Washington to host NIL fundraiser with Bill Belichick, charge $25K per plate

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is helping out the Washington football NIL collective.

The Montlake Futures NIL collective announced Wednesday plans for “An Evening with Bill Belichick.” The six-time Super Bowl champion’s son, Stephen Belichick, is the current defensive coordinator for the Huskies. Belichick’s former assistant, Jedd Fisch, is Washington’s head coach, too.

Set for Friday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. and presented in partnership with Washington Athletics, Montlake Futures is charging $25,000 per plate. The event is scheduled the night before the Huskies host Michigan in Seattle.

Since leaving the Patriots, Belichick has signed with ESPN. He will join “The Pat McAfee Show” every Monday during the NFL season. He made his debut appearance on the show during the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit this past April. Belichick will also serve as an analyst on The CW’s “Inside the NFL.”

Montlake Futures joined the NIL landscape in Feb. 2022. The collective helps 501(c)(3) organizations work with Washington athletes to “promote, fundraise and support their missions.” The collective pairs athletes with non-profits and each pairing features hours, promotions and NIL rights that the non-profit can apply at its discretion.

The top-funded collectives are spending between $13 to $20 million annually on football rosters at the moment. In basketball, the highest spending programs are pushing $5 million. Whether the next form of competitive advantage comes from donor-driven collectives or corporate sponsorships, top programs will do whatever they can to find an edge.

“If we’ve learned anything over the past three years, it is that schools are incredibly competitive,” Andrew Donovan, the president of Altius Sports Partners, which advises double-digit power conference athletic departments, recently told On3. “They’re going to do everything they can and their supporters are going to do everything they can to try to gain an advantage. And so, I think to expect that collectives are going to go away entirely would be a bit of a fool’s errand.”

Now Bill Belichick is pitching in to help Washington’s NIL efforts.