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Wolferetti: Who is benefitting most from these NIL jersey sales? The players or the 3rd parties?

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6 months ago

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WRAL investigative journalist (yes, those still exist), Brian Murphy, wrote a really great piece for WRALSportsfan.com a few days ago.

In this piece, Murphy investigates the deals signed to have players make money off of their jersey sales, and I found it interesting. I figured you might too.

First off, let’s take a step back and realize how we got here.

The NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) laws pass prior to this season and most college sports fans either agreed with the rulings or understood the argument for them. Universities are making a killing off of college athletics, and the players aren’t seeing a dime. To be fair, they are getting a free education, however, while tuition rates are rising, they aren’t keeping up with the influx of profits that major college programs have seen thanks to these new TV/Streaming deals that have been getting signed (ie. ACC/ESPN’s deal worth $1.86 BILLION over 12 years.)

So most fans were fine with players getting a cut. However, as these rules were passed, I don’t think there was enough scrutiny on how they were structured.

For instance, they insisted that schools could not directly pay players. Which on its face, seems smart, as schools and conferences argued that it would create corruption and have schools bidding for players.

What is legal, however, is 3rd party companies (which could be companies of boosters) can pay unlimited funds to a player for ‘their services.’ And sometimes those services don’t seem to match the compensation.

Here’s one example: QB Jadan Rashada was paid a reported $9.5 million for an NIL contract associated with Miami University (note the use of associated). Sure, Rashada wasn’t paid BY Miami Univeristy. That would be illegal. However, he is being paid by a company/booster whose deal almost certainly had a stipulation that he attend Miami. And what does he have to do for the $9.5 million? It’s not fully disclosed, but by the looks of it, he’ll be doing social media ads, appearances, autograph sessions, and some marketing.

For reference, note that Tom Brady, who is arguably the best quarterback in the history of the NFL previously held a deal with Under Armor that paid him around $10 million per year.

The point is, while the schools aren’t ‘paying players to attend their schools, a lot of times someone is (but in a roundabout way). And we’re supposed to pretend that the schools/coaches don’t really have a say in this? What if a company offers a huge NIL deal to a recruit that the coach doesn’t want? How are companies targeting un-committed recruits with these NIL deals? So, we’re being asked to pretend that these major NIL deals are happening without input from the coaches or the schools? Hmm. Hard for me to believe, but it’s possible.

Either way, it is convenient for the schools, no doubt, since they aren’t on the hook for the accusations of ‘buying players.’ But it’s even more convenient that they can’t pay players because it shields players from cutting into the REAL place that name and likeness are being exploited for HUGE money, and that’s in these cash cow TV deals (which, to be fair, were signed prior to NIL ruels).

Ok. That was both a little backstory and a little ranting. But hey, this is my opinion column and that is my opinion.

But anyways, back to the jersey sales.

The way they are doing this is that players are signing licensing agreements with a 3rd party licensing company to have their names and numbers listed on the product page for a custom team jersey.

Here is what the product page looks like.

Now, before we get into NC State’s deal. Let’s see what Murphy said about UNC’s deal, which has a little more transparency in the numbers.

UNC players sign with a 3rd party company called OneTeam, which deals with NIL licensing.

“The players will receive some money, likely around $4, from each jersey sold with their name and number.” writes Murphy. He goes on to explain…

“UNC is charging Fanatics a 12% royalty fee for use of its trademarks and logos. That portion is split evenly between the university and athlete. The 12% comes from the wholesale price, not the retail figure. And of that 12%, OneTeam keeps 30%. On its website, it calls that figure customary “on the professional side” and says its for services such as managing the group licensing program, negotiating licensing deals, managing NIL approvals and protecting athlete NIL.

So if Fanatics has a wholesale price of $100 for a UNC jersey, the school’s royalty fee is $12. Of that $12, One Team collects $3.60, and $8.40 is left to be split evenly between the player and the school.”

So, let me try to do some math here.

If you buy a UNC jersey online, it’s going to cost you $130 + tax & shipping. Off the top, UNC gets 12%, and Fanatics (the company selling and shipping it) and the apparel company (Nike, Adidas) get the rest? It appears so.

After UNC takes their 12% cut, OneTeam jumps in and scoops up 30% for themselves and takes half of the rest for the players, which ends up being $4.20 for the player.

