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Morning Edition

October 2, 2025

NIL Go was meant to set up formal rules for college athlete NIL (name, image, and likeness) payments. Front Office Sports has learned that multiple major collectives have given up on the clearinghouse, tired of long waits and paused payments.

— Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Fed-Up NIL Collectives Are Bypassing NIL Deal Approval Process [[link removed]]

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Multiple major power conference collectives are giving up on trying to work through the NIL Go clearinghouse and within the bounds of the new rules set up by the House v. NCAA settlement [[link removed]], Front Office Sports has learned.

At least two collectives have begun to pay players before the submitted deals have been approved, and are aware of instances where players haven’t logged deals at all, sources tell FOS. The inefficiencies of the system have created an unsustainable landscape, they said.

“I have deep concerns as to the longevity of this system,” a source from an ACC collective said, adding that many across the industry desperately wanted the system to work but now feel like they have no choice but to violate the rules.

“The rules created by the House settlement around third-party NIL deals are actively in place and enforceable and apply to all current NCAA Division I student-athletes,” a College Sports Commission spokesperson told FOS in response. “Pay-for-play deals are not allowed under the rules and will not be approved in NIL Go. There is no safe harbor for breaking these rules and there will be eligibility consequences for student-athletes who do not follow them.”

After the House settlement was approved in June, the power conferences launched the College Sports Commission to enforce the settlement’s new rules. Among them: Division I athletes would have to submit every NIL deal they receive valued over $600 for scrutiny and approval, to ensure it was for a “valid business purpose” and offered fair-market value and not pay-for-play in disguise. They partnered with Deloitte to create software—called NIL Go—to receive submissions, which must come from players themselves.

Since NIL Go launched in mid-June, however, players, agents, and NIL collective operators have told FOS [[link removed]] they’ve waited weeks or longer to receive any feedback on submitted deals. (Last month, a group of collectives reported [[link removed]] that about $11 million worth of deals were stuck in limbo.) As a result, many across the industry have begun to eschew NIL Go altogether.

Two SEC collectives have begun to compensate players for NIL deals that have been submitted to NIL Go but not yet approved, two sources from the collectives told FOS.

In the case of one of the collectives, agents and players had begun badgering them for payments on deals that hadn’t been approved yet, one of the SEC collective sources said. So the collective decided to pay out some of the smaller deals—worth in the four-figure range—that haven’t gotten approval yet.

The source at the other SEC collective said multiple deals their athletes had submitted have been languishing in NIL Go for weeks, so the collective decided to go ahead and pay players. They said that their athletic department had reached out to NIL Go for assistance, but hadn’t heard back.

The source from the ACC NIL collective said that they were nearly ready to circumvent the NIL Go system and preparing to pay players for deals that had been submitted but not approved.

It’s not just that brands and collectives are paying players without NIL Go’s signoff. In some cases, players aren’t submitting them at all.

The first SEC source said that out of close to 70 agreements sent to football players in August, only about 20 had been submitted to NIL Go as of Oct. 1. The source cited multiple reasons: Players didn’t know how to use the software, didn’t care to use it, or didn’t want to submit the deal for fear of it being rejected. What’s more, there’s really no way for collectives or brands to confirm that deals have been approved through NIL Go.

“It’s creating a very uncomfortable situation for everybody involved,” the first SEC source said.

It is unclear how the CSC would police these rules violations. The CSC would have to scrutinize thousands of athletes’ deals, whether submitted to NIL Go or not. For example, that could mean scouring players’ social media accounts to see whether the deals they submitted matched the deals they posted to their Instagram or TikTok accounts. The CSC told FOS [[link removed]] it’s setting up an anonymous reporting tip line to assist with the process, but that may not be efficient enough.

The CSC has just four full-time employees to evaluate all submitted deals, investigate alleged rules violations, and enforce punishments. The organization has enlisted members of Deloitte and an outside law firm to help.

“We’re literally looking at a system collapsing [within] the first five months of it being launched,” the ACC collective source said.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

The Rise of E1

On Nov. 6, Future of Sports: The Next Wave [[link removed]]—presented by Front Office Sports and Courtside Sports Advisors, with official partners E1, Team Miami, and Campbell Capital Management—will bring together the sport’s top owners, investors, athletes, and celebrities in Miami for an exclusive, invite-only half-day experience.

Kicking off the event is the E1 Series panel.

Hear from the people behind E1 on how the series came about, its influences, its celebrity backers, and why it’s poised to take off. Joining the conversation is E1 Series founder and chairman Alejandro Agag and CEO Rodi Basso.

Want to join the conversation? Request to attend [[link removed]]. Space is limited.

Bears Want $855M in Public Money for Suburban Stadium [[link removed]]

Manica

The Bears officially have a new site for their planned stadium and intend to pay for much of the project themselves, but there could still be plenty of public money involved.

The NFL team has released a new economic impact statement for its proposed domed stadium and mixed-use development, just weeks after detailing its intent to abandon a downtown location and build instead on land it owns in suburban Arlington Heights, Ill. [[link removed]] The reworked model again affirms the Bears’ plan to fund the stadium itself entirely, a building slated to cost $2 billion.

