Inside the NIL Battle That Is Splintering the SEC: ‘We’re All Money Laundering’

quote:

---

Within the 11-state footprint of the country’s most dominant college football league, fairness is fading, swallowed by the greed of competition from the conference’s very own members. Through lobbying efforts, schools have worked with their state lawmakers to feverishly rewrite statutes to give them an advantage over neighboring programs.

New state laws adopted in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma clear a path for their schools to bring NIL programs more under their proverbial roof while also prohibiting enforcement from the NCAA and others. This new evolution of NIL collectives tests NCAA and SEC governorship, risks federal rules violations and, maybe most important, pushes college sports another step closer to what many believe is an eventuality: Schools paying athletes directly.

---

quote:

---

Texas A&M’s fundraising arm, the 12th Man Foundation, made a splash when it announced an NIL offshoot in February.

The 12th Man Plus Fund is an NIL initiative that allows donors to contribute to a fund that distributes payments to athletes. While the Plus Fund does not describe itself as an NIL “collective,” it operates as such while under the university’s fundraising arm. It is believed to be the first distribution model that allows a school’s booster to be that heavily involved in the NIL space.

Donations to the Plus Fund, like those to the 12th Man Foundation, are tax-deductible and earn benefits such as priority points. In satisfying the NCAA’s policy for a quid pro quo, athletes are paid by the Plus Fund to promote its parent company, the 12th Man Foundation, through social media posts and appearances.

---

quote:

---

At LSU, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, like the 12th Man, is legally separate from the university. Officials in Baton Rouge are seriously exploring the same model as Texas A&M, but like other schools, they are waiting for any action from the governing body of college sports.

“If the NCAA doesn't do anything on this, we’re all in,” one LSU administrator says.

---