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Boise State Launches “PRO” Front Office Model for NIL Revenue Sharing

With NIL revenue sharing coming soon to college sports, Boise State's Professional Resources Organization model may gain traction across other schools

Noah Henderson

Nov 16, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) is congratulated by quarterback Maddux Madsen (4) after scoring a touchdown against the San Jose State Spartans in the fourth quarter at CEFCU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) is congratulated by quarterback Maddux Madsen (4) after scoring a touchdown against the San Jose State Spartans in the fourth quarter at CEFCU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
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College athletics departments are looking more and more like their professional peers every day. Next year, following the landmark House v. NCAA settlement (which still awaits final approval), many schools are anticipated to participate in direct revenue sharing with their student-athletes. For the first time, athletes will be compensated directly from their respective universities –– however, this new payment is only part of the new pro-style collegiate athlete model; many schools have begun to build out front offices similar to those of professional franchises to manage athlete recruitment, payment, and retention. 

Boise State has become a first mover in this new paradigm of collegiate athletics. According to a university press release, Boise State Athletics is partnering with the Boise State Foundation to create a stand-alone entity, aptly named BroncoPRO, to manage the new front-office responsibilities of athletic departments. The newly minted “PRO” model will encompass three core features: Professional, Resources, and Organization. 

The "Professional" component of the PRO model will encompass traditional front-office responsibilities. According to the press release, “BroncoPRO will identify, recruit, and retain executive leaders to manage the overall financial compensation package associated with each individual student-athlete's competitive market value. Leadership will also be responsible for roster and cap management, evaluation, and workflow planning for recruiting staff. It will serve as the agency for all student-athlete NIL opportunities, including revenue-sharing agreements.”

The BroncoPRO “Resources” function will investigate alternative revenue sources to help Boise State fund its NIL rev-share payments –– like the indications of many schools nationwide, private equity financing options will be explored.

Lastly, the "Organization" component will continue and expand on the work many within the Boise State Athletic Department currently do to help their student-athletes in the evolving NIL landscape. The organization will assist in helping athletes manage their non-rev share NIL engagements by fostering brand-building and community relationships to maximize endorsement opportunities for their athletes. 

Boise State also indicated that its NIL Collective, the Horseshoe Collective, will continue to operate and be supported by the university even after BroncoPRO has become formally established. However, the functions of the Horseshoe Collective appear to have fundamentally changed. 

Even if messaging from the collective differs, in the current system, the Horseshoe Collective is the payment arm of Boise State Athletics; moving forward, BSU has indicated that its role will be “to raise awareness for local charitable causes by pairing them with community-minded Boise State student-athletes.” It remains to be seen if other universities will continue to support collectives once athletic payment, roster management, and brand solicitation move in-house.

With change coming so soon to college sports, athletic departments are reeling to find solutions to hit the ground running in the new landscape of player payment. Boise State University’s PRO model may soon be the trend nationwide. 

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Noah Henderson
NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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