Louisville to Athletes: No NIL Deals with Barstool Sports

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The University of Louisville athletic department on Monday told its athletes to cease name, image and likeness deals with the media company Barstool Sports, citing the schoolโ€™s policies and criteria outlined in Kentucky governor Andy Beshearโ€™s executive order.

โ€œWe are advising all student-athletes to cease involvement with โ€˜Barstool Sportsโ€™ in terms of NIL activity,โ€ Louisville assistant athletic director Alyssa Murphy wrote. โ€œBarstool Sports does not comply with University of Louisville policies and it does not comply with the criteria outlined in the Kentucky Governorโ€™s Executive Order.โ€

As reported by Kentucky Sports Radio's Tyler Thompson, the issue likely stems from Barstoolโ€™s partnership with Penn National, a company that owns and operates casinos and hotels nationwide. Penn National has a 36 percent stake in Barstool, which has its own sports book. As we are all well aware, sports gambling โ€” except for horse racing โ€” is still illegal in Kentucky.

Meanwhile, at the University of Kentucky, quarterback Will Levis, tight end Justin Rigg, quarterback Nik Scalzo, linebacker DeAndre Square and basketball walk-on Brennan Canada have agreements with Barstool Sports, according to KSR's Thompson. "UKโ€™s NIL policy specifically prohibits athletes from promoting and/or endorsing lotteries, casinos, sports wagering facilities, or online equivalents," Thompson writes. "As far as I can tell, 'Barstool Athletes' donโ€™t receive much more than merchandise and being able to say theyโ€™re affiliated with the company, so if UK follows Louisvilleโ€™s lead, they wonโ€™t be out much."

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