Note that OneTeam is paying the players, not the university, per the NIL rules. 

Meanwhile, at NC State, the players signed a licensing agreement with The Brandr Group (which like OneTeam, deals with NIL licensing). However, NC State wouldn’t comment on the deal’s financial breakdown, telling Murphy “NC State is not and cannot be a party to the licensing agreements between our players and The Brandr Group, so I am uncertain of the financial terms on this item.”

Brandr’s president and founder, Wesley Haynes, did say this:

“Proceeds of co-branded jerseys sold with the NIL of student-athletes who have opted into our group licensing agreement is roughly $10 to $12 a jersey for the student-athletes. This approximate payment of 10 percent of the final invoice price is aligned with existing industry standard best practices, and it represents the baseline for negotiations for our jersey programs.”

Ok, so NC State players seem to be getting a better deal, but we don’t know what Brandr takes.

That said, just look at all the hands in this pot.

– Fanatics gets a cut
– Surely Adidas/Nike gets a cut
– Brandr / OneTeam gets a cut
– The player gets a cut
– The school gets a cut

Pretty complicated situation, if you ask me.

If the schools could pay the players then you’d be able to cut out Fanatics and Brandr/One Team, leaving more money for the school and the players. Which would be good for both, right?

Well, the schools/conferences aren’t going to fight that fight, because if they are able to pay the players directly, then that’s going to open discussion about the players getting a chunk of the TV deal money, and you can bet your bottom dollar, that’s what they are going to work the hardest to protect.

But what’s the alternative? Allow the schools to pay the players? Then the richest teams would just pay kids the most money, no?

Well, and I’m just spitballing here, what if they came together and created a luxury tax, sort of like how Major League Baseball does it? Schools can pay players, and offer NIL deals, but have a soft cap.

If they go over that soft cap, then they are taxed at a huge rate on what they went over. That tax funds the smaller teams that can’t afford these huge NIL deals.

It seems to have worked in baseball. Over the past 10 years, the Royals have made the World Series twice and the Tampa Bay Rays have made it once. Those are some of the smallest payroll teams in baseball.

Either way, a lot has to be worked out. NIL is opening a lot of doors for players, and I applaud that. These kids deserve a cut.

However, the structure of NIL seems overcomplicated and allows for a lot of greedy hands to get into the pot. But with the rules, as they are, I don’t see another way. However, I’d love to see the schools and the players figure out a way to get those rules changed and to do most of this themselves, without having to get so many 3rd parties involved…

Because at the end of the day, with them involved they need enough money to go around and you know who is going to bear the brunt of that. You and me. That’s why a UNC or NC State Jersey is $130, but I could grab a Patrick Maholms jersey for $100.

That said, I just picked up a Leary jersey yesterday for $130. Don’t tell my wife.

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A pasta eatin', Wolfpack lovin' loudmouth from Raleigh by way of New Jersey. Jimmy V and Chuck Amato fanboy. All opinions are my own and you're gonna hear'em.

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Papajohn
Papajohn
6 months ago

WE ARE PAYING THE PLAYERS!! Let’s not be naïve and pretend otherwise. The name on the check doesn’t belong to a school, but the payment is because of the school. The reason the schools shouldn’t pay the players is – as noted above – so we don’t turn into professional sports. I think we are there, it just isn’t being publicly exploited so much that it can be ignored, yet. It almost blew up in Miami during the offseason when that guard realized other players were getting more money than he, but they got him in a room and promised… Read more »

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NC State Basketball

Wolferetti: 3 reasons why NC State is going to win today

Published

6 days ago

on

March 17, 2023

By

God bless these guys over here at PI. I submitted this article to them this morning and got this back.

“Joey, this is a good piece, but are you sure you want to come out and say that NC State is going to win? Why not just do a ‘keys to the game.’ or something? Hedge your bets. Why are you always wanting to put your reputation on the line?”

To that I say, “Nah, I’m good. I want my reputation on the line. What fun is this if I’m not callin’ it like I see it?”

Look, they’ve been worried about me stating outlandish opinions before. Like when I said after game #1, after I first laid eye on this team, that it was going to be a team that will flirt with or get into the Top 25? I got hammered for that, but was I right? And today I’m back on my prediction tip, telling you that NC State will survive and advance. And here are my 3 reasons why.

