🧭 THE HELM — Issue #39

Hey All-Stars and Brand-Builders,

Happy Valentine's Day! While the rest of the world is exchanging chocolates and flowers, the NIL world is delivering something far more interesting: state legislators opening their wallets for athlete compensation, pro sports leagues dipping their toes into college NIL waters, and the compliance system tightening its grip on the transfer portal. Love is in the air—and so is opportunity (and a few landmines).

This week's edition is packed with stories that will directly impact how you build your brand, protect your eligibility, and navigate an NIL landscape that's evolving faster than ever. Whether you're a student-athlete mapping your next move, a parent helping your child avoid pitfalls, or a coach adapting your program to the new reality—this briefing is for you.

Let's chart the course.

The Story

The University of Hawaii just became a test case for something that could reshape how smaller programs compete in the NIL era: direct state legislative funding for athlete compensation. House Bill 2384 passed with unanimous support, seeking $5 million from the Hawaii state legislature to fund NIL opportunities for UH athletes.

Why This Is Groundbreaking: Most NIL funding comes from private donors, collectives, and brand deals. Hawaii is pioneering a model where taxpayer dollars directly fund athlete compensation. If this works, expect other states, especially those with flagship public universities that can't compete with Power Four donor networks, to follow.

Nine UH athletes and four head coaches testified before lawmakers. Football offensive lineman Dean Briski revealed he turned down significant money from Power Four schools to stay in Hawaii. Baseball player Elijah Ickes, an MLB draft prospect, spoke about watching teammates leave for better NIL opportunities elsewhere. Athletics director Matt Elliott noted UH is targeting $3 million for the current academic year but has only raised $1.6–$1.7 million from private donors… underscoring exactly why state funding is needed.

🧭 Navigator Insight: This is the NIL equity story in miniature. Athletes at programs like Hawaii aren't less talented; they're less funded. State-backed NIL could level the playing field for programs in geographically isolated markets or smaller conferences. If you're a student-athlete at a non-Power Four school, pay close attention: this precedent could directly affect your earning potential. And if you're considering transferring purely for NIL dollars, understand that the landscape could shift beneath our feet if more states adopt this model.

🧠 Coach's Corner: For coaches at mid-major and non-Power Four programs, Hawaii's approach is a potential roadmap. Instead of trying to out-fundraise Alabama's booster base, work with your administration and state legislators to explore public funding options. The pitch is straightforward: NIL funding retains homegrown talent, strengthens community connections, and prevents brain drain to wealthier programs. Dean Briski's testimony is your template: real athletes, real stories, real impact on retention.

If your child plays for a state university, this is a development worth tracking. State-funded NIL programs could provide more stability and transparency than private collective arrangements, which can be volatile and unpredictable. The key question to ask admissions and compliance offices: Is your state considering legislative NIL support?

The College Sports Commission dropped critical guidance in early January that every transfer portal athlete and their family needs to understand: third-party NIL offers used to lure athletes into transfers before those deals are cleared through the NIL Go system could put your eligibility at serious risk.

Here's how this plays out: An MMR partner contacts you through the portal and promises $200,000 in NIL deals if you transfer. You commit, uproot your life, move across the country. Then the deals go through NIL Go for fair market value review and get flagged or rejected. Now you're at a new school with a fraction of the promised compensation and potentially facing eligibility questions.

🧭 Navigator Insight: This is the biggest risk facing portal athletes right now. Before making any transfer decision based on NIL promises, demand specifics: What brands are involved? What services are you expected to provide? Has the deal been pre-cleared through NIL Go? If anyone pressures you to commit before deals are formally cleared, that's your cue to slow down and consult a lawyer. A legitimate offer will survive scrutiny; a problematic one won't.

For Athletes: Never transfer based solely on verbal NIL promises. Get specifics in writing. Ask whether deals have been submitted to NIL Go. Have an independent attorney review any arrangement before you commit to a transfer. Document every conversation about compensation.

For Parents: You are the guardrail. When agents, collectives, or MMR partners come calling with dollar figures, be the voice of reason that asks: "Show us the cleared deal." Your child's eligibility and future are worth more than a promise on a phone call.

🧠 Coach's Corner: This guidance gives coaches a legitimate compliance talking point when recruiting against questionable NIL promises. If a rival's MMR partner is promising the moon without cleared deals, you can point athletes and families to the CSC's guidance and explain the risks. Transparency is your competitive advantage—use it.

The NCAA Division I Council approved commercial sponsor patches on uniforms, equipment, and apparel starting August 1, 2026. While this is primarily an institutional revenue play, it creates a ticking time bomb for athletes with personal NIL endorsement deals.

Imagine this: You have a personal NIL deal with Nike. Your school signs a uniform patch deal with Adidas. You're now wearing a competitor's brand on your jersey while promoting Nike on your social media. Who wins? Who loses? And more importantly: does your Nike deal have an exclusivity clause that your school's Adidas patch just violated?

🧭 Navigator Insight: Every athlete with an existing NIL endorsement deal needs to review their contracts immediately for exclusivity provisions and competitor clauses. If your deal says you can't be associated with competing brands, a school uniform patch could technically put you in breach. The institutions are required to review for conflicts, but don't rely on your school's compliance office to catch everything—you need to be your own first line of defense.

