Access, athletes and programs for sale: Local universities innovate to keep cash flowing

Winning in college sports traditionally was about the final score on the scoreboard. These days, it’s at least as much about the money being made as the championships being won — and it’s not just football-crazed Alabama or basketball-obsessed North Carolina. 

From George Mason to Howard to Maryland, Washington-area schools are scrambling to find creative, fun and legal ways to get more cash into the pockets of their top athletes.

Since the NCAA changed its regulations in 2021 to allow student-athletes to profit from sponsorships and endorsements, schools nationwide have frantically tried to adapt.

For years, college athletics operated — outwardly, at least — as an amateur endeavor. But top collegiate athletes can now become millionaires by signing sponsorship and endorsement deals, including those facilitated by their school’s name, image and likeness collective — a group of fans, donors and boosters who pool their money to connect student-athletes with sponsorship opportunities. 

For most student-athletes, the opportunities are helpful, but not life-changing.

A select few players strike gold, though. According to analysts at On3.com, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ endorsements are worth $6 million. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne isn’t far behind with a $4 million valuation. 

Duke basketball player Cooper Flagg could haul in $2.6 million during his freshman year.

Transfer rules loosened up shortly before sponsorship regulations changed, so players have more power than ever. 

If an athlete believes he or she could make more money at a different university, they can transfer without missing any playing time.

The seismic shift in the power balance was at least a partial factor in the retirements of Alabama football coach Nick Saban and ACC basketball coaching legends Mike vand Tony Bennett. All three have both spoken out against name, image and likeness since stepping away from the sidelines.

“All the things I believed in for years, 50 years in coaching, no longer exist,” Saban said at a Capitol Hill roundtable in March after saying that players are only focused on money. “It was always about developing players. It was always about helping people be more successful in life.”

Krzyzewski, who retired from coaching Duke in 2022, shared similar sentiments with Fox this month.

“There’s no transparency at all, and the NCAA has really not done a great job in this. …” he said. “I think there has to be a new model, and I think those [Power Four conference] commissioners are the ones that have to come together to figure this out.”

Bennett, 55, abruptly stepped down at Virginia earlier this month, telling reporters there is simply no place in the current NIL-based system for an old-school-style coach.

“Will I miss the game? Do I love the game? Absolutely,” he said. “But I don’t think I’m equipped in this new way to coach, and it’s a disservice if you keep doing that. I’m very sure that this is the right step. I wish I could’ve gone longer. I really do. But it was time.”

Keeping up with the Joneses

In 2024, universities are brainstorming more ways to keep up with their new reality. Oklahoma State’s football team planned to place QR codes on players’ helmets for the season. Fans watching the game could scan the code from their phone and donate directly to Pokes with a Purpose, the school’s collective.

The NCAA put the kibosh on the idea though, noting that “advertising and/or commercial marks” were prohibited on uniforms. That didn’t stop the university from plastering the codes on screens and posters throughout its home stadium.

Tennessee took a more direct approach. The Volunteers added a 10% “talent fee” to their 2025 season tickets, noting that the extra money would help compensate the players.

In the District, no school tackled the new reality like Howard University. Men’s basketball coach Kenneth Blakeney searched for a $100 million investment this summer in exchange for a 33% stake in the team in a first-of-its-kind concept.

The coach’s proposal would split basketball revenue three ways, though Howard officials have not vetted the idea. New investors would take one-third of the profits, while the school and the basketball program would split the remaining proceeds.

“I do feel like there is a short window of opportunity because the speed that NIL is moving, the transfer portal is moving, the professionalism of our business is happening. This s—- has to take place fast,” Blakeney told the Washington Post in July. “There has to be some conversations.”

The school has not announced any new investments in the basketball program, and Blakeney did not respond to a comment request from The Washington Times.

Maryland officials have brainstormed their own fundraisers to keep up in the cutthroat Big Ten conference, which features Goliaths such as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State.

“We are hugely competitive with our Big Ten peers, but we also want to provide what’s best for our student-athletes,” Brian Ullmann, Maryland’s deputy athletic director and chief strategy officer, said of the school’s name, image and likeness strategy. “Ultimately, what NIL was intended to do was to provide student-athletes with opportunities, and that’s what we try to facilitate.”

Though Maryland’s monetization programs cover all sports — from baseball to gymnastics — football and men’s basketball are king. 

