NIL Collectives Back In

Ross Dellenger reports: “As part of the agreement, the College Sports Commission is expected to treat collectives or any ‘school-associated entity’ in a similar fashion as other businesses when determining the legitimacy of third-party NIL deals submitted to the CSC’s NIL Go clearinghouse.”

July 23, 2025

House Attorneys, Power Conferences Work Out Deal to Relax NIL Collective Roadblocks: Sources
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger writes, “Less than a month into the implementation of the House settlement, college sports’ new enforcement entity is adjusting its approach.

“Attorneys for the House plaintiffs have struck an agreement with the power conferences and NCAA officials to amend the decision-making from the industry’s new enforcement arm, the College Sports Commission, related to how booster-backed collectives can compensate athletes. Multiple sources spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity.

“As part of the agreement, the College Sports Commission is expected to treat collectives or any ‘school-associated entity’ in a similar fashion as other businesses when determining the legitimacy of third-party NIL deals submitted to the CSC’s NIL Go clearinghouse.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

U.S. Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions
The New York Times’ Juliet Macur writes, “The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee quietly changed its eligibility rules on Monday to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports, and now will comply with President Trump’s executive order on the issue, according to a post on the organization’s website.

The new policy, expressed in a short, vaguely worded paragraph, is tucked under the category of ‘USOPC Athlete Safety Policy’ on the site, and does not include details of how the ban will work. Nor does the new policy include the word ‘transgender’ or the title of Mr. Trump’s executive order, ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,’ referring to it instead as ‘Executive Order 14201.’”
^{The Athletic}

WNBA All-Star Game Ratings Fall 36% Without Clark Playing
Sportico’s Jason Clinkscales writes, “The WNBA All-Star Game, hindered by Caitlin Clark not playing, pulled in a sizable audience for the second summer in a row. The midseason exhibition drew 2.19 million viewers for ABC on Saturday night. While the total audience was down 36% versus last year, the event was the second-most watched All-Star Game in WNBA history.

“Last summer’s contest, an exhibition between Team USA and the league’s best non-Olympians, including Clark, garnered 3.442 million viewers. The game itself was tight, as the WNBA All-Stars pulled out the 117-109 win over the American squad just ahead of the Paris Olympics.”
^Sportico

NBC Sports Sees Best Open Championship Since 2022
Scottie Scheffler’s four-stroke win at the Open Championship delivered NBC Sports some big audience gains, including the best final round since 2022. NBC drew 4.1 million viewers on Sunday from 9:02am-1:51pm ET as Scheffler secured his first Claret Jug, up 21% from Xander Schauffele’s two-stroke win over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel last year. It’s also up 16% from Brian Harman’s six-stroke win two years ago. Sunday’s final round peaked at 6.1 million viewers from 1:30-1:45pm.
^{Sports Business Journal}

‘The Rich Eisen Show’ Gets Noon Slot on ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio will begin broadcasting “The Rich Eisen Show” starting on September 2, with the program in its traditional noon to 3pm ET radio timeslot. The program hosted by Rich Eisen will continue to originate out of L.A. and will be simulcast live on Disney+ every day and on ESPN+ during select weeks in the year. “The Rich Eisen Show” will continue to broadcast live from marquee event including the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and NFL Combine.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Qatar Confirms Bid to Host 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games
The Athletic’s Jessica Hopkins reports: “The QOC is in ongoing discussions with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as part of the election process, per a news release on its website. Qatar hosted the 2019 World Athletics Championships and the 2022 men’s World Cup, which attracted widespread controversy due to the nation’s anti-homosexuality laws and labor conditions, which human rights groups routinely condemned, as thousands of migrant workers died building the stadiums in the build-up to the soccer tournament.”
^{The Athletic}

NWSL’s 16th Club in Denver Unveils Expansion Team Name, Crest and Branding
The Athletic’s Melanie Anzidei writes, “It’s been 173 days since the NWSL awarded its 16th club to Denver. Now that expansion team has its name: Denver Summit FC. The club’s ownership group, led by controlling owner Rob Cohen, on Tuesday unveiled the side’s name, crest and colors, revealing the team’s brand identity with just eight months to go before its inaugural season kicks off in 2026.”
^{The Athletic}

Buenos Aires to Host MotoGP Races Again After Nearly 30 Years and Hopes to Bring F1 Back As Well
After nearly three decades, MotoGP will return to Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires and a renovated racetrack in 2027, with local authorities hoping it will help bring Formula 1 back as well. The top motorcycling circuit has been staging its races in Argentina at the Termas de Río Hondo racetrack since 2014, in the province of Santiago del Estero. MotoGP last raced in Buenos Aires in 1999.
^{AP News}

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Trump Executive Order on College Sports Unlikely to Move the Needle
Sportico’s Michael McCann writes, “A draft of the order, obtained by Yahoo, adopts the viewpoint that big-time college sports has morphed into an unworkable, volatile and overly litigious framework. The order negatively references unlimited transfers, the prospect of college athletes gaining employment recognition and a “chaotic race to the bottom” with states opportunistically using NIL laws to supply “competitive advantages” to their universities.

“Dubbed ‘Saving College Sports,’ the order directs several federal officials and agencies— including the U.S. Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the U.S. Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board—to pursue policies that would allegedly ensure the “long-term availability” of college sports opportunities.”
^Sportico

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