AROUND NIL THIS WEEK | JUNE 9, 2025
- Golf NIL
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 25
June 10, 2025—Former NFL executive Jack Easterby is sounding the alarm on NIL Go, the NCAA’s new NIL oversight system now run by Deloitte. He warns that opaque standards and weak accountability could widen inequities and damage trust in college athletics.
As detailed in a June 10 PRWeb release, Easterby highlights that outsourcing NIL deal approvals to a private firm with undisclosed standards creates a “black box” process—leaving athletes, schools, and advocates in the dark about how decisions are made. He notes these frustrations echo past NCAA compliance failures.
Easterby’s NIL reform agenda centers on transparency and fairness with three priorities:
Publish Deloitte’s Fair Market Value standards in clear terms for all.
Form an oversight board made up of former athletes, ethics experts, and university reps to review denied deals and keep decisions consistent.
Mandate clear explanations and a strong appeals process for deals that are denied.
The goal: fix frustrations and deliver a fairer NIL system.
June 10, 2025—The new $2.8 billion House settlement aims to rein in the Wild West of college sports’ NIL era, introducing an annual revenue-sharing cap and Deloitte-managed NIL Go clearinghouse to track third-party deals worth $600 or more, according to The Athletic.
The enforcement arm is meant to stamp out pay-for-play and restrict collectives, with reports suggesting up to 70% of past collective deals could be denied under new rules. However, skepticism remains among coaches and administrators about whether athletes will accurately report deals or simply take under-the-table money and stay quiet. Some athletic directors worry that, despite new rules, college sports could revert to the days when boosters routinely paid players under the table.
Even with the best intentions for compliance, many in the industry recognize that certain schools and individuals will inevitably look for ways to skirt the rules and gain an advantage.
NIL Go vets deals over $600 in value, but some fear athletes may hide or take under-the-table pay | Yuri Arcurs/Alamy
June 11, 2025—Eight female athletes have challenged the House v. NCAA settlement’s backpay distribution, arguing the current model is unfair and violates Title IX. Filed June 11 in California federal court, the challenge highlights a plan that would send 90% of a $2.8 billion fund to football and men’s basketball players from Power Four schools, while women’s basketball players would receive just 5% and all other athletes would split the remaining 5%.
The appeal specifically targets backpay, freezing payments to former college athletes while the case is reviewed. Meanwhile, the settlement’s forward component—direct revenue sharing with current athletes—remains on track for its July 1 start date, ensuring new recognition and financial support for active competitors. The pause on backpay may hold until the Title IX dispute is resolved, but current athletes still gain access to the new era of college sports payouts as scheduled.
June 11, 2025—The deadline for Division I schools outside the Power Four conferences to opt into the House v. NCAA settlement has been pushed back two weeks to June 30. Originally set to begin on June 15, the new cutoff date gives non-Power Four programs extra runway to navigate the complicated compliance and financial hurdles tied to the landmark agreement.
While the Power Four conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC) are automatically subject to the settlement’s rules, other Division I schools must opt in to access revenue sharing and follow new roster and eligibility rules. Schools that opt in can start direct revenue-sharing payments to athletes as early as July 1.
