Jay Bilas: In-season tournament with NIL payouts could lead to similar postseason events in future

The college basketball world could be gearing up for a major venture in the NIL space after On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed an in-season invitational tournament is in the works with payouts going to participating teams. The “Players Era” event, which is slated for Thanksgiving weekend, would see up to $2 million in payouts to the programs that participate.

It would be a first in the NIL space – and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said it could be a big step toward similar events in the postseason.

A source told Nakos the tournament would guarantee at least $1 million in NIL money to invited teams. The money heading to schools’ NIL collectives, boosters or a school’s NIL entity, and the winning team would be eligible for another $1 million. Alabama, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Houston, Kansas, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. John’s, Syracuse and Virginia are all in talks to participate.

Bilas argued that idea could be enticing for events in March other than the NCAA Tournament. That, he said, would warrant a response from the NCAA if those become a reality.

“The money, that million dollars per team, goes into the university’s collective or into the school’s collective. And that way, it goes to the players. Like, who wouldn’t want to play in that?” Bilas said on College GameDay Saturday morning. “Rather than going into a tournament and spending money to get there, it costs you money, you’re not really making that much. Now, the players are making money, and it’s going to – as this gets bigger, and I think it will, it’s going to go into March.

“And can you imagine getting an invitation from a March tournament where you can make into your collective $2 [million] or $3 million? You go to the NCAA tournament, your players get a t-shirt? That’s going to be that’s going to be a thing, and the NCAA is gonna have to respond. Revenue sharing is coming, and they don’t want to admit it. But it’s coming, and now it’s here.”

How the NBA In-Season Tournament could be an example for a similar college hoops event

Last year, the College Basketball Invitational offered NIL agreements. The winning school would receive $25,000, the runner-up would get $10,000 and the teams that lost in the semifinals would get $2,500 apiece. Charlotte won the tournament in 2023 and received the $25,000 from the Gazelle Group.

When talking about an in-season event, though, Bilas pointed to the NBA’s in-season tournament this year. It debuted as part of the new collective bargaining agreement and the championship took place in Las Vegas. The Los Angeles Lakers won it, meaning each player received $500,000 for bringing home the NBA Cup.

Beyond that, viewership skyrocketed. The championship game between the Lakers and Indiana Pacers averaged 4.58 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch. That made it the most-watched NBA game outside of Christmas since February 2018.

At the college level, revenue sharing remains a big topic of conversation in the evolving NIL world. Bilas said the proposed in-season event could be a step in that direction, especially considering the NBA In-Season Tournament’s success.

“It’s a revenue share model,” Bilas said. “Most of the tournaments are MTEs – multi-team events – are put forth by organizers who are making the money themselves. This is for the players to make money. And obviously, the organizers will do well, as well. But their goal is to have a financially equitable environment and to grow the game through great competition in the early season. I think the NBA’s in-season tournament was really helpful in illuminating that this is an important market.”