Mark Stoops gives BBN boosters green light in request for NIL funds

It has been just over a year since the NCAA gave student-athletes the opportunity to earn money by using their name, image and likeness. A gray area of uncertainty, Mark Stoops cleared up some misconceptions about NIL, put out a call to action and shared the current state of the Kentucky football program’s NIL efforts.

“Blaming nobody, are we where we need to be? No. Simple answer: No.”

That’s the simplest answer to a complex question.

NIL Semantics Problem

NIL collectives have become the go-to descriptor when pointing pay-for-play in the NIL game, particularly in college football. As Stoops noted in a conversation with KSR’s Matt Jones, it is technically illegal to induce recruits with NIL money to come to your school. However, it’s not illegal to contribute money to a pool that can be distributed to players once they arrive on campus.

“We don’t call it a collective because the University of Kentucky, we believe that word is illegal, to pay players to come there right out of high school,” said Stoops. “I’ve always had a belief that players are going to earn it here. I’ve said that from the beginning. We’re going to earn it, we’re not going to give it away.”

Where Kentucky has Fallen Behind

Without naming names, Stoops was candid about how Kentucky has fallen behind some of their competitors in the SEC and beyond.

“I’m playing against players that I know were given money, that the school and the NCAA know were given money, and we’re still playing against them; under the table, not even above board like it is now. I mean, paying them up on top of the table, you’re allowed to do that now, but I’m talking about under the table. And so if they can’t police it where you’re giving people money under the table, how in the world are they going to police it when you’re giving it on top of the table?”

Instead of ‘collective,’ Stoops wants business owners and boosters to know they can contribute to a pool of money that is marked as ‘pre-funded endorsement marketing dollars.’ The Average Joe fan can support UK players with NIL efforts, like buying a Will Levis t-shirt from Kentucky Branded. Business owners can contribute similarly.

“Essentially, we need people to understand that it is legal and it is okay…” Stoops said. “… I have so much respect for our boosters and people that have earned their money the right way that I don’t want to put a dark cloud over them because they’re trying to buy players. But they need to understand that it is legal. They are allowed to do this. This is the world that we’re in right now.”

A lot of talk on @KySportsRadio about #NIL at #UK and prefunded marketing deals.

Learn about "The 15" through Athlete Advantage!

We've done hundreds of marketing campaigns with our student athletes@UKCoachStoops @MrsTylerKSR #UKFootball #NameImageLikeness #AthleteAdvantage pic.twitter.com/vmwqiOZS0w

— AthleteAdvantage (@nil_athlete) July 7, 2022

NIL Call to Action

Some of Kentucky’s competition, like Tennessee and Louisville, have been brazen about their pay-for-play efforts. Others are playing by the rules, yet have shared a different message with eager boosters. Not all of those dollars should go directly to the school. Some of that can, and should, go into pools that can be distributed to athletes as marketing dollars. There are different groups out there organizing NIL efforts around Central Kentucky, most notably Athlete Advantage.

Mark Stoops wants Kentucky’s NIL message to be heard loud and clear. The UK Athletics program needs your help. If you were already setting some money aside for the university, earmark some of that to Kentucky’s NIL efforts.

“Are we positioned where we need to be? No, no, we’re not. There are people in town here that are doing things with pre-funded endorsement marketing dollars that need to come from businesses,” said Stoops.

“I’ve kind of poked around it and different media sessions and things of that nature, but we do need people to step up. They do need to understand — this is the second time I’ve gone on record saying that — it is legal for them to step up and pay some of the people in town here, or I should say, pay out an expense from their business. You can set aside future marketing deals to a fund, to a ledger to people to put that aside and use that in the future for marketing.”

“We are behind,” Stoops reiterated at the end of the interview. “I’ll step up and say that yes, we are behind and yes, we need money. And we need to set aside pre-marketing dollars for the future of the football program and all of our sports.”

The world of college athletics is rapidly changing. Through it all, Mark Stoops will still be Mark Stoops, 100% all-in. “Whatever it takes, I’m going to fight the fight the best we can.”