1. Creighton hasn’t fared well against teams with great Turnover Margins.

If Creighton has a glaring weakness, it’s turnover margin.

NC State’s turnover margin ranks 16th in the NCAA. Creighton’s is a miserable 291st. This means Creighton turns the ball over a lot and doesn’t create many turnovers. Meanwhile, NC State is the exact opposite. They create a lot of turnovers and really protect the basketball. This statistic right here is going to play a major role. The Creighton guards, especially Nembhard, can get sped up, and when they do, they can get sloppy and out of control. Meanwhile, Joiner and Smith flourish at top speed.

Let’s look at the one team that Creighton lost to every time they played them (and played them multiple times). That team is Marquette.

What do Marquette and NC State have in common? Well, they are both Top 20 in the nation in Turnover Margin. Marquette ranks #3 in the NCAA while the Pack is 16th. Creighton turned it over 18 times in their first meeting at Marquette. The second time these two teams met, Creighton turned it over 15 times.

The other teams they faced in the Top 50 of Turnover Margin in the nation?

#39 Arizona State
#10 Texas

That’s it. And guess what, Creighton lost every single one of those games. They have yet to beat a team in the Top 50 in Turnover Margin.

Reminder. NC State ranks 16th.

2. Large, back-to-the-basket bigs have fared well against Creighton

6’9, 245lb, Adama Sanogo from UConn dropped 17 against them in a win.

6’9, 215lb, Oso Ighodaro from Marquette dropped 16 on them in their first meeting, and then 18 in their second.

6’7, 220lb, Bryce Hopkins from Providence scored 20 on them in both meetings. One of which was a win.

All of these guys are big, strong, back-to-the-basket bigs and all of them bullied their way to huge games again Creighton.

In all 3 instances, Creighton refused to double-team on most possessions and the big men ate. So how will they deal with a big that is bigger than any of these guys?

DJ Burns is 6’9, 275lbs and he’s going to be a focal point for NC State in this game. If Creighton opts to play Burns straight up, history says they are going to have a long night and Burn is going to have a big game.

3. Creighton hasn’t seen guards like Joiner and Smith

Sure Creighton has quick guards. Nembhard, the 6’0 PG rarely gets a matchup where he doesn’t have a quickness advantage. Today, against Joiner, he won’t have one. There is so much talk about Creighton’s guards bottling up their opponents, but watch them play and you’ll see that they simply haven’t had to face guys like Joiner or Smith. Creighton will allow the floor to be spread and will not fight against playing this game at a fast pace, and those are the types of games we’ve seen the NC State guards feast.

Creighton is a very good team. They have some very good pieces, but I just think they’ve found themselves in a matchup that isn’t very good for them despite being data-darlings. I could be wrong, but to me, this looks like a game where people are reading off statistics and making assumptions without watching film. Without looking at each team’s Achilles heel. And without really breaking down the matchups.

I think this is a really good matchup for the Pack and I think I’ll be back talking to you in about 24 hours looking at who the guys will play on Sunday.

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NC State Basketball

Wolferetti: UNC’s 39 FTs vs. NC State were the most they’ve shot in an ACC game since 2007 (in a game that had eerily similar stats and outcome)

Published

2 months ago

on

January 23, 2023

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I’m over on Sports-Reference.com digging through these Free Throw attempt numbers and I’m finding some pretty interesting nuggets.

I spent yesterday morning digging through NC State’s FTAs and FT disparity numbers, which I put together in this article I posted yesterday.

Today I started looking at UNC’s FTAs and FT disparity numbers. Sport-Reference only goes back to 2010 for game logs, but up until that point, I wasn’t finding another game where UNC shot as many or more FTs than they did on Saturday. Then I moved to ESPN, where I had to go box score by box score. Finally, in 2007 I found a game.  It was #1 UNC vs. Virginia, in Chapel Hill, on January 10th.

So, since 2007, UNC has never attempted more than 38 FTs in an ACC game. That means UNC’s 39 FTs vs. NC State was the most since that game. Meaning, NC Stayed played the most physical ACC game against UNC in 15 years?

Look, I watched the game, and I’m just going to go ahead and say, that’s not the case. In fact, I thought NC State was a little softer than usual in this game. But that’s just an opinion, so go rewatch and make up your own mind.

