We mentioned it on twitter, and also on the gmg.com message board (where it was deleted) and now we are putting it here. Well, some of it.
We will be organizing an NIL Collective. We are not taking this lightly, and are not skipping any steps. It is the holiday season and so things do not move as fast as any of us would like but we are moving on this right now.
MGN is coming /Prime voice
Now for some FAQs
- Why are you splitting the donor base?
I believe we are expanding the donor base. Plenty of programs are proceeding with some multiple collectives. Now, fully acknowledging it would be nice to have one giant pot of cash from every possible donor available to wield would be nice, it is also not realistic. This effort does not mean you have to choose — you can donate to both! This effort will have different aims than any other, but we all have the same ultimate goal
- How is this going to be organized?
Generally speaking an NIL Collective works in one of a few ways: marketplace hub, pass-through for donors, combination of the two above.
There are some slight variations, where some groups are formed by players, some are organized by the university (in states where this is allowed) but it is all about the same. Furthermore, there are slight differences in the way they fill the bag. Some, are just a few heavy-hitters getting together and wielding their digital check-books around. Some solicit donations, some do memberships, some do a little in-between.
Once the cash is in hand, the method for distributing to student-athletes varies. You have your high-minded groups, talking about community, and service, and building leaders and whatnot. Others position themselves as the only way that a student athlete could possibly know how to manage their money.
A lot of that is filler for the question: “What do we put down as the reason for giving money to players when it cannot be 1) because they are a student athlete 2) we want them to be a student athlete 3) I want them to continue being a student athlete”
We believe the student athletes should get every bit of cash they can earn from their fame. We will collect your small donations, put some away for a rainy day and invest it into an account that bears a small return (so we aren’t chasing you down for cash all the time, although there will be plenty of that) and the rest we will distribute to famous North Texas athletes. How? Well, we will pay them for to use their names, their images, and their likenesses.
Sometimes it will be for an appearance. Sometimes it will be for use of their image. Sometimes, we might put together a couple of interested parties that otherwise wouldn’t have the time or inclination to write contracts and the like.
The whole entire purpose of putting money together collectively is to increase the spending power available. For those for whom $200K is just number, NILs are maybe more of an ego thing. But if all you have is $100, well with some friends and neighbors that can be $10,000, (which is a lot more, perhaps even one hundred times more) and that is more likely to be worth someone’s while. You know, maybe someone famous that also happens to play some sports at your favorite little program?
TL;DR: We don’t believe in lying or lots of ego-boosting, and so we will keep it simple and also professional. We will also be prudent. We don’t believe in wasting anyone’s money (well technically it isn’t your money once you hand it over, but you know what I mean).
- So who are you, anyway?
I am an alumnus of the university. I also believe that the university and the various people and programs as part of a person’s life do more for building character, and leadership and the like than a group of boosters. A good NIL Collective is merely a good business opportunity for all involved. It needn’t be too high-minded, but it can have nice goals. I mean, there is nothing wrong with selling a little ice-cream you know? But there is something off-putting (at least to me) about selling ice-cream and saying you are impacting change upon the world, through the micro-transactions and human connections built in the exchange of living energy.
I think you know what I mean.
Beyond that, we have a nice little group of people that have already volunteered to perform some duties in some aspect related to this endeavor. The details are not finalized, and so I will not promise anything right now or reveal any names just yet.
I can tell you I plan for it to be a separate entity from this site even if organized by the people who run this site.
If you have any questions I suggest you subscribe to the email list — I’ll put it here again for you below — and we will provide updates as things progress. If you have any ideas, you can email
NIL(at)meangreennation.com
Or contact the site, hit me up on twitter (@meangreennation) or any of the various publicly-available ways to do so. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. I will — and have! — also listen to your criticism!
