The College Sports Commission has rejected nearly $15 million in name, image, likeness agreements since it started evaluating proposed NIL deals over the summer — more than 10% of the value of all the deals it has analyzed.
As reported by The Associated Press, the CSC released Monday its statistics compiled as of Jan. 1, saying it did not clear 524 deals worth $14.94 million, while clearing 17,321 worth $127.21 million.
The numbers came against the backdrop of a “reminder” memo the commission sent to athletic directors last week, citing “serious concerns” about contracts being offered to athletes before they had been cleared through the commission’s NIL Go platform.
Related: College Sports Commission: 'Serious Concerns' With Spiraling Contracts, Transfer Portal
Per the reporting of the AP's Eddie Pells, the CSC is in charge of evaluating all deals worth more than $600 that are offered by third-party businesses. These businesses are often affiliated with the schools recruiting the players.
The CSC said primary reasons for deals not being cleared were that they lacked a valid business purpose; they didn’t directly activate a player’s NIL rights, instead “warehousing” them for future use; and that players were being paid at levels that weren’t “commensurate with similarly situated individuals.”
Other statistics from the latest report, according to the AP's Pells:
- There were 10 deals in arbitration as of Dec. 31, eight of which have since been withdrawn. All involved a resolved administrative issue at one school not named by the CSC.
- 52% of deals submitted to NIL Go were resolved within 24 hours.
- 73% of deals reached resolution within seven days following submission of all required information.
- 56% of the 10,848 athletes who have at least one cleared deal play football or men’s basketball.
