Syracuse Basketball: 'Cuse may play in tourney with millions of NIL dollars at stake

Syracuse basketball is among numerous teams that are in talks to participate in an in-season tournament that would provide millions of dollars in name, image and likeness deals, according to media reports.

That would be fun.

Amanda Christovich, a sports business reporter with Front Office Sports, first reported this news. Pete Nakos, a top-notch college sports business and transfer portal reporter with On3, also had an article on the development.

According to Christovich, the tourney, called “Players Era,” would include eight teams this fall and expand to 16 teams starting in 2025.

The location is potentially slated for the MGM Arena in Las Vegas, and Nakos reports that it could take place over the Thanksgiving weekend. The Sin City certainly feels like an appropriate site for such an event.

Syracuse basketball may play in a tournament with huge NIL deals at stake.

According to Nakos, teams that are in talks to possibly compete in this enticing event include the Orange, along with Alabama, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Houston, Kansas, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. John’s and Virginia.

Wow.

Let’s dive into these squads. Alabama is one of the best groups in the Southeastern Conference. Duke has a loaded 2024 recruiting class.

Florida Atlantic went to the Final Four last spring, while San Diego State advanced to the championship game of last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Houston is in line for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Dance. Both the Cougars and Kansas are Big 12 Conference powerhouses.

Oregon, which is moving from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten Conference, battled Syracuse basketball last December at a neutral site. The ‘Cuse won that non-conference contest.

Rick Pitino, the former Orange assistant many years ago who has won two national titles, is in his first year as the head coach of Big East Conference member St. John’s.

Virginia captured the 2019 national championship, while Rutgers’ 2024 recruiting cycle features two five-star prospects who are each ranked in the top five across the country in the senior class.

Nakos reports that every team in the tournament will get at least $1 million in NIL dollars, and that money can be “funneled to participating school’s NIL collective, boosters or a school’s NIL entity.”

He adds that the NIL dollars have to go to each participant’s current team. Additionally, the winner of the tournament is eligible to receive another $1 million.

Christovich notes that every participant will also get “free travel, lodging, and meals during the event.”

As it pertains to the ‘Cuse, a new commercial NIL collective, called Orange United, launched last September, as I first reported.

Orange United, which is providing NIL opportunities to student-athletes in every ‘Cuse sport, is managed by the Atlanta-based Student Athlete NIL (“SANIL”), which operates numerous commercial collectives around the country.

As it commenced operations in Central New York, 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.