Texas became the 19th state to pass an NIL bill for college athletes on Monday. 

Joining Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and New Mexico, the Lone Star State is the sixth state to have a name, image, and likeness bill go into effect July 1 — that is, if the NCAA or federal government doesn’t take action against it.

How much money could athletes potentially make? It depends. ESPN found that some athletes could earn as much as $1 million through social media. Athletes who compete in non-revenue sports could make between $1,000 and $3,000. 

The NCAA recorded $519 million in revenue last year, down from $1.18 billion in 2019.

Each NIL bill differs in its rules or timeline. 

• Georgia’s NIL bill will allow schools to pool and redistribute up to 74.99% of athletes’ endorsement money — it would not be withdrawn until a year after they leave school. Like Texas, Georgia will require financial literacy classes.
• California was the first state to pass an NIL bill in 2019, but it will not go into effect until 2023. Virginia, whose bill was recently introduced, would not go into effect until July 1, 2024 if passed.
• Oklahoma and Nebraska can grant rights immediately but no later than July 1, 2023.

“It absolutely needs to happen right now,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said about passing rules. “But we do need some parameters to preserve the collegiate model and protect the recruiting environment.” 

Texas’ bill blocks alcohol, tobacco, and gambling endorsements, among other categories. The NAIA passed NIL laws in October 2020, with fewer restrictions than the NCAA’s various proposals. 

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold its second hearing on name, image and likeness on Thursday, focusing on the athletes’ perspective. The Division I Council will meet on June 23 to discuss proposed changes to NIL rule changes.

Baseball’s next crop of free agents has had their market values thrown into flux.

Major League Baseball is threatening 10-game suspensions for pitchers caught using “sticky stuff,” a category that encompasses everything from sunscreen to Spider Tack, a substance initially designed to give weightlifters more grip. 

MLB is hoping the crackdown will shrink the league’s record strikeout rate of 24%, and bring more offense and action to a game that is losing ground with Gen-Z. 

Pitchers in line for big deals in the offseason could have their market values reevaluated, as teams may seek to avoid pacts like the New York Yankees’ nine-year, $324 million 2020 contract with Gerrit Cole. Cole strongly implied he uses Spider Tack last week.

• Trevor Bauer, who has both called out other pitchers and implied he uses grip enhancers himself, will have to decide at the end of the season whether or not to opt out of the remaining two years of his three-year, $102 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also has an opt-out after 2022.
• Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who is suspected of using a sticky substance, is in the final season of a seven-year $210 million deal. 

The new rule may have already had unforeseen consequences: Tampa Bay Rays’ ace Tyler Glasnow could miss the rest of the season due to an injury he blames on the tighter grip he used after forgoing his mix of sunscreen and rosin. 

As an arbitration-eligible player, Glasnow will almost certainly have lower salaries in 2022 and 2023 as a result of the injury.

MLB’s handling of the issue is ratcheting up tensions with players ahead of the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations, which could reshape players’ earning power for the next decade.

The UEFA Euro 2020 Championship is six days in and there’s already been plenty of drama and intrigue for the estimated 3.5 billion soccer fans watching around the world.  

Following a win over Hungary on Monday, Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo removed two Coke bottles from the podium during his press conference. The star — who is worth $120 million and No. 3 on Forbes 2021 richest athletes list — is an advocate of a healthy diet and prefers water. 

Ronaldo’s move just happened to coincide with a $4 billion drop in Coca-Cola’s market value. It did not, however, cause the drop.

On Tuesday, French star midfielder Paul Pogba — a devout Muslim — removed a bottle of Heineken beer during his press conference following France’s win 1-0 win over Germany, which only added to the “bottle-gate” frenzy. 

Euro 2020 is also leaving its mark on TV networks and fans, who are each enjoying a viewership resurgence and historical performances.

• More than 15 million French viewers tuned into the country’s win over Germany. 
• The match drew the highest TV ratings in France since 2018. 
• Ronaldo became the greatest scorer in Euro history after his 10th and 11th tournament goals in the win over Hungary. 

The tournament concludes July 11 with France, Belgium, and England the favorites to bring home the Henri Delaunay Trophy.

Niantic, the software development company behind augmented reality gaming hit “Pokémon Go,” is changing its gameplan. 

The company — founded as an internal Google startup in 2010 before going independent in 2015 — announced a deal with Hasbro to develop its next mobile blockbuster, “Transformers: Heavy Metal.”

“In thinking about franchises that would be incredible to bring to life in AR, ‘Transformers’ was a no-brainer,” said Niantic executive producer Phil Hong. 

Released in 2016 and available on iOS and Android devices, “Pokémon Go” generated $207 million in revenue in its first month despite a staggered launch. Japan didn’t have its hands on the game until two weeks after its general release. 

“Pokémon Go” helped Niantic surpass $1 billion in revenue for the first time in 2020. The game accounted for about 85% of the $1.5 billion in revenue generated from AR games that year, according to Omdia.

Since the start of the year, Niantic has made a strong effort to diversify its business: 

• Acquired Mayhem, a social gaming community platform, in January for an undisclosed amount. 
• Teamed up with Verizon the same month to develop multiplayer AR experiences using 5G networks. 
• Partnered with Nintendo in March to create mobile games using AR technology.

“Transformers: Heavy Metal” will launch globally later this year. Niantic hopes the title will offset its reliance on “Pokémon Go.”