Georgia closes NIL collective as revenue sharing begins. New plan could become norm

New York Times

30-06-2025

Georgia is ending its collective, but the Bulldogs are partnering with an outside organization to form a new outlet that will focus on name, image and likeness deals for football and other players.
The move is in advance of the House settlement going into effect Tuesday. The settlement allows schools to directly pay athletes, starting with $20.5 million for all athletes, but any outside NIL deals worth more than $600 have to be approved by a clearinghouse, which is run by the Deloitte accounting firm.
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Georgia's outside NIL deals will now be done through Learfield, which has worked with Georgia's athletic department, and many others, on licensing and marketing deals. Learfield is also set to work with Ohio State, in a similar arrangement announced several weeks ago. Learfield is expected to hire a staff of around five people specifically for Georgia's NIL deals.
'This approach is about creating a standardized process and capitalizing on the NIL momentum at Georgia as the recent House settlement ruling goes into effect,' Learfield president Cole Gahagan said in a statement. 'By consolidating all NIL efforts together, we're establishing a full-service platform that makes it easier for brands to engage, for fans to support, and for student-athletes to maximize their potential through impactful storytelling and strategic partnerships.'
Georgia's collective, the Classic City Collective, was formed several years ago and had been raising money to directly pay players while also helping negotiate NIL deals. Last year the collective paid players an average of $1.1 million per month, multiple program sources briefed on the operations of Georgia's collective previously told The Athletic.
That figure, about $13.2 million for the season, is roughly in line with what Georgia will pay football players in revenue sharing. Most schools are paying football players 75 percent of the revenue sharing budget. (Schools can count new scholarships in revenue sharing, so it's 75 percent of $18 million, which is $13.5 million.)
But there were NIL deals for several players that were outside the collective, and the payments for players are expected to only increase, especially among top-tier programs. So Georgia is working with Learfield to negotiate NIL deals that will pass muster with the new clearinghouse.
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'Our student-athletes are already among the most competitive in the country,' Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said in a statement. 'Now, they'll have the infrastructure and support to maximize their NIL potential while strengthening their connection with the Bulldog Nation and beyond.'