NIL and Baseball

[Big_Blue_1018]

This is purely for discussion only. I know the NIL stuff is beyond crazy in football and basketball but I havent heard much, if anything, when it comes to NIL and college baseball. I know I know. College baseball compared to football and basketball are in two completely different oceans but what have you guys seen/heard on this front? Does it even happen in baseball? What about the other olympic sports?

 

[cat_in_the_hat]

I'm like you. I haven't heard much about NIL in other sports. I would guess in areas where baseball is big players are getting NIL money. At UK, I would guess it's small change. That's purely speculation on my part because I don't really know anymore than you.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Don't know about UK, but at UT they have a collective type thing for baseball. Basically seems as though a small group of alumni control a pool of money. When a player wants or needs money they ask a team leader who then goes to those alumni. The alumni then decide whether to give the asked for amount or not.

Ohh! One thing that I think they also do is that every bio page on their website has a link to donate to that person or connect with them for an NIL deal.

NIL Submission Page

NIL Submission Page

utsports.com

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

I'm like you. I haven't heard much about NIL in other sports. I would guess in areas where baseball is big players are getting NIL money. At UK, I would guess it's small change. That's purely speculation on my part because I don't really know anymore than you.

I would think schools like Texas A&M, LSU and ever Miss State would be the big players in the NIL for baseball. I sorta wonder if baseball where the draft is different would cut into what NIL deals players could get.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

Don't know about UK, but at UT they have a collective type thing for baseball. Basically seems as though a small group of alumni control a pool of money. When a player wants or needs money they ask a team leader who then goes to those alumni. The alumni then decide whether to give the asked for amount or not.

Ohh! One thing that I think they also do is that every bio page on their website has a link to donate to that person or connect with them for an NIL deal.

NIL Submission Page

NIL Submission Page

utsports.com

I remember you bringing this up last year. Didn't really think about it being a spin of the NIL.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I remember you bringing this up last year. Didn't really think about it being a spin of the NIL.

Yea, it's a bit different. Still, can only do it openly because of NIL. I'd guess they would have been doing it earlier, but UT didn't know baseball existed until 2 years ago.

 

[Cats8585]

TN and LSU give as much baseball NIL as many football programs do. I figure some other programs do too. A kid from up around my hometown near Cincy transferred to TN this summer.

I know his family well and they were open that the reason he chose TN over UK was because of the amount of money he was getting from NIL. Staying close to home was a big deal to him (before anyone thinks I’m crazy about why a kid wouldn’t want to go to TN).

I am not sure what the UK NIL situation is for baseball but I assume it’s below average with the way Stoops talks about the football fund. Maybe Barnhart’s newfound acceptance of collectives will help us grow here and BBN can step up.

 

[Seamhead_Ninja]

Like others have said, the schools that are dictating football NIL have the deep pockets for baseball too and it was a MAJOR part of the portal after 2022.

Heard someone this fall say they have no idea what the sustainability of NIL is over the long haul but, right now, some schools have made their peace with it and all its warts/gray areas in the name of winning big.

 

[NewWildcatOrder]

There seemed to be a lot of talk about funding complete baseball rosters using NIL where previously the scholarships were limited and did not cover the entire team. This was seen as a change for the betterment of college baseball. Not sure how it's progressing since it's inception.

 

[CockyCat3]

Don't know about UK, but at UT they have a collective type thing for baseball. Basically seems as though a small group of alumni control a pool of money. When a player wants or needs money they ask a team leader who then goes to those alumni. The alumni then decide whether to give the asked for amount or not.

Ohh! One thing that I think they also do is that every bio page on their website has a link to donate to that person or connect with them for an NIL deal.

NIL Submission Page

NIL Submission Page

utsports.com

Yeah, SC has the same thing with each athletes social media stuff and links to nil collective. They have a website that is like an online dating app. Like...click on a player, get their social media stats (followers, engagement and a ton of analytics) and you can submit a request. Something like.. I'd like you to come into our restaurant and make an instagram post in front of our sign and say, "XYZ" and I'll pay $500. The player gets the request and can either swipe left or right to accept or decline. This is the kind of thing that a kid in an off sport like baseball can make a few bucks, but places like UK are gonna be beat out at baseball NIL by a bunch of other SEC schools who have bigger baseball fanbases/boosters. Heck, Vandy has basically been doing it for years under the guise of being a private university.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

So, this is just my thoughts on this. But based on the football and basketball boards, it seems to me that Kentucky as an athletic program is on the verge of falling way behind in regards to the rest of the SEC. Maybe not as bad in basketball but definitely across the board.

 

[SeanCain]

So, this is just my thoughts on this. But based on the football and basketball boards, it seems to me that Kentucky as an athletic program is on the verge of falling way behind in regards to the rest of the SEC. Maybe not as bad in basketball but definitely across the board.

It sounds like the collective is picking up some. I think the big issue we have is not as many big dollar donors as some of the other schools in the SEC.