Any word on chance Mallory committing lol. @Hooandtrue has said he has LRA gear! Thatâs a great NIL
4 Likes
True - but relatively, thereâs a lot more pay transparency in the coaching market than the NIL market. And I tend to think pay transparency is pro-worker, so if Tony care about his guys specifically, and college hoops players generally, he should be in favor of more transparency, and he has a lot of power to start at home. (Of course, this will all be easier when we move to a world where players are compensated according to tix and media rights â that is, the revenue they are actually generating).
1 Like
I know this was addressed to HGN but I have a few nuggets.
I donât know, who is having the discussion in these cases; itâs not the head coach. But I know, for example, that Nebraska would say âweâre a sports school, not just a football schoolâ and would straight up say NIL was in the six figures (not exact amount) and there was a car involved. That was discussed with the player proactively during the portal process.
I know Indiana had it set up where NIL was done through one of three programs one was like a charity program theyâd participate with, one was like an entrepreneurial thing where theyâd do a podcast and/or radio-type thing, etc. and how that all worked was spelled out in detail.
Players (and their families) absolutely talk about the details of this stuff and the takeaway is that UVa is solid/competitive.
My understanding is that UVa is like that (Indianaâs) in structure and comp, but the outward communication is more, âthat (NIL) available to you if you come hereâ but you kind of have to want to come to the program to play for CTB, for the school, etc. Players incoming tend to be pleasantly surprised and I think CTB likes it that way because he feels better about guys when theyâre coming here FOR the program/school/education.
Iâd say itâs a retention strategy but you donât really have to worry about the second transfer out much. I think itâs more of just his comfort level and feeling confident that heâs going to get the players willing to do the work the way he wants, buy in, etc.
10 Likes
Heh.. kinda funny that Iâm falling on the side of not pro-worker⌠hope my employers donât see this.
But yes I agree with you about the pay transparency thing. However, I also think you nail the issue, the NIL market is unlike the actual employment market and so itâs difficult to expect or enforce regulations. The entire thing is anti-player/worker and set up only for those willing to explore the grey to have a chance to fly.
3 Likes
And, FWIW, I donât think it behooves him the way he thinks - because if you can make it clear that UVaâs NIL is competitive outwardly AND you also have CTBâs track record with developing pros + the school, thatâs a very competitive draw. Players are still going to be motivated to make the league/play well/win and you can still sus out work ethic and culture fit in different ways.
But when external vs. internal entities are discussing this issue, I think thatâs the main disconnect - external entities see the armâs length marketing and are speaking to that without necessarily knowing how competitive the NIL situation is, while people closer to the program are aware that there is quality NIL but arenât as aware of the perception/how the messaging is getting out there nationally.
6 Likes
The difference between Internal v. External entities perceptions is a good distinction. But which representation is closer to the message that recruits are getting? Iâm not sure which I would assume.
2 Likes
First perception is the external one, which Iâd guess is what winnows whoâs a possibility
1 Like
External, I believe, unless theyâre doing their own due diligence. Some guys will just proactively reach out to current/former players and ask them this stuff, ask about how the coaches handle things, etc.
But most guys just rely on what the program is presenting. Itâs often a whirlwind and they have a huge number of schools, say, 50+ that reach out as soon as they enter the portal if theyâre a quality target. So, most of those guys with so many options are just going to listen to the pitches, and narrow their list based on that.
2 Likes
These donât feel very far apart, especially in light of what @BDragon said - you can DM any current or past player to find out.
So I guess thatâs where Iâm wondering what does âmake it clear outwardlyâ mean in practical terms?
And for full transparency, Iâm sure thereâs things we can do to brand and communicate it better. But if dudes find out no matter what, I am fairly suspect that better and more straightforward branding is the reason we are where we are now vs top of the ACC, as Trilly was saying. Maybe it closes doors that never had a chance to open in rare cases, maybe.
(To reiterate, we should do everything within reason to give ourselves the competitive advantage including letting people know about NIL. Iâm just suspect that itâs THAT much of a factor when all is said and done, assuming we donât dip into the pay for play world of Miami, which seems like a non starter.)
So when do student athletes become employees of their college/ employers? @haney
3 Likes
When the schools are willing to enter into proper rev share agreements. It would solve a ton of issues etc. But amateurism
3 Likes
I do think it matters. Most players are just listening to the pitches being made and arenât going to put themselves in a position to understand the intricacies of what NIL is available at UVa when most schools are just flatly telling them.
Accounts like Trilly that have a ton of exposure in the CBB world are saying things that make it seem like UVa has the potential to have good NIL but doesnât because of CTB when, in reality, we do have good NIL but CTB doesnât focus on it and itâs not something theyâre going to hear much about in that level of detail until after theyâve already bought in. Those are two very different things and the subtleties are almost certainly lost on most prospective transfers.
Making it widely understood that the latter is true vs. the former I do think would make a big difference and I donât think is currently happening (at least very effectively).
2 Likes
Man, thatâs the million dollar question. Alongside what this all looks like in 10-15 years
2 Likes
To get it all right, if you want players to be employees, gotta be wildly expensive. Collective bargaining et alia, 401ks, health careâŚ
2 Likes
changes everything and likely requires a new college super league and removal of the NCAA
1 Like
Imagine there was a platform, with a podcast, with ties to both the program and UVAâs NIL that could do an episode sharing the specifics of how said NIL program works and remove the mysteryâŚ.
14 Likes
youâre saying it matters enough for players to choose (or consider) Virginia over another school, but it doesnât matter enough for them to take one extra step to find out the actual figures? I get the flood of information but again, Iâm suspicious a sort of change would be the difference between us being a top 50 school and top 10 one right now, as Trilly suggests.
A lot of this feels like a classic Tony Bennett narrative that weâve become accustomed to - has some truth but is otherwise flimsy and overstated. I say this especially when we as a fan base know about our existing young talent and think they will be top of ACC in the next few years.
Anyway, my take is: yes get the word out, no it wonât catapult us to elite status all of a sudden. Retaining existing guys will.
1 Like
Itâs just a diligence resource allocation issue. You put your list together with your criteria researching X schools, using some high level culling criteria, to get down to Y schools. Then you focus more time/resources researching those Y schools.
Our issue â generally speaking â is we are filtered out at the X step, and not getting to the Y step for the Gill, Nichols, Key, Hauser, TM3 types (for the most part) we were getting prior to the rule changes.
5 Likes
If youre priority is money at age 18, then you go to UVa for potential NBA money not NIL. Although the NIL over 3-4-5 years at UVa is great. At age 19-23 or whatever
Problem is. Not sure redshirt money is greatâŚ
7 Likes
Gonna be funny when someone goes to court to get a TRO to have Tony take the redshirt off
3 Likes