicz said that the players' appearances carry a "valid business purpose," a term that the CSC recently surfaced and that quickly prompted backlash and a demand for retraction.

According to the CSC, athletes who promote third-party companies that sell products or services have an NIL deal with a valid business purpose. But athletes who appear at collective-sponsored events, where the sole purpose is to fundraise for the collective, do not.

The "We Are ... at the Shore" event is a big date on the Happy Valley United calendar. Tickets start at $200 per person. Tickets for a VIP reception are $1,000 per person, and sponsorships start at $10,000. Happy Valley United is offering two seats on the team plane to and from the event for $6,000.

But because about a dozen corporate sponsors and vendors will be part of the event, players have a valid business purpose for appearing, Stankewicz said. They also have media responsibilities as part of their deals.

"So this isn't solely a donor event," Stankewicz said. "We're selling it as a donor event but then we're also looking for the corporate sponsorships that want to come in and associate themselves with these athletes."

Why wait for the event when you can travel with @PennStateFball 👀

We’ve got 2 seats on a private challenger jet to and from We Are… at the Shore on July 24th at Union League National Golf Club 🤝

Seats or not, we hope to see everyone at our BIGGEST event of the year ‼️… pic.twitter.com/K1rO95Qnx5

— Happy Valley United (@HappyValleyUtd) July 16, 2025

According to Yahoo Sports, attorneys for the House vs. NCAA plaintiffs said the new guidance regarding collectives violates the agreement and want it retracted. Meanwhile, collectives are confused about which deals might be denied and frustrated at the time NIL Go is taking to approve them.

NIL collectives still looking for clarity

Stankewicz said that NIL Go has not yet declined a Happy Valley United deal proposal. But he has spoken with representatives of other collectives who say they're still waiting on approvals or denials from NIL Go. Collectives also are concerned that companies might conclude NIL deals no longer are worth the hassle.

"It isn't totally clear what all of the rules are right now," Stankewicz said. "We've talked to a couple of collectives that have submitted things for approval that have been sitting for weeks. We understand what we think the rules are. But the levels of compensation that are allowed and the relationships that are allowed, a lot of that is really still up in the air."

That constrains how nimble a collective can be, Stankewicz said. For instance, after Penn State kicker Ryan Barker made the game-winning field goal in overtime at USC last season, Happy Valley United moved quickly. It offered 8x10 photos of the kick, signed by Barker, and printed a "Night Night" t-shirt of the sleep move Barker made after the field goal. The merchandise was for sale within days of the game.

"The agility is a massive part of this," Stankewicz said. "If they can't get approval in a 24-hour turnaround, kids are losing out on completely legitimate money. That's worse-case scenario for what's going on here."

Yahoo Sports reported that college administrators and House vs. NCAA plaintiffs attorneys are negotiating whether athletes still can make deals with collectives. Until this is resolved, collectives like Happy Valley United will continue asking questions.

"We're looking for answers that should have been published ahead of time in more detail, especially related to what dollar amounts are allowed for certain activities and certain athletes," Stankewicz said. "In general, I would have expected a rate card or something to be produced — these are the expected [financial] ranges for social posts, for meet and greets, and these are what we believe are the minimum qualifications for durations of events to qualify [for approval]. ... And right now, it feels like we don't even have the tools to do that properly."