Tennessee AD Danny White explains the line in the sand he's drawn with NIL deals
The Tennessee Vols have received a lot of attention in recent months for their NIL efforts. Various reports have suggested that a collective associated with Tennessee is paying five-star 2023 star quarterback Nico Iamaleava $8 million to sign with the Vols (Iamaleava committed to Tennessee a couple of months ago, but he can't sign until […]
The Tennessee Vols have received a lot of attention in recent months for their NIL efforts.
Various reports have suggested that a collective associated with Tennessee is paying five-star 2023 star quarterback Nico Iamaleava $8 million to sign with the Vols (Iamaleava committed to Tennessee a couple of months ago, but he can't sign until the early signing period in December).
Paying a recruit to commit via a NIL deal is prohibited by NCAA rules. There's no confirmation, however, that this is what happened with Iamaleava. That hasn't stopped speculation from running wild, though.
Vols athletic director Danny White recently gave an exclusive interview to VolQuest and he discussed Tennessee's NIL efforts at length.
White made it clear that he's drawn a line in the sand with the coaching staff and the collectives (Spyre Sports, predominately) associated with Tennessee — no NIL deals are to be made with recruits.
"With the new Tennessee state law, we can now collaborate with them (collectives) in ways that weren’t permissible a month ago," said White. "All along, they have been good community partners. We have a director of name, image and likeness who has experience in compliance and marketing. Her job is to focus on NIL—making sure we are educating Spyre and others who want to engage in that space on what the rules are and what the laws are."
"We couldn’t speak to them on collaboration for NIL deals (before state laws change)," continued White. "Now, we can for current student-athletes. There’s still an NCAA rule that specifically says we cannot be involved in any kind of NIL or any kind of inducement activity in recruiting. So, there’s a line between recruiting and current student-athletes that we have been very strict about with our coaches and staff — and we will continue to be. I like where we are in that space."
White is one of the best athletic directors in the nation. He's a proactive administrator who takes a 10,000-foot view of the various issues that impact an athletic department. There's not a better athletic director in the country to help usher Tennessee into this new NIL-driven college football world.
The Vols have been leaders in college football when it comes to NIL. And I think that will continue to be the case with White steering the ship.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services
