NCAA memo raises questions over Players Era Festival in Las Vegas

NCAA reiterated its rules regarding player compensation and MTE bracket formatting in a two-page memo acquired by Sportico

Apr 4, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; A Wilson official Evo NXT basketball with the NCAA Women's Final Four March Madness logo approaches the rim and net at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Concerns over the viability of the new Players Era Festival — a revolutionary men’s basketball multiple-team event that agreed to pay $1 million to the NIL collectives of the eight participating teams — were raised Tuesday after the NCAA sent a two-page memo that reminded tournament operators and schedulers specific rules regarding MTEs.

The memo, which was acquired by Sportico, reiterated that it is “impermissible” for student-athletes to receive NIL money for participating in an MTE regardless or whether it’s routed through a third party. When the event first came to light in May, it was reported that in order for student-athletes to be compensated, they would be required to participate in multiple off-the-court activities while in Las Vegas. EverWonder Studio, the production company behind the MTE, said it’s working to classify the money as “NIL opportunities,” according to Sportico.

The tournament’s format is also under question. NCAA rules state that two teams from the same conference can’t participate in the same MTE, even if it’s structured in multiple brackets or divisions (this year’s festival features two SEC schools, Texas A&M and Alabama, and two members of the Big Ten in Oregon and Rutgers). The organizer’s attempt to workaround that stipulation was to break the event into two different, four-team MTEs — Impact MTE and Power MTE — though the NCAA’s memo would suggest this won’t fly under its rules.

The eight-team lineup for the first festival that’s set to take place from Nov. 26-29 at T-Mobile Arena and/or MGM Grand Garden Arena includes five teams from the top 25 of Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 projections — Houston (No. 1), Alabama (No. 8), Creighton (No. 12), Rutgers (No. 18) and Texas A&M (No. 21). Notre Dame, Oregon and San Diego State round out the event. 

The plan is to expand the festival to 18 teams by 2025, as Gonzaga, Michigan, St. John’s, Syracuse and Saint Joseph’s have all reportedly committed to playing in the second event along with this year’s participants. However, NCAA rules prevent teams from playing in the same MTE more than once in four years, which is also why organizers split the festival into two distinct MTEs.

The NCAA’s memo doesn’t appear to view it as two different MTEs, though.

“Even if the MTE is structured in such a way (e.g., divisions/brackets) in which two teams from the same conference will not play each other, two teams from the same conference may not participate in the same MTE,” the NCAA wrote.

In addition to a $1 million payout to all participants, NIL opportunities would be awarded exclusively to the winner or winners of the event, depending on how the bracket shapes out. Student-athletes would be required to participate in multiple off-the-court activities to earn NIL compensation, which would be distributed by collectives. 

Players would also be able to sign a 10% equity state in the Players Era Festival in perpetuity, which means those student-athletes would earn money from the event going forward if it continues to grow as an asset.