NIL-driven Las Vegas college basketball event with millions paid to schools is nearly finalized
Its selling point is based on the major factor that has drastically altered college sports over the past three years: name, image and likeness compensation for players.
Games will be played in November under the umbrella of an event dubbed the “Players Era Festival,” which will also include live music and other attractions for fans amid the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip during Thanksgiving week.
In a college sports first, the event will also include $1 million NIL payouts for eight participating schools. What’s more, players involved will have future earnings opportunities through long-term NIL contracts, sources told CBS Sports.
Alabama, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State and Texas A&M are all on board, sources said.
The eighth and final school for the 2024 event will emerge from a small group that is still being deliberated.
The Players Era Festival is not being pitched as a one-year happening, either. Plans are to double the size of the field, sources told CBS Sports, with 16 teams as the target for 2025 and beyond.
Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia have all engaged in discussions about potentially playing in 2025.
If they opt in, they’d be joined by most (if not eventually all) of the schools playing in 2024, many of which have already signed up for a three-year agreement, according to sources.