A gymnast might get free meals at a restaurant, but one Maryland football player earned $80,000 for an appearance, according to a Washington Post study that found that 94% of name, image and likeness money went to Maryland’s football and men’s basketball players.

A robust, university-based name, image and likeness system is vital for recruiting in the modern sports landscape.

Maryland understands that firsthand, as it added basketball star Derik Queen, the No. 10 player in the 2024 recruiting class.

Queen’s sponsorship potential is already worth $863,000, according to On3.com. 

The Terrapins announced their latest revenue stream for the school and for players this week — a merchandise line with Under Armour designed to appeal to nostalgia with a variety of throwback logos and designs. 

The university will offer the merchandise only to superfans, boosters and donors who join the school’s collective and donate at least $25 per month.

It’s just one piece of the pie for Maryland’s collective. They bring in money from small donors, bigger contributors, sponsorships and member subscriptions.

“The key for us is to not rely on any single revenue stream, but to have a diversified one that we think can be a little bit more sustainable over the long run,” Ullmann said.

On the other side of the District, the player-led collective at Northern Virginia’s George Mason has an entirely different set of challenges than those facing Maryland. The basketball-focused school has to keep pace with the Atlantic 10 conference but lacks the fanbase and history of a school like Maryland.

“We wanted to start a collective so that we could continue to compete,” said Chris Durlak, one of the founders of the Patriot Collective. “We realized that we needed it. If we didn’t do it, we were going to get left behind.”

Instead of prioritizing big money deals, the Patriot Collective focuses on increasing the business acumen of George Mason’s men’s and women’s basketball players. The collective helps arrange meetings, but the players decide which deals they want to take.

Last year, that involved a showing of the movie “Elf,” where players dressed as Santa Claus and his elves. The $25 tickets raised money for the player-directed collective.

“They wanted to do something in costume for the holidays; it was very specific,” Durlak said. “We try to involve the players as much as possible. They are at the center of what we do.”

A larger payday isn’t the most important consideration at a school like George Mason, according to Durlak. Transparency is the top priority.

“What we say we’re going to give you, we give you. We do it in a very transparent way,” Durlak said, noting that players are given contracts and time to review them. “We don’t play games. What I’m most proud of is that we’re not always offering the highest number to a recruit, but what we do offer, we always deliver on.”

A cautionary tale

The transparency that Durlak mentioned isn’t a given in a collegiate landscape often described as the “wild, wild west.” The football team at UNLV is a perfect example.

Quarterback Matthew Sluka led the Rebels to a 3-0 start to the season, but the New York native unexpectedly stepped away from the team in September. He said UNLV officials misled him about sponsorship payments he would receive after transferring from Holy Cross this season.

The quarterback said an assistant coach verbally offered him $100,000 to move west. School officials said no official offer existed and no contracts were signed.

With limited oversight from government officials or the NCAA, there’s little recourse for players or schools in these situations.

“The NCAA fully supports college athletes profiting from their NIL, but unfortunately there is little oversight or accountability in the NIL space and far too often promises made to student-athletes are broken,” Tim Buckley, NCAA senior vice president for external affairs, said in a statement.

The times, they are a-changin’

The landscape is set to change again pretty soon. A settlement in the landmark House vs. NCAA lawsuit has paved the way for schools to directly compensate student-athletes without the need for a name, image and likeness collective.

“We’re emerging out of the first era of NIL and moving into the second era, that is, how does NIL align with revenue sharing?” Ullmann said. “For a lot of schools, managing that transition is going to be job No. 1 for most athletic departments.”

To Durlak, revenue-sharing represents a much-needed course correction. NIL deals shouldn’t rely on donors who already receive regular donation requests in the mail from their alma mater.

“It really allows NIL to become what it was supposed to be. It isn’t supposed to be fundraising to fill a gap,” Durlak said. “What it’s supposed to be is revenue capture, revenue-sharing. That’s what you’re going to see in the future.”

After years of amateurism and the rapid spread of player empowerment, the next era of college sports will be dictated by those who can adapt to changing rules to support their athletes.

“I think I have a pretty good idea of how Maryland is going to manage it,” Ullmann said. “I also know that six months from now, it might be very different than what I have on paper today. For people that really want to help shape the future of college athletics, this is an exciting time.”