The newly formed College Sports Commission has eased its blanket prohibition on collegiate athletes receiving direct payments from NIL collectives.
A memo sent from the commission to athletic directors revises previous guidance that it the CSC issued just three weeks ago. The new rule says athletes and collectives will have to show that each deal they sign requires the athlete to promote a product or service that is being sold to make a profit rather than just being a vehicle to channel money from boosters to athlete.
Collectives may have to present evidence of the "entity's effort to profit from the deal," according to the memo.
As part of the House settlement, which caps direct payments to athletes at $20.5 million per school, all deals with collectives and booster have to be for a "valid business purpose" and fall within a reasonable range of compensation. A $1 million deal for a player to make a few social media posts, for example, won't be allowed.
"Pay-for-play will not be permitted, and every NIL deal done with a student-athlete must be a legitimate deal, not pay-for-play in disguise," CSC CEO Bryan Seeley said Thursday.
According to ESPN, attorney Tom Mars said that while the new language from the CSC does favor collectives, it doesn't rule out a future lawsuit.
"It should be concerning that it took the commissioners more than a week to agree on the language of the new CSC guidance," Mars said.