🧠 Coach's Corner: This is going to require a new level of coordination between athletic departments, compliance offices, and athletes' personal NIL teams. Coaches should be proactive about communicating potential patch sponsors to their athletes well in advance of August 2026 so conflicts can be identified and resolved. The last thing anyone needs is a starter sitting out because of a sponsorship conflict that could have been prevented with a conversation.

Texas WR Cam Coleman signed with Crocs, adding to his $2.9 million NIL valuation. Oregon WR Dakorien Moore partnered with Red Bull. Miami's Malachi Toney landed a deal with streetwear brand Hellstar. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, with a $1.6 million NIL valuation, starred in an AT&T commercial. And Nike extended its relationship with LSU, signing 10 Tigers athletes to individual NIL deals.

🧭 Navigator Insight: Notice the diversity of brands: footwear (Crocs), energy drinks (Red Bull), streetwear (Hellstar), telecom (AT&T), athletic wear (Nike). NIL is no longer just about sports brands. Athletes with distinctive personal brands are attracting lifestyle companies that value authenticity and audience engagement over pure athletic performance. If you're only pitching sports companies, you're leaving money on the table.

Tennessee softball pitcher Karlyn Pickens became the first athlete to sign an NIL partnership with the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). This is a milestone: a professional league partnering with a college athlete through NIL. With nearly 250,000 combined followers on Instagram and TikTok, plus existing deals with New Balance and Rawlings, Pickens demonstrates how women's sports athletes can build multi-layered NIL portfolios. The AUSL plans more collegiate NIL partnerships before their second season begins in June.

The Rapid City Rush (ECHL hockey) announced the first NIL deal in ECHL history, partnering with two South Dakota Mines athletes: Cole Dobberstein (track and field) and Ivy Vindivich (volleyball). This isn't about big money: it's about local professional teams creating authentic community partnerships with nearby university athletes.

🧠 Coach's Corner: The Rapid City Rush deal is a model that every program should study, regardless of size. Minor league and local professional sports teams in your community are untapped NIL partners for your athletes. These partnerships build genuine community connections, give athletes real marketing experience, and create wins for everyone involved. If you're coaching at a Division II or III school and think NIL doesn't apply to your athletes, think again.

Vanderbilt revamped its NIL operations under the banner "Anchor Advantage," with Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee (she is the best!) positioning it as a strategic restructuring to stay competitive. This is a mid-tier Power Four school acknowledging that NIL requires institutional commitment, not just booster enthusiasm. The rebrand signals a more centralized, professional approach to athlete compensation, one that emphasizes long-term competitiveness over reactive spending.

Perhaps the most intriguing under-the-radar story: North Dakota State may leverage local oil revenue for private NIL deals as the Bison eye a potential move to FBS and the Mountain West Conference. This is the geographic NIL advantage in action, a program in a resource-rich region using that economic base to compete with traditional powers.

🧭 Navigator Insight: These two stories reveal the same truth from different angles: NIL success isn't just about how much money you have, it's about how strategically you deploy it. Vanderbilt is reorganizing to compete smarter in a wealthy conference. NDSU is leveraging regional economic advantages to punch above its weight class. For athletes evaluating programs, look beyond the top-line NIL budget, ask how the money is managed, who makes allocation decisions, and whether the program has a coherent NIL strategy or is just throwing cash at problems.

A legal advisory this week flagged a growing risk that most athletes and their families aren't thinking about: trademark infringement in NIL brand names and logos. As athletes create personal brands, catchy slogans, and custom merchandise lines, they're increasingly stepping on existing trademarks, sometimes without knowing it.

Why This Matters Now: The early NIL days were forgiving because most deals were small and flew under the radar. As valuations climb and athletes build more sophisticated brands, established companies are paying closer attention. A trademark lawsuit could not only cost you financially, it could destroy a brand you've spent years building.

🧭 Navigator Insight: Before launching any personal brand, merchandise, or catchphrase, conduct a basic trademark search at USPTO.gov. It's free, it takes 10 minutes, and it could save you thousands in legal fees. Better yet, work with an attorney who specializes in intellectual property to protect your brand before someone else challenges it. Building a brand is exciting; defending a trademark lawsuit is not.

Kevin Cahill offered a refreshingly honest perspective on coaching in the NIL and transfer portal era, describing it as "rolling with the punches." Even as defending Patriot League champions, Lehigh faces constant roster churn as athletes weigh NIL opportunities at other schools.

Lehigh football coach 🧠 Coach's Corner: Coach Cahill's candor is important because it normalizes the challenge that every coach at every level is facing. The old model: recruit, develop, retain, has been permanently disrupted. The new model requires coaches to become part recruiter, part retention specialist, part brand advisor, and part compliance officer. The programs that thrive won't be the ones that resist this reality; they'll be the ones that embrace it and build systems around it. Smaller programs have a genuine advantage here: they can offer personal attention, meaningful playing time, and authentic community connections that big-money programs can't replicate.

For Athletes at Smaller Programs: Don't assume the grass is always greener. Transferring for NIL money sounds great on paper, but remember the CSC's warning from earlier in this issue: promises that haven't been cleared are just words. A program that values your development, gives you meaningful playing time, and supports your brand, even with modest NIL resources, may be worth more than an uncertain promise at a bigger school.

NHey All-Stars and Brand-Builders,