AROUND NIL THIS WEEK | SEP 1, 2025
- Golf NIL
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
Sep 3, 2025—Turbo Coffee has inked an all-inclusive NIL deal benefiting every one of the University of North Alabama’s 300-plus student-athletes across all 14 Division I athletic programs—men’s and women’s golf included. A Florence staple with locations across Alabama and Florida, Turbo Coffee is “proud to be part of campus life,” owner Jerica Whittle said. Known for specialty lattes, smoothies, and house-made pastries, Turbo is stepping up to fuel the Lions’ success on and off the field. UNA’s Compliance Specialist Todd Vardaman hailed Turbo as “a wonderful partner, committed to engaging with UNA and Lion Athletics.” This deal ensures every athlete has a chance to cash in on the growing NIL landscape.
NCAA logo as $44 million in NIL deals sit frozen amid reporting errors and delays, leaving athletes caught in a mounting backlog | Kirby Lee/Alamy
Sep 6, 2025—The College Sports Commission was forced into a stunning correction Friday, admitting it overstated approved NIL deals by more than $40 million after a Deloitte reporting error. What was touted as 8,359 cleared deals worth $79.8 million turned out to be just 6,090 deals totaling $35.42 million.
The correction points to a larger issue: millions in deals remain stuck in limbo, with $44.4 million still awaiting approval. The Collective Association, which represents athlete-focused fundraising groups, reported just a 6.5% approval rate on submissions. Of the 384 collective deals submitted, only 25 got the green light; nearly half went unanswered.
Manually vetting every Division I NIL deal over $600 is a grind handled by a lean team. The average approved deal is $9,500, while collective deals average around $29,000. That gap suggests that the bigger opportunities are the ones being held up. With NIL windows often measured in weeks, players are losing irreplaceable chances to capitalize on their peak visibility.
Sep 7, 2025—Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork, who oversees one of the nation’s largest NIL programs, recently told Fox Business that President Trump is “a huge fan,” committed to protecting college athletics amid the growing chaos surrounding NIL. Bjork’s support comes as the College Sports Commission reels from a $44 million reporting blunder and approval delays that are costing athletes millions. He sees the executive order’s biggest win as pushing the Department of Labor to clear up the murky status of athletes as employees—otherwise, state laws will keep multiplying like weeds. Trump’s July order aims to crack down on pay-for-play schemes, protect legitimate endorsements, and lock in scholarships for women’s sports.
Critics say the order threatens athletes. Plaintiff attorney Steve Berman argues Trump “shouldn’t be aiding the NCAA at athletes’ expense.” Legal experts call enforcement “pretty extreme” and point out that courts—not the president—must decide athlete employment status, muddying the order’s impact. Senator Maria Cantwell warns of “a future dominated by the biggest and wealthiest schools.” The debate boils down to whether federal intervention will stabilize college sports or stifle athletes’ earning potential amid unprecedented upheaval.
