As SEC presidents, athletics directors and coaches converged on Miramar Beach, Fla. this week, frustrations about the NIL enforcement were expected to be on the agenda. The NIL Go clearinghouse, overseen by the College Sports Commission, is to review third-party NIL deals worth more than $2,000.
When asked about the process Tuesday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey defended the system. He also said there was “innovation” through the House settlement’s first year and, so far, NIL Go is doing what it was intended.
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When asked about “complaints” regarding the system, Sankey told reporters he doesn’t hear as much about the $20.5 million cap. That figure will grow to to $21.3 million next year. Instead, it’s about the third-party deals and rejected deals.
“There’s like, ‘What are we doing?’ complaints,” Sankey said Tuesday. “We need the system to say no, which it has hundreds upon hundreds of times. We had an arbitration outcome, where the system was defended.
“So, as I said yesterday, we’ve gone through a year of innovation. We’re learning from that year of innovation. There is a system in place.”
‘The information has to flow’
Since its launch, NIL Go has cleared more than $232 million in deals, as of the CSC’s most recent update. In that time, over 75% of submitted deals have come from the Big Ten and SEC, On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed.
Of the total submitted to the clearinghouse, more than $100 million worth of agreements have been rejected or are under review. With regard to the time it takes for a response, Greg Sankey said both sides have to be part of the communication process. He has also spoken with CSC CEO Bryan Seeley about the topic.
“Another part of the presentation is they don’t get answers quickly,” Sankey said. “I’ve had conversations with Bryan. Well, part of it is the information has to flow, as well. The responses have to be provided and people have to be a part of the system. We’ve had concern raised about the reporting of deals. Are deals being reported nationally? There’s a report about pretty significant variance where we’re reporting at a pretty high level, which I commend our schools for. And then, you have somebody that says we’re doing something wrong and we’re doing exactly what the system is intended to do.
“But you want outcomes, you want answers, you want consistency. You do expect denials, then people have to figure out how to manage denials.”
Greg Sankey: Nebraska ruling brought ‘clarity’
Of course, arbitration is the other part of the NIL Go process. That occurred for the first time last month when a group of Nebraska football players went to arbitration over a combined $7.5 million worth of NIL deals. A neutral arbitrator upheld the CSC’s ruling and Nebraska is taking the necessary steps in the process, AD Troy Dannen said.
Sankey said Tuesday he thought arbitration would happen earlier as the House settlement comes up on its one-year anniversary of approval. He also called it a testament to the system in place.
“I expected arbitration probably to happen sooner than it did,” Sankey said. “But it does provide some clarity that the system can work – just not working maybe perfectly or quickly. Again, you’re in innovation.”
Pete Nakos contributed.
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