I walked into Coach Leach’s office in the summer of 2006 expecting to hear a pitch about why I should play linebacker at Texas Tech.

That is not what happened.

Instead, I got to experience the magical mind of Mike Leach.

It was unforgettable.
🧵 I was one of the top prospects in the 2007 recruiting class, and Texas Tech made my shortlist of places to visit in the summer of ‘06.

I’d had a couple calls with Coach Leach — they were quick and quirky. So I didn’t know what was going to happen when I landed in Lubbock.

2/12

Today we announced a long-term partnership with LEARFIELD to unlock NIL deals for sponsors in hundreds of markets across the country.

Together we will bring hundreds of millions of dollars to student-athletes over the next decade.

5 things to know about the partnership…

🧵 1. A decade in the making

While most NIL solutions have been around ten months, our first NIL deal with LEARFIELD was more than TEN YEARS ago.

We’ve executed thousands of deals with college sponsors and pro athlete alumni together since.

I am confident 100% of NCAA student-athletes will receive at least one NIL deal this week.

They all won’t be BIG deals - but the sheer quantity of opportunities this week will be enough to make everyone rethink how big the NIL market is going to be.

🧵 1/ While ANY amount is impactful, someone asked me how many student-athletes could earn four-figures in NIL earnings.

I believe 75% of student-athletes in revenue sports should exceed $2,000/year.

Another 25% of student-athletes in non-revenue sports should exceed $2,000/year.

The NCAA's Interim NIL Policy
goes into effect July 1, 2021.

The working draft outlines:
-What rules to follow
-Which activities are prohibited
-Who is responsible for what
-How to disclose activities

This thread tells you
EVERYTHING YOU
NEED TO KNOW
(In simple terms)
🧵 1/ RULES TO FOLLOW

NIL activities are evaluated in this order:

1. NCAA rules
(if you are a student-athlete/recruit)

2. State laws
(if your school's state has valid/enforceable legislation)

3. School policies
(if your school has established/distributed policy)

Here's a guide.

Today Nebraska Athletics announced their plan to be the first athletic department to provide a tangible solution for helping its student-athletes prepare for the coming changes to Name, Image and Likeness policies in collegiate sports.

Thread: This announcement brings me tremendous joy -- not only because Nebraska is my alma mater, or that their partner in this endeavor is Opendorse, the athlete marketing platform I co-founded with my college teammate Adi Kunalic in 2012…