🏀🏈 KU’s Big NIL Announcement
🏈 Football Portal Update
📝 Quick Links: Hoops’ preseason tourney, Great new stadium vid
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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.
Hearing: KU’s Big NIL Move 📈
Kansas rolled out a new NIL partnership called "Flight" on Wednesday signaling significant changes ahead for the KU Athletics.
Let’s break what it really means.
The Big Picture:
Starting July 1, schools can pay players directly (pending House Settlement)
Each school gets ~$20M cap (give or take) for NIL payments
This means KU needs to find ~$20M annually to stay competitive
I’m Hearing the school is committed to making it happen
What’s Changing:
NIL is moving in-house at Kansas.
Credit to KU Athletics for being an early mover on this.
Mass Street collective model being phased out
I believe the partnership has ended — or will end in the immediate future.
All existing Mass St. donations transfer to the new system — or will still get to players.
Note: Mass St. and KU should get credit for being early movers that got NIL off to a good start. But we’re entering a new era now…
KU is streamlining the donation process.
You no longer have to ask, “Should I donate to Mass St. or KU?”
You can donate to KU and support NIL right here.
Want some better football players in the portal? Now is the time to donate.
The New Partnership:
The new partnership, called ‘FLIGHT,’ is with KC company Walz Tetrick Advertising.
Walz Tetrick will help source corporate endorsements beyond KU’s $20M cap.
They’ll focus on local and regional opportunities.
Will also work with KU’s existing national partners (like adidas).
The ideas is to build sustainable brand partnerships and repeatable revenue opportunities.
Why This Matters:
KU is getting out in front of major changes in college athletics
~$20M every year is a massive expense to account for
KU sits at the top of mid-tier/lower end of top-tier schools
Grassroots and smaller donations are crucial for success. Your $100-$1,000 donation truly adds up to help with NIL (compared to stadium fundraising, for example).
Looking Ahead:
The message is clear: KU plans to be a player in this new era. But it needs fan support.
This probably feels different or uncomfortable — and that’s totally valid. But this is the new reality for college athletics, and I’m OK with KU taking a proactive approach toward the future.
Help Spread the Word:
Tell your friends about today’s Hearing by copy and pasting this link into your group texts or on social media.
KU Football Portal Update
I’m going to keep the list running. Let me know what you think of the running portal updates in the poll at the bottom! There’s an option to share specific feedback or suggestions after you vote. I’ll do my best to incorporate your feedback.
NEW - Committed: Utah State DB DJ Graham
Has one year of eligibility remaining (maybe two due to injury in 2023)
Spent two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Utah State
Remember this incredible one-handed interception in 2021? That was Graham
His numbers at OU were mediocre at best… but he had a really nice season at Utah Stat last year.
PFF grade of 69.4 would’ve been KU’s fourth best among starters this year.
NEW - WRs I’m Watching 👀
The Jayhawks really need to land some WRs. I think they’ve missed on a couple of top targets — but some decent names remain.
Here’s a few I’m watching:
FIU WR Dean Patterson (KU in the mix, GT in play)
Michigan St. WR Aziah Johnson (KU in the mix, UNC in play)
Columbia WR Bryson Canty (Don’t let Columbia scare you off, he has potential)
Alabama WR Emmanuel Henderson (mentioned below).
From Wednesday…
Visiting: Alabama WR Emmanuel Henderson
Has two years of eligibility remaining
Had four catches for 82 yards this year
This catch against Georgia was really nice
Played 146 WR snaps & 176 special teams snaps this season
Committed: Alabama DB Jahlil Hurley
Has three years of eligibility after one season for Bama
Ranked as the No. 50 overall recruit on 247Sports’ Composite
Played three games for Bama this year
Committed: Tulsa OL Jack Tanner
Has three years of eligibility after one season for Tulsa
Played 438 snaps as a true freshman last year
Longer term project with Big 12 size at 6’6” ~300 pounds.
Committed: Ball St WR Cam Pickett
Has two years of eligibility remaining
Had 528 receiving yards on 49 catches for Ball State
PFF grade of 64.9 would’ve been KU’s third best this season
Committed: Oklahoma State Safety Lyrik Rawls
Coming off his redshirt junior year at Oklahoma St
Immediate upgrade at safety and projects as a starter
Pass coverage grade of 75.1 would’ve been KU’s third best this year
Committed: Auburn DL Gage Keys
Former Jayhawk returning to KU after transferring to Auburn last offseason
Tied for 3rd most QB hurries for KU in 2023
Please copy and paste this link to share with other KU fans.
Do you like the running list of portal updates?
🏀 KU released a hype video to announce a return to Vegas for next year’s Player’s Era Championship. The Tournament will have at least 18 teams and a new setup that should be pretty cool.. more to come on this.
🏈 Check out this new drone footage of KU’s football stadium. You can really get a sense for how different (and nice) this is gonna be.
🏈 Watch KU WR commit Cam Pickett take a 75-yard screen pass to the house against Buffalo.
