Syracuse basketball may not compete in NIL-driven Players Era in 2026, report says

Syracuse basketball's participation in the 2026 Players Era seems to be up in the air.

Sportico reports that the Players Era had been eyeing a 32-team field for 2026, but that may get scaled back to 24 teams. Per the Sportico article: "As part of that retrenchment, several programs that had been expected to participate in the Thanksgiving week event are now unlikely to do so, sources told Sportico. That includes Syracuse, which was promoted in a Players Era post on X last month (in February)."

In February, as I noted in a column, the Players Era X account had a post where it stated that the event in 2026 would be "powered by all the returning programs from 2025," including the 'Cuse. Last week, SU Athletics named Siena's Gerry McNamara as the next head coach of Syracuse basketball, replacing Adrian Autry.

The Players Era, held in Las Vegas around the Thanksgiving holiday, began in 2024, with eight teams. In 2025, it grew to 18 participants, including Syracuse basketball. Last November, SU went 0-3 in the event, falling to Houston, Kansas and Iowa State.

An e-mail sent to a 'Cuse hoops spokesperson on Wednesday afternoon wasn't immediately returned. The Players Era is an NIL-driven event, with 2025 participants reportedly receiving at least $1 million in name, image and likeness ("NIL") payments.

Syracuse basketball had a rough go of it in the 2025 Players Era.

In the Sportico piece, Ian Orefice, the CEO of the New York-based EverWonder Studio, said that the Players Era plans to announce its 2026 field in the next couple of weeks. EverWonder Studio co-produces the event. Orefice said that "almost all" of the information in Sportico's article "is false."

Orefice added, "We don’t release information about our format and team selection until we release it. You continue to report unverified rumors."

I first reported in May of 2024 that Syracuse basketball was finalizing its agreement to suit up in the 2025 Players Era. Under new head coach McNamara, the Orange is eyeing between $9 million and $10 million (if not more) for its 2026-27 roster budget, although missing out on the funds that come with suiting up in the Players Era could be a bummer for SU.

GMac, without question, has re-energized the Syracuse basketball fan base. The team's 2026-27 roster budget will entail direct revenue-sharing as well as third-party NIL dollars.