Players Era tournament growing, set to distribute over $24 million in 2025

This past fall, the Players Era Tournament doled out $9 million total in NIL dollars to the eight teams participating in the tourney’s inaugural year. Now the tournament is growing with no cap on the number of teams that could be involved in 2025.

Working with its NIL partner TheLinkU to distribute funds, Players Era has plans to dish out more money. The tournament expects to spend north of $24 million in NIL payments in 2025 between its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Tennessee, Kansas, Auburn, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Michigan, St. Joseph’s, St. John’s, Syracuse and Baylor will all be new to the men’s tournament next season.

Alabama, Creighton, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State and Texas A&M are also expected to return to the men’s tourney. A source said Players Era has plans to add more teams to its 2025 tournament in the near future.

“TheLinkU has been a critical partner in the success of Players Era 2024, and we are thrilled to extend our collaboration into 2025,” CEO of Players Era Seth Berger said. “With Tennessee, Kansas, Auburn, and more top-tier universities coming on board for the men’s championship and the launch of our inaugural women’s championship tournament, the future of Players Era is bright. TheLinkU’s expertise in NIL and their support for our players will continue to elevate the tournament to new levels.”

The tournament previously announced it will launch the Players Era Women’s Championship in 2025, too. The event features four national powerhouses: South Carolina, UCLA, Duke and Texas. Each program will engage in at least $1 million of NIL activities for Player Era and its sponsors outside of competition, meaning each program will receive $1 million in NIL for participating.

The round-robin, NIL-driven tournament is growing into a hub of college basketball. Both tournaments will be held in Las Vegas.

“We are excited about the innovation and growth of the Players Era Festival for 2025,” TheLinkU president and founder Austin Elrod said. “As the official NIL Partner, our commitment to seamless and compliant execution of NIL will continue. With 10 new teams joining along with the exciting new women’s championship, the competition is going to be more intense and thrilling than ever. We’re proud to play such an integral role in providing NIL opportunities for athletes and look forward to an even more exciting event this year.”