The problem with "athlete-led" NIL groups

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.

There are a lot of NIL collectives out there. Virtually every P5 program has one now, if not multiple, as do an increasingly large number of mid-major programs. Over the last few days, after talking to some companies that help establish and run collectives, I feel confident that we'll see a handful of low-major programs...schools in leagues like the America East, Ohio Valley Conference or Horizon, announce collectives in the near future.

These collectives operate very differently. Some are professionalized, full-fledged marketing agencies. Some have professional experience in fundraising. Some are probably fake charities. Some are very unsophisticated, severing as essentially message board and tailgate dads passing the proverbial hat around for a few hundred dollars. Many collectives across the country will probably not be in operation in 16 months.

Recently, a new type of collective has started to pop up...the "player led" model. Friend of the newsletter Amanda Christovich over at Front Office Sports wrote about this recently, as companies like YOKE and Booster Athletics are getting involved, helping athletes launch their own collectives and groups that they have more control over, rather than boosters.

In theory, that sounds democratic and awesome. But in practice? I have some major concerns.

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