The statement, however, also details a price tag of more than $5 billion for the entire development, slightly higher than the prior project of $4.7 billion [[link removed]], and calls for $855 million in public-sector investments in infrastructure.

That latter figure represents the newest and most specific ask in the team’s long and winding journey to build a next-generation venue in the No. 3 U.S. media market. The sought-after contribution from taxpayer dollars—targeted primarily for improvements to nearby roads and rail lines—is a sizable change from the even split contemplated in the prior, downtown plan, one that ran into firm resistance from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker [[link removed]].

The new split, a 17% contribution of the total cost from public money, much more closely resembles the 29% funding from the District of Columbia in a recently approved stadium and mixed-use development for the Commanders [[link removed]].

As has increasingly been the case, time is of the essence for the Bears. The team says that construction costs continue to escalate by more than $10 million per month—not surprising given broader inflationary and tariff fears across the economy.

The Bears also want to see state legislation passed that would freeze property-tax assessments on any large-scale project in the state and allow them to negotiate payments with local taxing authorities. That issue has been at the heart of a situation with Arlington Heights that Bears executives say is progressing but not resolved.

“We are urging state leaders to pass the Mega Project legislation, which creates a fair, predictable framework for property taxes that applies to any large-scale investment in Illinois,” the Bears said. “With this certainty, we can move forward ensuring this once-in-a-generation project becomes a reality.”

The team also released a new set of stadium renderings [[link removed]] that have a close similarity to the downtown proposal. The updated design, however, takes advantage of the greater space that the 326-acre property at the former Arlington International Racecourse allows.

Alabama-Georgia Draws 10.4M Viewers, Drives Record CFB Season Pace [[link removed]]

Online Athens

Alabama’s upset victory over Georgia on Saturday night also produced an upset in the TV ratings.

ABC drew 10.4 million viewers for the SEC clash that saw the No. 17 Crimson Tide beat the No. 5 Bulldogs 24–21 in Athens. That topped a Big Ten matchup featuring two top-10 opponents, as NBC drew 8.5 million viewers for No. 6 Oregon’s 30–24, double-overtime win at No. 3 Penn State. Both games kicked off in the 7:30 p.m. ET TV window.

Alabama-Georgia had a strong lead-in from No. 13 Ole Miss’s 24–19 upset of No. 4 LSU, which drew 7.7 million viewers in the 3:30 p.m. ET window on ABC. ABC continues to be on a record pace this season [[link removed]], averaging 7.1 million viewers per college football broadcast through five weeks, which is the network’s highest mark ever.

In the noon ET window on Saturday, Notre Dame’s 56–13 rout of Arkansas drew 4.3 million viewers on ABC, narrowly beating out Fox’s broadcast of the much more competitive USC-Illinois game, which averaged 4.11 million viewers as the Fighting Illini beat the Trojans 34–32 on a walk-off field goal.

Fox’s Big Noon Saturday game window is averaging 6.23 million viewers (up 22% over last year’s average through Week 5), buoyed by the record 16.62 million viewers [[link removed]] for Texas–Ohio State, which was the most-watched Week 1 college football game ever on any network, and still by far the most-watched game of this season.

Overall, total viewing of college football across all networks is still pacing at a record high [[link removed]], up 19% over last year.

LOUD AND CLEAR SEC’s Parity Era

The Clarion-Ledger

“In my opinion, the dynasties are over.”

—Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin, on the impact of the SEC adding a ninth conference game [[link removed]], in addition to expanding to 16 teams last year.

Alabama won nine SEC championships and six national titles from 2009 to 2023, before Nick Saban retired. Georgia has won the SEC three times and two national championships under Kirby Smart’s watch since 2016.

Kiffin, speaking to ESPN [[link removed]] on Wednesday, said, “The conference has never been this balanced. … My concern for the programs and for the coaches is that fans aren’t going to be able to get used to the numbers being different, the wins and losses. If you’re a program that’s used to being a nine- or 10-win team and you go 7-5, your fans are going to think the team is terrible and the coach is terrible.” Ole Miss is 5–0 this season and ranked No. 5 in the nation.

Conversation Starters Albert Pujols will be interviewed for the Angels manager job [[link removed]]. The future Hall of Famer spent 10 years in Anaheim and made more than $220 million playing for the Angels. Stephen A. Smith says WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert needs to resign after Napheesa Collier’s statement to the media about her. Take a look [[link removed]]. The Sphere in Las Vegas turned into soccer balls from every FIFA World Cup since 1970 to build hype for the official 2026 World Cup ball. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks San Diego Wave Owners Sue Jill Ellis for Abandoning Team After Sale [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]Ellis broke a pledge by leaving to join FIFA after the deal closed, the suit says. Pedro Martinez Finds Zen in Gardening and Raising Chickens [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]The former Red Sox pitcher estimates he has more than 1,000 chickens. College Sports Commission Sets Up ‘Snitch Line’ to Report Rules Violations [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The organization is creating an “anonymous reporting tip line.” Question of the Day

Do you think the NCAA can realistically enforce the new NIL rules?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Wednesday’s result: 43% of respondents are surprised by the quick hooks WNBA coaches have received this season.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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