TSSAA approves NIL today

[durdon]

Not sure if everyone saw this and all of the articles today have focused on football.. but this is really positive for wrestling especially if the leadership of TNUSA Wrestling stays as strong as it currently is because they will be able to maximize the sponsorship and advertising dollars for the kids that want to travel and wrestle year round.  It will also allow them to be more aggressive in raising sponsorship money for Fargo and also the team trips.   
Hopefully this will increase the development of kids in Tennessee.  

[cbg]

This will be nothing more than the rich boarding schools will be able to recruit at a higher level than they are presently doing.

[sx1234]

15 hours ago, cbg said:

This will be nothing more than the rich boarding schools will be able to recruit at a higher level than they are presently doing.

Publics with large sponsors will benefit as well.  "Mom and Pop's Steakhouse" or "Jack and Jill's Insurance Agency" that has given a 5k donation to a school or booster club every year for the last 20 years can now give that money directly to a player in the form of an NIL.  Publics will have a few more obstacles in making sure transfers are legal, but $ on the table can influence a lot of the decisions- especially now that it's directly allowed.   Your point remains the same though, the rich will only get richer....  TSSAA Transfer Portal opening soon.

[PurplePanther]

What will the Baylor team look like now?  McCallie may be in the conversation soon!

[oceansize42]

My understanding is that the contributions must be from private parties and not from schools.  I guess the worrisome scenario is that private school boosters with money can buy future participants easier than public schools because public schools require a change of address (let us pretend).  The private school waives tuition and the booster supplies NIL money.  

I'm glad kids can make money.  I don't care one way or the other. 

Wrestling is an interesting sport because there are only so many elite wrestlers in TN.  Very very small group.  I can think of only a handful currently who even qualify.  There is a lot of kids who are supposedly elite, go D1, and can't even survive two years let alone crack the lineup (that is no dig, just the truth).   Anyways, it shouldn't be too hard to tell the impact of the NIL upon wrestling over the next four years because of the sport's size.  My personal opinion is wrestling won't change all that much at the high school team level unless boosters are going to start paying pseudo-elite kids NIL money. Can't see it, but maybe I'm wrong.  That isn't to say it won't happen but the frequency within wrestling will likely be low.

Edited December 9, 2022 by oceansize42

[sx1234]

35 minutes ago, oceansize42 said:

My understanding is that the contributions must be from private parties and not from schools.  I guess the worrisome scenario is that private school boosters with money can buy future participants easier than public schools because public schools require a change of address (let us pretend).  The private school waives tuition and the booster supplies NIL money.  

I'm glad kids can make money.  I don't care one way or the other. 

Wrestling is an interesting sport because there are only so many elite wrestlers in TN.  Very very small group.  I can think of only a handful currently who even qualify.  There is a lot of kids who are supposedly elite, go D1, and can't even survive two years let alone crack the lineup (that is no dig, just the truth).   Anyways, it shouldn't be too hard to tell the impact of the NIL upon wrestling over the next four years because of the sport's size.  My personal opinion is wrestling won't change all that much at the high school team level unless boosters are going to start paying pseudo-elite kids NIL money. Can't see it, but maybe I'm wrong.  That isn't to say it won't happen but the frequency within wrestling will likely be low.

The drop off is going to come when a school starts successfully pulling kids from other states. The selling point is going to be leave Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, etc etc and come wrestle for us in Tennessee where you can make money.

[oceansize42]

9 minutes ago, sx1234 said:

The drop off is going to come when a school starts successfully pulling kids from other states. The selling point is going to be leave Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, etc etc and come wrestle for us in Tennessee where you can make money.

I'm going to guess that if any traction is made from other states then those other states will quickly adopt NIL.  I still can't see wrestling being impacted as it is such a niche sport.  Football? Sure.

[oceansize42]

I guess one potential money maker for better athletes is lessons.  Kids can charge under the new rules for camps and clinics but something tells me that was already happening under the table. Of course the question has to be asked, how many talented HS kids can really teach other kids effectively? Not many is the answer, takes years to become a really effective instructor no matter what the subject matter is.

Edited December 9, 2022 by oceansize42

[Biffmar4]

You have to read the fine print on this one.  The wrestler can make money from instructional opportunities, but they cannot associate themselves with a school or any accomplishment made through TSSAA.  Also, any infraction carries with it a 12-month suspension from high school athletics.  So if my kid is a state champ and he wants to run a clinic, he cannot state that he is a state champion wrestler.  He also can't wear any school related clothing items for any promotional appearances.  Sounds like you'd need to hire an attorney to make sure you don't burn a year of eligibilty and if you have that kind of money, you probably don't need NIL.

 

[oceansize42]

8 minutes ago, Biffmar4 said:

You have to read the fine print on this one.  The wrestler can make money from instructional opportunities, but they cannot associate themselves with a school or any accomplishment made through TSSAA.  Also, any infraction carries with it a 12-month suspension from high school athletics.  So if my kid is a state champ and he wants to run a clinic, he cannot state that he is a state champion wrestler.  He also can't wear any school related clothing items for any promotional appearances.  Sounds like you'd need to hire an attorney to make sure you don't burn a year of eligibilty and if you have that kind of money, you probably don't need NIL.

 

I don't see this having much impact outside something like Football or Basketball.  I think like all things there will be those entrepreneurial sorts with extreme talent who figure out a way to maximize dollars accrued from their NIL while everyone else will be stumbling around like a drunk IG or TT "influencer" wondering why they can't make two nickels to rub together. Everyone underestimates how much work it is to achieve anything meaningful by way of a personal "brand".  Adults have money, not kids and I'm not giving a nickel to some other kids sports endeavor (unless that kid has some sort of really harsh situation at home).  If parents want their kids to travel, get a job that pays well enough to make that happen.   

[PurplePanther]

1 hour ago, sx1234 said:

The drop off is going to come when a school starts successfully pulling kids from other states. The selling point is going to be leave Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, etc etc and come wrestle for us in Tennessee where you can make money.

Totally agree and is my point.  Baylor is already pulling state champs from elsewhere.  Boarding schools are a different animal.

[Biffmar4]

It’s for the top percent of the 1 percent and it evens the playing field if a school is making money or growing the program off that one athlete. Totally agree that work is work. You are either working at your academics and athletics or working at your NIL.