In less than two months, Clemson has gone from solely being a spectator to having multiple players involved in the name, image and likeness game.
The opportunities for the Tigers’ student-athletes to reap NIL benefits doubled late last week when Dear Old Clemson, a second Clemson collective initiated by area business leaders, was started. That was preceded in April by the launch of TigerImpact, an NIL collective founded with the help of three former Clemson football players.
Of course, not all collectives are created equal. What are the similarities? What are the differences? And how will athletes benefit from them financially?
The last question can be answered with the collectives’ primary parallel: donations made by fans, donors and businesses go straight into the pockets of the athletes almost in their entirety. According to TigerImpact’s official website, anywhere from 85% to 90% of donated funds will go directly to athletes while more than 90% of contributions made to Dear Old Clemson will do the same, according to that collective’s website.
And while football has been the focal point of NIL conversations nationwide, Clemson’s collectives will provide opportunities for athletes across multiple sports to get a piece of the financial pie, even if they go about it differently.
TigerImpact has raised more than $5.5 million to be paid out to athletes it has partnered with in exchange for those athletes working for and promoting charities of their choice. So far, the collective has partnered with 28 athletes, who are signed to yearly contracts that require them to complete a certain amount of marketing work in order to be compensated, according to the collective’s website.
The Clemson Insider has learned the collective, which initially signed 12 athletes across seven sports, has now partnered with at least one athlete in every sport at Clemson, making it one of the first to do so nationally.
Dear Old Clemson is offering fans and businesses varying memberships for which they will receive exclusive access to events with athletes in exchange for their donations. A “Roy Bus” membership is available for those who want to donate specifically to football players. The Clemson Athletic Club is for those who want to donate to football and other sports, and a Lady Tiger Club option is available for those who want their donations to go strictly to athletes in women’s sports.
Additional money for athletes will be brought in through the sale of signed memorabilia and collectibles at meet-and-greet events, items which will be initially funded out of the pockets of Dear Old Clemson’s founders, said Robert MacRae, CEO of MacRae Consulting Corporation and one of the collective’s co-founders. MacRae said those items will also be sold in a digital marketplace currently being created by the collective.
A portion of the funds generated by the collective will also be used to pay athletes in exchange for their appearance at local businesses, according to a news release.
As for how Dear Old Clemson will decide exactly which athletes its money goes to, MacRae said the collective will rely on the help of its advisors, all former Clemson athletes, to get a feel for who should receive payouts in each sport. The collectives’ advisors include three former football players in Kyle Parker, Shaq Lawson and Adam Humphries as well as former softball player Sam Russ.
MacRae said the two collectives will work together to maximize the benefits for the student athletes.
“This is going to be a collaborative effort between the two collectives,” MacRae said. “This isn’t a competition. In order for Clemson to be competitive we need to be in the same boat and row together.”
