In response to increasing concerns about the integrity and scale of contracts being offered to college football players navigating the transfer portal, the College Sports Commission (CSC) released a memo to athletic directors late Friday. This notice articulated “serious concerns” related to some of the multimillion-dollar agreements being proposed to student-athletes.
The advisory was distributed approximately one hour ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinal featuring Indiana and Oregon — a high-profile match-up that coincided with widespread reports of athletes securing seven-figure contracts either to transfer or remain with their current programs.
The CSC’s communication reiterated established rules specifying that third-party contracts involving the use of players’ names, images, and likenesses (NIL) are to be evaluated only upon entry into the CSC’s NIL Go portal rather than prior to submission. Each deal undergoes individual scrutiny based on its merits before approval or rejection.
“Without prejudging any particular deal, the CSC has serious concerns about some of the deal terms being contemplated and the consequences of those deals for the parties involved,” the memo stated, underscoring apprehension about contractual arrangements that may extend beyond intended regulatory scope.
Under recent House settlement provisions that govern NIL payments, collegiate institutions are permitted to allocate revenue directly to athletes from a capped pool totaling $20.5 million. To circumvent this limitation, some schools are engaging with third-party entities — frequently companies established to financially support the institutions — which then arrange or facilitate deals on behalf of players.
The CSC’s NIL Go platform serves as the gatekeeper for these transactions, tasked with verifying that each contract serves a legitimate business purpose and that compensation aligns reasonably with the services provided by the student-athlete.
Although the CSC did not identify any specific contracts under scrutiny, recent college football seasons have witnessed several high-profile instances of seven-figure offers incentivizing athletes to enter the transfer portal. Among these was the case of Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who initially indicated a desire to transfer rather than accept a reportedly $4 million deal with the Huskies. Following legal complications, Williams ultimately remained with Washington.
The commission cautioned against "making promises of third-party NIL money now and figuring out how to honor those promises later," highlighting the risk such practices pose to student-athletes' eligibility and contractual security. The letter explicitly warned that premature or unverifiable agreements could leave athletes vulnerable if deals fail to receive CSC clearance or if disciplines following these agreements jeopardize their participation status.
Two primary regulations were outlined regarding contract evaluations. First, the CSC emphasized that the designation or label assigned to a contract — including those titled as "agency agreement" or "services agreement" — does not affect the necessity of proper reporting. Any agreement entailing payment to a student-athlete for NIL rights must be reported within the stipulated deadlines through the NIL Go portal.
Second, contracts involving associated parties or individuals must directly activate the student-athlete's NIL rights at the time of agreement. This stipulation addresses concerns about “warehousing” NIL rights where payments are made upfront, but the intended use or endorsement activation occurs subsequently or remains undefined.