NIL clearinghouse has rejected $90M in deals
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- The College Sports Commission has rejected nearly $90 million in NIL deals since its clearinghouse launched a year ago, while approving $355 million in agreements through NIL Go (run by Deloitte), per a report released Wednesday
- NIL Go cleared $113 million and rejected $34 million in deals during the 61-day stretch from May 1 through June 30, with only two deals currently in arbitration
- The CSC issues final rulings on roughly 90 NIL deals per day, with the average approved deal worth $14,792 and the average rejected deal valued at $51,593 — meaning rejected deals are typically more than 3x larger
- A CSC spokesperson cited three main rejection triggers: no valid business purpose, compensation not commensurate with similarly situated athletes, or no direct activation of the athlete's NIL
- The CSC won a May arbitration case denying millions in NIL deals that 18 Nebraska football players had arranged with Playfly Sports, validating its enforcement authority
- Kentucky, Ohio State, Utah and other major schools have reorganized athletic departments or spun up separate entities to facilitate school-linked NIL opportunities, often in search of ways around the $20.5 million revenue-share cap
Why it matters: The average rejected deal ($51,593) is roughly 3.5x the average approved one ($14,792), revealing that larger and more aggressive NIL proposals are the ones drawing the most pushback. For schools, athletes, and sponsors, the Nebraska/Playfly arbitration win confirms the clearinghouse has real teeth — meaning six- and seven-figure NIL proposals now carry meaningful rejection risk.
