University of Kansas head coach Bill Self had quite a profitable postseason. En route to winning the 2022 national championship, the Jayhawks’ leader picked up bonuses totaling $575,000—including $200,000 for winning the title game alone.
Now, thanks to NIL, the school is helping making sure the players on the team have a chance to cash in, as well, and it’s hard not to feel great about this.
The entire KU roster—all 18 players—will embark on a state-wide barnstorming tour to celebrate their championship with fans after the school partnered with 6th Man Strategies to conduct the events.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander (yes, the guy with the Guster sticker), explained how the tour will work and how it’ll benefit the players involved:
“Memorabilia will be signed. Photos with Kansas players and giddy KU fans — young and old — will be taken. There will be a special VIP dinner, and the players will also participate in a skills camp for the kids who attend. Fans will also get to see a little live-action basketball, as KU’s players will play a scrimmage for fun….Tickets will go for as little as $30 to as much as $125.
“Arguably the best part: Kansas’ players are set to collectively receive 70% of the ticket revenue from however many of these events wind up happening in the coming weeks. What’s more, any championship Kansas gear that is sold, 100% of those profits will go right back to the players.”
It’s hard to imagine a better example of the benefits provided by NIL.
Fans get a final opportunity to see this KU roster all together, the players get a final opportunity to share in the glory of winning a title and the school can brag to recruits about all the spoils that come with joining the Jayhawks.
It’s a model that’s easy to duplicate and one that’s guaranteed to see copycats across college athletics. Don’t believe me? Go reread that bit about using this to sell recruits. Kansas just happened to reach the mountaintop at the right time—and with the right partners.
But the big winners here won’t just be stars like Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Christian Braun and Remy Martin—each of whom have pro careers waiting next season. It’ll be the reserves who worked just as hard as those aforementioned names without getting similar minutes. Guys like Cam Martin, Bobby Pettiford, KJ Adams, Zach Clemence, Joseph Yesufu and Kyle Cuffe Jr.
They deserve every bit as much of the recognition and profits as anyone. It’s nice to see the program is willing to help make that happen. It’ll be even sweeter when this becomes the norm across college athletics.