Meanwhile, I’ll just point out a few things about that 2007 #1 UNC vs. Virginia game in Chapel Hill and show you that there were quite a few interesting parallels to Saturday’s game.

In 2007 vs UNC, Virginia shot 11 free throws.
On Saturday vs UNC, NC State shot 12 free throws. 

In 2007 vs Virginia, the Heels shot 41 free throws.
On Saturday vs NC State, the Heels shot 39 free throws.

In 2007 the UNC / Virginia FT disparity was +30 for UNC
On Saturday the UNC / NC State FT disparity was +27 for UNC

In 2007 vs UNC, Virginia shot a better percentage from the floor than UNC (44% to 38%)
On Saturday vs UNC, NC State shot a better percentage from the floor than UNC (42% to 37%)

In 2007 vs. UNC, Virginia shot better from 3pt range than UNC (36% to 23%)
On Saturday vs UNC, NC State shot better from 3pt range than UNC (29% to 22%)

In 2007 vs. UNC, Virginia had more FGs in the game than UNC (26 to 25)
On Saturday vs UNC, NC State had more FGs in the game than UNC (26-20)

In 2007 UNC beat Virginia by 10 points (79-69)
On Saturday UNC beat NC State by 11 points (80-69)

This was a #1 ranked UNC team with Tyler Hansbrough (who happened to be at the game on Saturday) and Brandan Wright in the middle. They were 15-1 at the time with their only loss coming to Gonzaga. This Virginia game was their 2nd ACC game of the season. 24 of the FTs were shot by the two bigs, but the rest were spread out amongst the UNC guards, meaning this wasn’t just Hansbrough and Wright drawing contact. EVERYONE on UNC was drawing contact. Ellington, Lawson, Rashawn Terry, Quentin Thomas, and Danny Green shot the other 17.

Anyways, again, this doesn’t prove anything, but it is pretty peculiar. I was out here looking for FT totals in ACC play and couldn’t find one that was equal to or higher than the 39 from Saturday. And it just so happens that when I do find one (allll the way back in 2007), it’s also had the largest FT disparity we’ve seen by UNC in ACC play since Saturday. These crazy high (25+) FT disparity games don’t come often in the ACC for UNC, but when they come they seem to come on nights when they are shooting really low percentages from the floor.

Take from this what you will.

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Opinion

WOLFERETTI: Only 3 times in the Keatts era has an ACC team shot over 30 FTs with a positive double-digit disparity vs. NC State. All 3 times it’s been UNC.

Published

2 months ago

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January 22, 2023

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This loss doesn’t sting, it stinks.

I’m not going to beat around the bush here. The refs were the primary reason NC State lost this game. What we watched wasn’t basketball, it was guys in striped shirts controlling an outcome.

Now, did they mean to do it? Did they get caught up in the UNC home crowd? Was there some kind of unconscious bias in play? Was it just a coincidence? Did NC State force their hand?

We’ll never know, but it seems par for the course if you’ve watched enough ACC basketball.

Think I’m being dramatic or making excuses? Judge for yourself.

UNC was 32-39 from the free-throw line. NC State was 12-12.

Yes, the Heels shot 27 more free throws than NC State last night.

You RARELY see a disparity in numbers like that in the ACC. I mean, sometimes you’ll get a game that is called super tight. In those games, you’d expect to see high Free Throw Attempt (FTA) totals for both teams. And sometimes you’ll get a game where the refs let you play, meaning you have low FTAs across the board. But I’ve never seen a conference game where on one side it’s called as extremely tight and on the other side they mostly just let the guys play. But that is exactly what happened last night. And if you somehow think that might be normal, I’ll take the time here to prove that it’s an EXTREME outlier.

Free Throw Attempt (FTA) Disparity in ACC games from NC State’s 2022-23 season to date

(+4) NC State 19 – Pitt 15  
(-5) NC State 12 – Miami 17 
(-3) NC State 21 – Louisville 24 
(+6) NC State 18 – Clemson 24  
(-11) NC State 15 – Duke 26*  
(-4) NC State 21 – VT 25  
(-2) NC State 20 – Miami 22  
(+2) NC State 21 – GT 19 
(-27) NC State 12 – UNC 39* 

Yeah, you see it. 27 is by far the largest FTA disparity we’ve seen all season, and it’s not even close.

