A new college men's basketball tournament will offer up to $2 million in NIL deals to participating teams.
The first-of-its-kind event will host eight teams this fall at the MGM Arena in Las Vegas, expanding to 16 teams in 2025.
According to Front Office Sports, the event will be operated by EverWonder Studio (which was created by former Time president Ian Orefice and backed by RedBird IMI and Jeff Zucker) and AND1 CEO of Basketball Seth Berger. EverWonder hasn’t yet secured distribution but is in talks with both linear and streaming-based broadcasters.
BREAKING: A first-of-its-kind tournament featuring NIL deals as payouts is coming to college basketball next season.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 8, 2024
The 8-team invitational in Vegas will guarantee $1M be split among players on each team—with another $1M to the winning team.
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The tournament operator is guaranteeing that sponsors and other tournament partners will offer each participating school a total of $1 million in NIL money. That money will be funneled to collectives, boosters and other NIL entities, and the coaches and teams will be able to distribute the money how they see fit. The money is required to go to current players, and the winning team will earn another $1 million to be distributed in the same manner.
Front Office Sports reported that tournament organizers are in discussions with Alabama, Duke, FAU, Houston, Kansas, Oregon, San Diego State, St. John’s, Syracuse, and Virginia to participate. Each team will also receive free travel, lodging, and meals during the event.
