NCAA Gives Go Ahead for NIL — and ZTF Is Ready to Talk Business
Almost exactly a year ago, a group of Pac-12 football players banded together and loudly threatened to boycott the 2020 season if a list of demands weren't met, specifically revenue-sharing.
That movement, which smacked of creating some sort of college football players' association or union, went nowhere when the pandemic effectively scuttled everything, delaying and shortening the conference season while keeping fans and the corresponding revenues they provide at home.
On Wednesday, the NCAA, under legal pressure from the federal to the state courts in regards to antitrust laws, announced that every athlete now has the ability to make personal income from endorsements and any numbers of promotional outlets by using their name, image and likeness to benefit.
While people thought the transfer portal significantly changed the college game as they know it, the NIL has the potential to rightfully reward the most visible and deserving athletes yet at the same time open up another clear avenue for cheating.
Either way, the Huskies and their collegiate brethren nationwide are ready to embrace this opportunity and see where it takes them, and the schools have no choice but to ride along and hope for the best.
At the front of the line for the UW is Zion Tupola-Fetui, the man with the catchy name and initialism, a plethora of football talent and shocking orange hair. What an attention-grabber — and he know it, too.
"As of midnight tonight, I'm open for business," ZTF tweeted within 90 minutes of the NCAA announcement. It made no difference to him that he's recovering from a ruptured Achilles that required surgery.
Preparing for this moment, UW coaches and officials mentioned the advantages Seattle offers up in businesses such as Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon and all sorts of other tech companies as potential and legitimate player sponsors
Imagine All-American inside linebacker candidate Edefuan Ulofoshio, a premed student, representing Swedish Medical Center in some manner — and not the University of Washington Medical Center because of the school tie-in.
How about edge rusher Sav'ell Smalls, whose been seen holding the orange wrapper burgers online, stumping for Dick's Drive-In?
Then there's defensive tackle Tuli Letuligaseno, notably dancing with nimble feet to a Michael Jackson song during spring practice, fronting for the new hotspot nightclub sure to emerge now that pandemic restrictions are coming down?
Or, even better, how about the Ulumoo Ale big and tall clothing line? The really big and really tall line?
While the Pac-10 players put a spark to it — redirected revenue streams to the athlete — everyone is still a little vague about this dramatic change in the approach to college amateurish and that's the problem.
While brand-name businesses will want to keep their name in good steed, and play by certain rules, who's to prevent the rogue car dealer or trucking company in places such as Georgia or Alabama from bending these new guidelines in favor of the old ways things were done when huge cash outlays and more tangible things such as storefronts and even service stations were handed over to top players.
People always will find ways to circumvent the good intentions.
The Pac-12 players have to be happy. Eleven of them signed off last year on the list of demands sent to then-commissioner Larry Scott, and eight of them are returning for the upcoming season.
Scott, who didn't take these guys seriously and tried to dodge or delay the issues in front of him before the pandemic gave him a great assist, is long gone. This is someone else's problem.
Which might not be such a good thing.
Scott, of course, was the prime of example of someone successful in making sure he marketed himself to get paid in excess of what his probable worth was. More power to him for getting it.
Regardless, the players have a chance to make their lives easier on themselves and take advantage of the money that changes hands over them tackling and blocking and scoring touchdowns. They can sell apparel, charge for autographs, create podcasts and get a cut.
The Supreme Court ruling unanimously against the NCAA, reminding the college governing body that it must adhere to antitrust law just like everybody else. This brought about an interim policy, which will serve as a stopgap measure until federal legislation is adopted, beginning tonight when the calendar flips over to July 1.
Ironically, a former UW student and school president, Mark Emmert, was in the middle of these deliberations if not surrender, which nearly two dozen states have acted on or will act on soon.
“With the variety of state laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level," Emmert said. "The current environment, both legal and legislative, prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve.”
What he didn't say is it all could be like a supermarket shopping spree to begin with.
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