So why does that matter? Well, the more fouls that are called, the more referees control the pace, flow (and score) of the game.

See, the more fouls, the quicker the teams get into the bonus, and when teams are in the bonus, any foul is one that stops momentum, sends guys to the line for free shots, and thus, changes the score without offense or defense involved.

Now, I’m not saying ACC referees stack up the fouls in games in order to control the game, but what I am saying is that IF someone was going to try to control a basketball game from the referee’s position, this would pretty much be the way you’d do it. How do I know? Well, it’s one way they DID do it in the NBA according to former NBA referee Tim Donaghy who was caught by the FBI for fixing games. Don’t take it from me though, Operation Flagrant Foul (a documentary about the Donaghy saga is on Netflix right now).

Now look, before you lose your mind and accuse me of accusing ACC refs of cheating, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m explaining how games are controlled and I’m telling you that I only know that because a former ref explained it to the world. Now, after 30+ years of watching NC State basketball, I’m starting to wonder how it’s possible these unlikely things keep happening. Some people call it the Curse of Jimmy V. Some people call it NC State S#*t. Whatever you call it, you know what I’m talking about.

The main problem is, I’m not superstitious and it’s getting harder and harder for me to believe that no matter who the players are, no matter who the coaches are, no matter who the athletic director is, the same story continues to unfold with Wolfpack basketball.

So what is going on?

Last night was just another chapter is the story. NC State plays UNC, fouls somehow play a role, the game flow just doesn’t feel like the rest of the games we’ve watched, and then the Pack loses. Fans get pissed. Blame the refs. Rinse and repeat.

So I wondered if I looked closely at the numbers if I’d find any patterns or try to uncover any hints as to what is going on. Again, not saying anyone is cheating, but wondering if there are subconscious biases involved or something. And if I didn’t find anything then I was going to just jump on the superstition bandwagon and call it a day.

Anyways, here are a few things that stood out to me.

– I saw that State’s season-low of 12 FTAs is tied for the lowest in conference play this year for the Pack.
They DID have 2 games where they shot fewer, but they were not in conference play. Those were vs Austin Peay and vs. Elon. In those games, NC State shot a ton of 3s. 28 vs AP and 33 vs Elon. So I guess in those games you could argue that they were playing mostly on the perimeter and there wasn’t much contact happening on dribble drives or post-play. This doesn’t hold true vs. UNC. NC State played physical on both ends, They were going down to Burns while Smith and Joiner were attacking the basket quite a bit. NC State shot just 17 3s (least amount in a conference game this season) vs. UNC. The Pack wasn’t just hanging out around the perimeter hoisting up 3s. They were playing a very similar style to what UNC was playing (UNC shot 18 3s) So there goes the ‘different styles of play’ argument.

– I found out There is very rarely a +20 FTA disparity in the ACC.
 In fact,  in the Keatts era, there have been only 7 games with a FTA disparity of 15 or more on either side, and of those, only 2 have had a disparity of 20 or more. I listed them below…

15+ FTA Disparity game  (NC State games – ACC) | 2021-22
(-27) NC State 12 – UNC 39 = Lost by 11

15+ FTA Disparity game  (NC State games – ACC) | 2021-22
None

15+ FTA Disparity game  (NC State games – ACC) | 2020-21
(+15) NC State 24 – Clemson 9 = Lost by 4

15+ FTA Disparity game  (NC State games – ACC) | 2019-20
(-18) NC State 7 – UNC 25 = Lost by 10
(-18) NC State 13 @ UNC 31 = Lost by 6

15+ FTA Disparity game  (NC State games – ACC) | 2018-19
(-19) NC State 9 @ Wake 28 = Lost by 3
(-22) NC State 7 @ Louisville 29 = Lost by 7
(-17) NC State 11 @ Duke 28 = Lost by 16

15+ FTA Disparity game  (NC State games – ACC) | 2017-18
None

—–

The only Pattern I could find here is that NC State lost all of these ‘high FT disparity games.’ It also may be worth noting that of the 7 ‘high disparity’ games, 5 of the 7 were Tobacco Road teams. And the last note here is that 5 of the ‘high disparity’ games FTA slants went against NC State and only once went for them. However, they even lost the one where they shot a ton more FTs.

