The landscape of college sports is shifting fast, and the sudden shutdown of Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) has thrown everyone for a loop. Opendorse, a major NIL deal marketplace, wasted no time stepping in to fill the gap.
This whole situation really highlights just how unpredictable and complicated the NIL (name, image, and likeness) scene has become. Athletes’ pay and third-party deals always seem to be under the microscope.
Now, with SANIL out, Opendorse has started taking over some of the NIL collectives SANIL used to manage. Blake Lawrence, Opendorse’s cofounder, says they’re hustling to make sure athletes keep getting paid and schools don’t lose faith in their NIL partnerships.
SANIL had worked with over 40 schools at its peak, so this isn’t a small change. Earlier this year, NIL agency Blueprint Sports talked about buying SANIL to build a $100 million-plus NIL agency, but that deal fizzled out.
That left a pretty big hole, and Opendorse is now trying to fill it. Nearly 100 Division I athletic departments or NIL collectives already use Opendorse to process payments. Around ten school collectives have moved over to Opendorse so far, and it sounds like more are on the way.
Ensuring Smooth Transitions
Lawrence made it clear that keeping athletes’ payments on track is a top priority. Opendorse has been getting lots of calls from partners and is busy setting up transitions for the collectives that were left in limbo.
This hands-on approach matters. College athletes count on these NIL deals for financial support, so any interruption could throw things off.
The Broader NIL Landscape
The shutdown of SANIL and Opendorse’s quick moves really show how fast things can change in NIL. Athletic departments are now allowed to share up to $20.5 million of revenue with athletes this year, and third-party NIL deals are getting more attention from regulators.
On June 30, right before the revenue-sharing era officially kicked off, collectives pushed almost $20 million to college athletes through Opendorse. That was the biggest day in Opendorse’s history.
NIL Go Clearinghouse and Compliance Issues
Even with new rules from the House v. NCAA settlement, some big conference collectives are already sidestepping the new NIL Go clearinghouse. At least two collectives have paid athletes before their deals were even approved.
The College Sports Commission, which runs NIL Go, is setting up an anonymous tip line for reporting rules violations across Division I sports. Still, some say the process for disclosing an NIL Go is slow and confusing, so a few collectives are skipping disclosure altogether. Not exactly what you’d call a seamless system.
Legal Battles and Controversies
It’s not just money and operations—there’s legal drama, too. One high-profile case involves Jill Ellis, former president of the NWSL’s San Diego Wave.
Ellis is accused of misleading the new owners by promising to stay with the team after its sale, only to resign two days later. The lawsuit, filed by an entity tied to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, claims Ellis was a big reason they bought the Wave.
Ellis’s Legal Troubles
Ellis, now at FIFA, is accused of negotiating with them while telling the Wave’s new owners she was committed. The lawsuit says her departure and focus on the FIFA job hurt the team’s performance and led to a big revenue hit.
Ellis’s lawyer called the lawsuit meritless, saying it’s just backlash for Ellis demanding the owners pay her deferred compensation under her contract and California wage laws.
Saudi Arabia’s Investment in Sports
Looking beyond NIL, Saudi Arabia’s splashy investment in sports is hard to ignore. As part of its Vision 2030 plan, the Kingdom is pouring billions into everything from soccer to MMA.
SURJ Sports, led by former Australian soccer player Danny Townsend, is at the heart of this push, working to boost the country’s sports ecosystem.
Driving Social and Economic Change
Townsend says Saudi Arabia really does want to use sports to drive social and economic change at home—not just polish its image abroad. He points to progress in gender equality and more women playing sports as proof.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers report backs this up: since 2021, there’s been a 195% jump in professional female athletes and a 56% increase in women’s sports teams in the Kingdom. That’s not nothing.
Investment in Global Sports
SURJ’s investments include the global sports streaming platform DAZN, and they’re talking with World Athletics about a new company to handle the sport’s commercial rights.
Townsend says the goal isn’t to buy into U.S. sports teams, but to build up the sports economy at home. That lines up with Saudi Arabia’s bigger aims for economic and social change.
Looking Ahead
The sports industry feels like it’s standing at a crossroads. There are big shifts happening in NIL rules, legal disputes, and international investments—all at once.
Opendorse is stepping in as SANIL exits, and honestly, the NIL scene isn’t getting any simpler. The challenges keep coming, but so do the opportunities.
Saudi Arabia’s bold moves in sports investment? That just highlights how global and unpredictable this whole industry is. It’s not just about games anymore—it’s about real social and economic change.
If you’re curious or want the nitty-gritty, check out the original article on Front Office Sports.
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