When UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka entered the transfer portal after three games this season — saying the school hadn’t delivered on a $100,000 NIL promise — every other program looked inward.
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake evaluated whether he could lose a player under similar circumstances, and came to a clear conclusion.
“No,” Sitake said. “We don’t recruit with NIL being the focus. So that’s not going to be a problem for us.”
But every program has a different approach when it comes to NIL. So what is in the Cougars’ Name, Image and Likeness contract?
The Salt Lake Tribune obtained the contract used by BYU’s officially endorsed collective, The Royal Blue Collective, and reviewed the language with the help of a sports law attorney.
The contract has an “exclusivity” clause in the deal — a non-compete — meaning players cannot engage in any NIL deals with competing collectives or affiliated companies.
It lists eight companies that the collective is affiliated with. That includes eight companies:
• Nutricost
• Mountain America Credit Union
• PACS
• Octo Health/Heath Decide
• Nuskin
• Quick Quick Car Wash
• TaxHawk
• Legally Mine
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff (12) as BYU hosts Southern Illinois, NCAA football in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
The contract states that without “written exemption,” The Royal Blue Collective will not “authorize or permit the use of an Ambassador’s likeness ... with any service that is competitive with or similar to a company’s products or services (as determined by company), anywhere in the world where [the collective] or [affiliated] company’s products are offered.”
That means, for example, while BYU can take money from competing credit unions, an athlete who signs on with the school’s collective cannot.
That might frustrate some athletes, but it makes some sense to Kansas City attorney Mit Winter, who specializes in college sports and business litigation.
“I’ve definitely seen other collective agreements that have exclusivity language like [BYU’s] in there,” Winter said. “From the collective’s perspective, it makes sense. Because the value of the athlete to them is with the collective working with them and having the rights to certain deliverables performed by the athlete. If the athlete is doing that with other collectives, even if it’s with the same school, it can lessen the value of those rights to the collectives.”
The Royal Blue Contract states that the agreement can be terminated “at any time, for any or no reason, by providing written notice.”
Winter said exclusivity language in some NIL contracts he’s reviewed could require an athlete who transfers schools to buy back his or her NIL rights from a collective.
“I’m not saying that’s in this contract,” Winter said. “But that’s something that’s in some collective agreements.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars tight end Mata'ava Ta'ase (88) reaches for a pass as BYU hosts Southern Illinois, NCAA football in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. A penalty was called on the defense on the play.
In the case of BYU’s collective, the contract states that if a player does try to earn money from a competing collective, or a competing company, “money damages would be insufficient in the event of a breach in this covenant not to compete.”
The Royal Blue contract states that the collective could sue to stop an athlete from profiting from a competing collective or company.
Even with that language, Winter said, it is unclear if a collective would actually enforce an exclusivity clause. The reason? It could hurt recruiting if a collective actually sued an athlete or forced a buyout, he said.
“If push comes to shove, and an athlete just refuses [to pay a buyout], is a collective actually going to sue an athlete?” Winter said. “Probably not, just because it could really hurt the affiliated school in recruiting.”
The Royal Blue did not respond to comment on its exclusivity clause.
What is required of a player?
The Royal Blue contract requires athletes to create a number of social media posts. The contract states that each player must do one Instagram post or story (four-to-six frames in length) before the 15th of each month to get paid.
Players also have to attend one “marketing activity,” such as a personal appearance, each month at one of the eight companies listed In the contract.
How much do players get paid?
Royal Blue’s pay scale varies from athlete to athlete.
The copy of the contract obtained by The Tribune outlines $24,000 in payments over the course of 12 months.
That includes three $3,500 payments in May, September and January. The collective would then make $1,500 payments for the remaining nine months.
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