– I found out that NC State rarely have games where one or both of the teams attempt 30 FTs  in ACC play.
Actually, during the Keatts era only 7 times during ACC play has NC State played in a game where this occurred.

1 – Last night vs UNC (they shot 39 FTs)
2- In 2021 vs. Pitt (they shot 34 and NC State shot 30 FTs)
3. In 2020 vs UNC (They shot 31 FTs)
4. In 2019 vs Wake (They shot 30 FTs)
5. In 2019 vs FSU (They shot 30 FTs)
6. In 2019 vs UNC (They shot 37 FTs)
7. In 2018 vs Wake (They shot 31 FTs)

No real pattern here other than UNC being here 3 times, and again 5 of the 7 games are Tobacco Road teams.

– However, if you look at those 30 FT games again, and then look at the disparity of those FTs,  here is what you find…

1.  NC State 12 – UNC 39 (-27)
2. NC State 34 – Pitt 30 (-4)
3. NC State 13 – UNC 31 (-18)
4. NC State 30 – Wake 26 (+6)
5. NC State 21 – FSU 30 (-9)
6. NC State 24 – UNC 37 (-13)
7. NC State 31 – Wake 22 (+9)

The only time over the entire Keatts era (during ACC play) that you had a team with extraordinarily high Free Throw Attempts (FTAs) in a game AND a double-digit disparity in team FTAs was the 3 UNC games, one of which was last night.

Kind of interesting if you ask me. But not convinced of anything….

Then I went to see “What if this had happened in any other ACC game prior to last night for UNC.” I wanted to see if UNC just lived at the foul line all the time while their opponents weren’t able to get there. If so, maybe they just play a style of basketball that I was unaware existed. One where you’re able to be very physical on offense and get to the line, but able to play such good defense that you don’t allow your opponent to the line.

I mean, you could also just say they always get calls, but I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

However, what I found is that aside from the NC State game, their highest Free Throws Attempted (FTAs) in ACC play is 27 vs VT. And in almost every conference game this season, their FTA discrepancy has been around 3 to 5. Oh, but there was one other outlier other than the +27 from last night, which was a +16 vs. Georgia Tech (They shot 24 to GTs 8 FTs) and that game happened to be on the heels of their 4 game losing streak when the bottom was falling out and they NEEDED a win.

Interesting again, but at the end of the day, this proves nothing. Maybe NC State was just foul-happy last night and UNC wasn’t. Maybe despite a full roster of different players, the same thing tends to happen every couple of years, only when NC State takes on UNC. Maybe, these are just excuses and NC State really is just cursed.

Or maybe not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Opinion

Wolferetti: A recap of UNC’s no-good, very bad weekend

Published

4 months ago

on

November 29, 2022

By

Sure, this is an NC State site, and we like to keep things positive. So we were positive in our decision to rehash with our readers, the awful weekend that UNC just had. And yeah it’s Tuesday and I should have written this Monday, but I was busy, so you get it today. Let’s get to it.

First off, you had NC State capping of the football season with a win over UNC, at Carolina. To make matters worse, NC State was starting their 4th string QB (Ben Finley) who just so happened to outperform their Heisman-hopeful freshman.

And the way they lost was brutal. A missed chip shot in overtime, which was one of two missed FGs on the night for Noah Burnette. Here, watch…

Ouch. And Finley didn’t just outperform Maye, he also dug at him in the meeting with the media.

And then there was Dave Doeren who didn’t mince words when he said this…

According to the broadcasts, after saying this to the reporters, they asked if it was on the record and Doeren said “I don’t give a &*$#”.

Later that night, UNC, the #1 ranked team in college basketball also had a pretty bad showing, losing to Iowa State by 5…

And then turning around the next day, and losing to Alabama by 2 in overtime.

This led UNC to see the biggest single-week drop (from #1 to #8) by a #1 team in the AP Poll era.

So to recap. Their Drake Maye Heisman dreams were crushed, they lost to rival NC State, they were the but of a joke by a 4th string QB, they rival coach called them elitist, and their basketball fans realized despite returning almost all of their talent from a team that made it to the National Championship, they still aren’t #1. Oh, and with another loss, they fell the furthest of any #1 in the history of the AP.

That’s a pretty sucky weekend for UNC. But me, personally, I’m here for it.

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