Come July 1, not all three NIL entities supporting Syracuse Orange will exist, AD says

Syracuse Orange athletics director John Wildhack says that he will be streamlining the name, image and likeness ("NIL") organizations that support 'Cuse student-athletes over the summer.

Wildhack discussed the Syracuse men's basketball program, NIL and future revenue-sharing, among other topics, in an interview on Thursday with Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia on the ESPN Radio Syracuse program "Orange Nation."

I found, in particular, Wildhack's comments on the three NIL entities that support Syracuse Orange players to be intriguing. Those NIL organizations are Orange United, SU Football NIL and Athletes Who Care.

As a bit of context, last month, SU Athletics announced the launch of Champion 'CUSE, a three-year effort to raise $50 million that "will focus on attracting and retaining champion-caliber student-athletes while ensuring they have access to best-in-class resources, facilities and the training needed to perform and excel at the highest levels."

Amid the launch of this fund-raising campaign, Wildhack said that effective July 1, he will streamline these third-party NIL entities and not have all three operating into the future. He said that he would "make the final determination going forward" regarding this streamlining.

Wildhack did say that SU Football NIL will continue to exist, and he said that this organization could expand beyond football and reach into basketball as well.

The SU athletics director's comments, to me, suggest that Orange United or Athletes Who Care, or both of them, might not be in existence come July 1.

Syracuse Orange athletics director John Wildhack made some interesting comments on NIL.

I should point out that when I first reported on the launch of Orange United in September of 2023, I noted at that time that Orange United had signed a deal with multi-media rights company LEARFIELD to be an official partner of, and the preferred collective for, SU Athletics.

Not too long ago, Las Vegas-based Blueprint Sports said in a press release that it had acquired the operator of Orange United, the Atlanta-based Student Athlete NIL ("SANIL"). In recent days, I had sent an e-mail to a spokesperson for Blueprint Sports, regarding Orange United, but I didn't hear back.

As I had written various stories about NIL efforts pertaining to the Syracuse Orange over the last 18 months or so, several experts had told me that they didn't think three different organizations supporting 'Cuse student-athletes was a great long-term strategy. I'll be curious how this all pans out.

Another important topic in college sports these days is future revenue-sharing. If a judge approves a proposed settlement of three federal antitrust lawsuits filed by Division I student-athletes against the NCAA and power conferences, this would allow schools to directly pay student-athletes for the use of their NIL.

The cap for power-conference schools in 2025-26 is approximately $20.5 million, and SU Athletics recently said that it "intends to distribute the maximum NIL payment amount." On Thursday, Wildhack said that these funds will be weighted toward football and men's/women's basketball, although some money could go to Olympic sports as well.

Even with revenue-sharing likely coming sooner rather than later, Wildhack stressed that third-party NIL will prove "very, very important" to supplement revenue-sharing, particularly in football and men's basketball, to help enable the Syracuse Orange to compete with other Atlantic Coast Conference schools and programs nationwide, as it relates to recruiting efforts via the transfer portal and at the high school level.

Wildhack, as he has said in the past, reiterated on Thursday that he thinks the 'Cuse has made progress on the NIL front, "but we're not where we need to be." Among other things, he said that the Syracuse Orange is "going to need more corporate support from the Central New York region" and other nearby areas in the Empire State.