Elite College Basketball Programs Playing in Revolutionary NIL Event

A high-profile event seen as revolutionary when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness will be full of top college basketball programs.

Apr 6, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) walks off the court / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Name, Image and Likeness continues to grow and expand across the landscape of college athletics.

The ability for players to cash in before turning professional has allowed athletes across non-revenue generating sports to make life-changing money that wouldn't have been presented to them before the new NIL era.

Different programs around the country use NIL differently.

Collectives have been created across the college landscape to crowd-source money that can be distributed to current players on teams, and to entice recruits to join their programs.

With Name, Image and Likeness money being all the rave right now, it should come as no surprise that an event featured around NIL compensation was going to be created.

Back in May, Matt Norlander and Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports first reported on a college basketball event called the "Players Era Festival" that will be played at MGM Grand in Las Vegas during the week of Thanksgiving.

Normally, these holiday or early-season tournaments wouldn't garner too much attention.

However, this event is going to be revolutationary.

Norlander and Dodd reported there will be "$1 million NIL payouts for eight participating schools," while the players involved "will have future earnings opportunities through long-term NIL contracts."

This is the first time something like this has been created in college sports.

The eight teams who will participate in this groundbreaking tournament are Alabama, Creighton, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State and Texas A&M.

What adds another element to this entire thing is that Creighton was the last team to join this event for the upcoming season after previously being booked for the Battle 4 Atlantis field.

They will have to pay a buyout fee after backing out to join "Players Era Festival."

The prospect of a $1 million NIL payout was probably too much for them to turn away, especially with the fact that three years of being committed to this event will allow them to entice players they are recruiting with all the possible NIL deals that could come out of this.

To make this thing stick, tournament organizers had to make sure this would draw attention and viewers, meaning they needed some elite programs and brands from around the country to participate.

They accomplished that first goal, with their sights set on putting together an elite product.

Norlander reported the format for CBS Sports, and it seems like this might be the one college basketball fans have to pay attention to the most during Thanksgiving week.

"The Players Era Festival will be played as two four-team formats during the week of Thanksgiving. According to sources, brackets are planned as such: Alabama (SEC), Houston (Big 12), Notre Dame (ACC) and Rutgers (Big Ten) is one multi-team event; Creighton (Big East), Oregon (Big Ten), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Texas A&M (SEC) the other."

With the way everything is set up, the opening matchups are known as well.

"Houston vs. Alabama
Rutgers vs. Notre Dame
Creighton vs. Oregon
Texas A&M vs. SDSU"

The headliner is Houston taking on Alabama, which could be a battle between two Top 5 preseason teams.

"In addition to playing quality opponents in an NCAA tournament-like atmosphere, the trip should provide our players with access to NIL opportunities. We're looking forward to being part of the inaugural class of participants," Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oates told Norlander.

It will be interesting to see how this ultimately lands.

There has been no broadcast partner announced yet, and there is some expectation this could be one that is partnered with a major streaming service.

If "Players Era Festival" is a success early, expect many similar events to be created across different sports that allow athletes in other programs to participate in NIL-focused competitions.