• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 19, 2025

Player-Led Collectives Could Be the Newest NIL Trend

  • This week, Michigan State and Auburn football players announced they had launched their own NIL collectives.
  • The groups could be more lucrative for athletes.
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past six months, collectives have come to dominate the NIL landscape.

The groups of boosters, donors, local alumni, and businesses organizing deals for players have been lauded by some as the future of NIL. They’ve been criticized by others as a disguise for “pay-for-play.” Even the NCAA has attacked them.

But now, a new type of collective is emerging — ones run by the athletes themselves —  that might be better for athletes from both a revenue and compliance perspective.

On Tuesday, Michigan State football players announced on social media that they had launched the “East Lansing NIL Club.”

The following day, Auburn football players announced they, too, had created a collective called the “Plains NIL Club.” Both announcements included most of the same language.

For both groups, fans can buy passes to receive exclusive content, communicate with players, and go to events. 

Kennyhertz Perry attorney and NIL expert Mit Winter, who noted the trend on Twitter, told Front Office Sports he believes it will spread. 

“It will likely allow the players to keep more of the revenue generated” than booster-led collectives, Winter said. “It also eliminates the issue of booster involvement in NIL deals, at least for the types of deals that the player-led collectives will be putting together.”

Both NIL club announcements noted that NIL has “captured national headlines about how it will impact recruiting and the transfer portal. As players dedicated to our team and winning a national championship, we aren’t interested in the noise.”

“We believe there is a better way.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

(NCL_OSU_11_SUGAR_LAURON 04JAN11) Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) slips around the Arkansas Razorbacks defense during first half of the Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, January 4, 2011.

Terrelle Pryor’s Case for NIL Backpay Dismissed in Court

Pryor played seven years in the NFL after leaving OSU amid a scandal.
Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway walks off the court after losing to Colorado State Rams at Climate Pledge Arena.

Memphis Basketball and Softball Placed on NCAA Probation

Memphis has had multiple NCAA issues since hiring Penny Hardaway.
Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian waits to lead his team out of the tunnel ahead of the Longhorns' game against the Baylor Bears, Saturday, Sept. 23 at McLane Stadium in Waco.

Is a Texas Takeover About to Hit the SEC, On and Off..

The Longhorns are favored to win the SEC in their second year in the conference.

Featured Today

Ryan Field Construction
exclusive

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.
Jul 21, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Xander Schauffele celebrates with Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.
July 17, 2025

The Boozy History and Traditions of The Open’s Claret Jug

The Open awards the world’s most famous wine decanter.
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final - Luke Littler vs Michael Van Gerwen
July 16, 2025

A Teen Darts Prodigy Is Becoming Bigger Than the Game Itself

Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is cashing in on his devastatingly accurate shot.
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive
July 13, 2025

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.

Alabama’s New Era Contends With NIL—and Nick Saban Rumors

Kalen DeBoer is entering his second season as head coach.
Georgia takes the field for the first half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
July 15, 2025

SEC Lands Starring Role in Netflix College Football Docuseries

Netflix brings its sports storytelling to the heart of SEC football.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
May 15, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; United States Capitol seen as People rally outside the Supreme Court before justices hears oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Inc. At issue in the case is if the Supreme Court should stay the district courts' nationwide preliminary injunctions on the Trump administration’s executive order ending birthright citizenship.
July 15, 2025

Pro-NCAA Bill Takes First Step Toward Being Introduced on House Floor for..

It could be the first bill of its kind to make it to the House floor.
July 15, 2025

Georgia’s Kirby Smart Says Money Is Making Players Too Comfortable

The football coach is concerned about the revenue-sharing era.
July 14, 2025

Lane Kiffin: ‘Doesn’t Seem’ Like CFB Revenue-Sharing Cap Works Very Well

The outspoken Ole Miss football coach isn’t impressed with revenue-sharing guidelines.
July 14, 2025

SEC’s Sankey Is ‘Fine’ With Big Ten’s Differing View on CFP Expansion

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey won’t commit to a 2026 CFP format.