Hashtag Sports Newsletter

NCAA Issues First NIL Ruling with Cavinder Twins at the Center

Written by Emily Black | March 2, 2023

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Fan Fact
According to Zoomph, branded NFL social content with sports betting/fantasy sponsors generated nearly $12M in total post value last season.

Top Story

NCAA issues first NIL ruling, with Cavinder twins at the center of it

The NCAA issued its first ruling in a name, image, and likeness infractions case Friday, wading into what until now had been uncharted waters in terms of rules enforcement.

What's the deal?

A case involving Miami women’s basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder reached a negotiated resolution that resulted in a three-game suspension for Hurricanes coach Katie Meier, which she served at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. The Cavinder twins, who are social media sensations with a vast following, were not sanctioned—which is consistent with the NCAA’s stance that it does not plan to penalize athletes themselves for NIL-adjacent infractions.

Perhaps most significantly, prominent Miami booster John Ruiz, who violated rules by contacting the Cavinders and providing an impermissible meal, was not disassociated from the program. The penalty, even absent a dissociation, was reluctantly approved by the Committee on Infractions, which often is charged with assessing penalties. However, this case was a negotiated resolution between the school and NCAA Enforcement, which left the COI in a position of either accepting or rejecting the outcome. It chose to accept, but expressed its reservations in an unusual preamble to the case synopsis.

The bottom line:

In a sign of its aggressive approach to NIL, the NCAA has bulked up an enforcement staff that was, at one point, down as much as 20 personnel compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. Jon Duncan, the NCAA vice president of enforcement, told administrators at the convention that association officials have closed several NIL-related cases (without penalties) and have several active cases.

Read: Sports Illustrated

Partnerships

SeatGeek wins $100 million deal to resell MLB tickets

Mobile platform SeatGeek will replace StubHub, effective immediately, as the league’s official reseller. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but industry sources told Forbes the deal is a revenue-sharing agreement that promises MLB roughly $100 million per year over five years.

"MLB clubs will have access to SeatGeek’s data to help expand their customer bases. MLB chief revenue officer Noah Garden told Forbes that discussions with SeatGeek intensified last year and that MLB thoroughly examined SeatGeek’s technology to ensure the platform could handle the extra volume of users. MLB is trying to lure younger fans that use SeatGeek’s platform while enhancing its “open distribution strategy” around ticketing, the way it does sports betting. For example, though competitor StubHub will not have the title of official reseller, MLB expects to negotiate a smaller deal with the platform to operate in its ticket ecosystem. StubHub held MLB’s official resale rights since 2007.

Read: Forbes

streaming

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV shows everyone else how to stream sports

This much was clear in the first few minutes of the opening weekend of the 2023 MLS season—and the inaugural run for MLS Season Pass: Apple absolutely nailed its implementation of a streaming sports package.

We don’t know anything about the technical aspects of NFL Sunday Ticket as streamed by YouTube and YouTube TV. Will it be good? Will it be consistent? We know YouTubeTV can do 4K just fine. But will it be here? Or can it? In other words, will it be worth it? MLS Season Pass on Apple TV has very quickly shown that a tech company—and the video production partners whose names you almost never hear—is very much up to the task.

Read: Digital Trends

PARTNER CONTENT

[Webinar] Hear the highs, lows, and challenges of two creative executives' career journeys

While Minute Media is actively building recruitment programs to invite more talent of color into our teams, we are also encouraging our people to bring their own personal stories and journeys, as we believe that diversity without inclusion is a story of missed opportunities.

In this intimate fireside chat, Ashly Robinson, Head of Original Development and Production at The Players’ Tribune, and Adena Jones, Director of Digital Content at the New York Knicks will flesh out the highs, the lows, the challenges, and the opportunities they seized while building their successful careers and share lessons for aspiring professionals looking to build a creative career in the sports business.

Digital

Ahmad Rashad’s ‘NBA Rewind’ set to stream on NBA app

Longtime NBA Inside Stuff host Ahmad Rashad is coming to the NBA App with a new streaming show NBA Rewind with Ahmad Rashad. “NBA Rewind with Ahmad Rashad will provide an inside look at some of the NBA’s current greats along with legends themselves,” said Rashad. “Throughout the four decades that I have covered the league, I have learned that fans deeply appreciate my perspective on the game and the players, and NBA Rewind with Ahmad Rashad will provide it to them on the NBA App.”

Rashad, who played NFL football for 10 seasons, hosted NBA Inside Stuff for 16 seasons. He also hosted Ahmad Inside, a five-part series on ESPN Plus. The NBA relaunched its app last year and had been producing original programming for it. Other series on the NBA app include Pass The Rock, Throw It Down with Bill Walton, and Gold Blooded. The app is a product of NBA Digital, a joint venture of the NBA and Warner Brother Discovery Sports.

Read: Next TV

Streaming

MSG Networks to launch streaming service for Knicks, Rangers games

MSG+ will launch this summer with games for the NBA’s New York Knicks, as well as the NHL’s New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, and New Jersey Devils. The streaming service will cost $29.99 a month, or $309.99 annually, according to a company release.

The launch comes as regional sports networks in particular have felt the pain of consumers leaving the cable-TV bundle and opting for streaming services instead. However, watching local sports teams is often difficult for cord-cutters as few online bundles carry regional sports networks, and the networks have been slow to offer their own direct-to-consumer options.

Read: CNBC

What Else Is Trending?
  • NFTS: A judge has ruled NBA Top Shot collectibles are securities which could have wild repercussions across the industry.
  • MARKETING: The Chicago Red Stars recreated Netflix's Wednesday's viral dance to rebuild brand trust as they announced their schedule.
  • BRANDS: Jake Paul has endorsed Celsius energy drink, which competes with the Logan Paul-backed Prime.
  • LEAGUES: MLB is hiring three execs to its newly created Local Media department as the fate of RSNs remains perilous.
  • TECH: The NBA has selected seven companies for the second installment of NBA Launchpad.
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DEAL OF THE WEEK

Morgan Stanley Named as an Official Global Partner of the WTA

Morgan Stanley will be the exclusive presenting partner of the WTA’s Come Play initiative, which utilizes tennis to positively impact communities and encourages girls of all ages and abilities to lead healthy and productive lives on and off the court. As part of this global community tennis program, WTA players, alumnae, and coaches participate in tennis clinics and activities to help build the next generation of leaders. In addition, the partnership will include financial literacy and planning resources for players along with a content series, branding at select WTA events, and more.

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