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Georgia to Keep NIL Collective, Strengthen ‘Above-the-Cap’ Strategy

As schools wind down their NIL collectives ahead of NCAA revenue-sharing changes, Georgia bucks the trend in hopes of a competitive edge

Noah Henderson

Nov 26, 2022; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs mascot UGA in his house on the sidelines during the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Nov 26, 2022; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs mascot UGA in his house on the sidelines during the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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Yesterday, the University of Georgia announced shifts in their NIL personnel, elevating senior associate athletics director Steven Drummond to deputy athletic director and Chief Marketing Officer. According to the Georgia Athletics website, in his new role, “he will be responsible for developing and managing partnerships with brands, donors, and NIL platforms to create opportunities for student-athletes.”

More notably, Tanner Potts is transitioning from Assistant Athletic Director of NIL and Strategic Initiatives to CEO of the Classic City Collective. Potts has been on staff with the Bulldogs since May 2021 and has worked full time in the athletics department since the spring of 2022, when he earned his law degree from the University of Georgia. 

Potts is filling the vacancy left by Matt Hibbs. Hibbs left Classic City Collective to become the executive vice president of Pathways Sports and Entertainment, a company that has recently made headlines for its efforts to revolutionize athletes’ right of publicity licensing for sports video games.

It is important to note that Potts’ move is not internal. While Classic City Collective is the NIL payment arm for Georgia athletics, the company is a separate legal entity from the university. Launched in March 2022, the company has helped Georgia remain competitive in recruiting and athlete retention by providing student-athletes NIL compensation.

Shifting an experienced Georgia staffer to an NIL collective is quite interesting given the current changes poised to revolutionize college sports at the beginning of next season. Pending the formal approval of the House v. NCAAsettlement this April, all schools who opt in to the settlement will be allowed to participate in a revenue sharing agreement with their student-athletes up to $20,500,000 –– Georgia, like almost every other Power 4 institution, has indicated a commitment to paying the full quasi-salary cap. 

In addition to the revenue-sharing cap, a new NCAA-sponsored audit board will disallow any NIL contracts over $600 deemed “pay-for-play,” removing the ability for NIL collectives to pay athletes for on-field performance as they have done for the past few years. 

This shift has indicated to many athletic departments that the utility of NIL collectives is fading. Schools like UCF, UConn, and many others have announced the winding down of their respective NIL collectives, and many more are expected to follow suit over the coming months in response to the pending House v. NCAA ruling. 

Georgia goes against the grain by keeping their collective open and enlisting one of their in-house personnel to take the reins. For Georgia, and many other Power 4 schools, “above the cap” payments — NIL deals that supplement the $20,500,000 revenue-sharing limit through legitimate brand partnerships and licensing opportunities — are becoming the new focus to gain a competitive edge against other schools.

While NIL “pay-for-play” contracts appear to be disallowed, good faith sponsorship agreements between athletes and brands will still be permissible heading into next year. Schools can facilitate brand deals for their athletes, and the more local partnerships and brand deals they can create for their athletes, the more effectively they can increase their salary cap beyond the $20,500,000 figure. 

Classic City Collective will operate much differently in 2025, focusing more on legitimate brand partnerships than booster fundraising for NIL payments. Many collectives, especially independently operated ones like Classic City Collective, have integrated local businesses into their current NIL revenue generation pipelines. 

Georgia's existing infrastructure and connections of Classic City Collective still provide utility in the revenue-sharing era by facilitating bona fide brand deals. Tasking someone like Potts with this function indicates that the Bulldogs feel this could be a major differentiator in recruiting success.

For schools that have terminated their relationships with NIL collectives, this does not mean that “above the cap” payments are not feasible. Many schools have moved their collectives’ brand and community outreach functions in-house, making the solicitation of NIL brand deals a formal function of the athletics department. 

Schools across the country are approaching this sea change differently. Boise State’s new BroncoPRO front office has taken over marketing for its athletes, yet the school still intends to partner with its NIL collective in a limited capacity to facilitate charity-based NIL initiatives. 

For now, there is no correct answer regarding how to proceed. Every athletics department is looking for the best way to spend its resources to compete for championships. For some, that means expanding brand partnerships to grow their total NIL budget. For others, investing in professional front-office personnel to ensure that every dollar spent on athlete payments is allocated efficiently has taken precedence. 

The best programs in college sports’ new professionalized era will likely implement a mix of both. 

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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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