Former Colorado Assistant Tried Getting NIL Money from Saudia Arabia's PIF

A former Colorado Buffaloes football assistant attempted to get NIL funding from Saudia Arabia on his own accord.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Buffaloes football program has turned into a business venture with Deion Sanders at the helm. That has led to some impressive NIL numbers for players on the team, such as quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.

Buffalo has always thought outside of the box when it came to business dealings and NIL. In a recent venture, Sanders, Blenders Eyewear and superfan Peggy Coppom collaborated on a first-of-its-kind NIL deal that will result in some of the money made being donated to the 99-year-old.

No stone is left unturned at Colorado when it comes to money-making avenues. It turns out, even overseas opportunities will be sought in the right situation.

That is what former special teams coordinator Trevor Reilly did during the holiday season. Reilly resigned from his position ahead of fall camp.

The reason for his stepping down had nothing to do with the football program, but that he wasn’t seeing eye-to-eye with some in the administration. Most issues stemmed from working with Blueprint Sports, which helps oversee the NIL Collective, 5430 Alliance.

In his resignation letter, he goes into detail about what happened. It was reviewed by Sports Illustrated.

"The arrangement was that, because I did all the NIL work at Jackson and got us through, you guys would pay me a modest salary and make me the Special Teams Coordinator, which should have freed up time for me to handle NIL activities," Reilly wrote.

“You paid me $90,000 a year and let me handle special teams. I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it. I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, which is worth about $3 trillion. Now, I can't get these people to answer my calls because I just found out today that none of my endeavors will happen.

"I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a meeting with the Saudis, who were interested in pursuing business. I have email receipts to prove it, and you guys let it fall flat on its face."

Reilly also made it clear that he acted on his own accord and that no one else was involved. Also, nothing he did was against the rules.

“I did nothing illegal and was trying to help Colorado the best way I knew how.” Colorado Athletics did not offer any comment when reached about Reilly going to the Middle East.

During an interview with the radio station ESPN 700, Reilly revealed that he also spent time in Jordan.

"I spent two months and a lot of my own personal money and a lot of my time I sacrificed," Reilly said. "I spent Christmas in a Turkish bathhouse in Amman, Jordan. Saying hi to my kids, 'Hey, I'll see you in a couple weeks.'" (H/T CBS Sports)

While it sounds like a work of fiction, it isn’t. Getting connected with the Public Investment Fund of Saudia Arabia would help Colorado even the playing field when it comes to competing with juggernauts such as Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Georgia.

Sanders and Hunter already have two of the highest valuations in college sports. Imagine what bringing in some money from a fund worth over one trillion dollars could do to entice players to come to the program. The playing field would not only be level but begin to skew in Colorado’s favor.