FSU collective The Battle's End singled out as one of 'most ambitious' in NIL space
According to analysis from On3, The Battle’s End checks in at No. 6 on its list of the 20 “most ambitious” collectives in college sports entering Year 3 of the NIL era.
ngram Smith, CEO of The Battle’s End, told On3 earlier this year that the organization has full funding for this year and next and that it has more than 60 FSU athletes under contract. The collective also is now accepting donations and selling merchandise through its official website.
“Florida State has been aggressive, they’ve come on really strong,” a source in the industry told On3.
Florida State has two other collectives working to service student-athletes as well. Rising Spear, which was the first FSU-focused NIL collective, works with more than 200 athletes in a wide spectrum of sports. Micconope 1851 also provides NIL opportunities and is launching a career resource center for FSU athletes and alumni.
Here’s the full report on the 20 most ambitious collectives in college sports, including more information about The Battle’s End.
On3's top 20 most ambitious NIL collectives
1. Spyre Sports Group (Tennessee)
Last spring, Spyre Sports Group caught the nation’s attention when word leaked of a five-star quarterback signing a contract that would pay up to $8 million deal by their junior year. Turns out it was Nico Iamaleava signing with Spyre, as The Athletic has since reported. That was college football’s introduction to the sports marketing agency. Since then, however, Tennessee‘s NIL operation has become the leading collective in the country.
This fall, Tennessee football finished 11-2. The Vols knocked off Alabama for the first time since 2007. Led by co-founders Hunter Baddour and James Clawson, former sports marketing professionals, Spyre was ready to pounce.
The for-profit arm, The Volunteer Club, has grown to 2,769 members with an expansive e-commerce business. According to Baddour, Spyre has executed 1,400 deals since July 2021. They currently have 90 athletes on active contracts. Spyre told On3 in February the Volunteer Club had procured $13.5 million in NIL deals.
2. 12th Man+ Fund (Texas A&M)
Texas A&M has not been able to stay outside of the NIL spotlight since July 2021. The Aggies pieced together the best-ever recruiting class in 2022, with many pointing to NIL being the driving force. Then Alabama head coach Nick Saban called out Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher for buying every player in that class.
The Aggies’ collective – “The Fund” – was thought by many to have some of the deepest pockets. Investors in The Fund told The Athletic last April they didn’t understand why boosters in other collectives feel the need to advertise their groups.
That narrative has been put on its head in the last few months. The 12th Man+ Fund was launched publicly in February as an extension of the 12th Man Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that has been around since the 1980s and led funding initiatives for scholarships, programs and facilities in College Station. The IRS’ recent memo on nonprofit collectives does target this structure, yet it does not set a precedent. The expectation is the collective will begin announcing deals July 1.
“Everyone is watching and taking notes,” an SEC leader said.
The new collective model has grabbed the attention of college athletics. Despite the NCAA releasing guidance this week, a new state law goes into effect Saturday. The quasi-collective will be able to work with the athletic department to hand out priority points, while having a safe harbor from the NCAA due to protections in the law. Many have dubbed The 12th Man+ Fund as the future. Others have called it illegal. Either way, Texas A&M won’t be scraping by for dollars anytime soon. And that makes whatever collective run out of College Station a threat.
“A&M has to be one of the top collectives because of their sheer buying power,” another collective operator said. “Not a lot of creativity. But they have unlimited cash. If it comes down to who has the deepest pockets, they’re winning.”
3. Division St. (Oregon)
Division Street was one of the first NIL collectives to launch in September 2021. Since then, it has become one of the most highly-regarded organizations in the space. Some of the brightest sports marketing minds have played an integral role in the day-to-day operations of the Oregon-driven collective.
The role of Nike and Phil Knight cannot be understated, though. The swoosh has always driven athletes to Eugene. But the NIL era has been able to marry the two brands – Nike and Oregon – together like never before. Division Street is littered with former Nike leaders, including former VP of Nike Women Rosemary St. Clair, who is the collective’s CEO.
Division Street has not been forced to plead with donors to subscribe to a monthly program. Instead, it has its own apparel line, Ducks of a Feather. All merchandise is created by Nike, with profits going back to Oregon athletes.
“They do what they need to do,” a collective leader in the Pac-12 said. “They don’t need to build a social media brand around it. They don’t need to be as public facing as a lot of us feel like we need to. They just don’t have any of those needs. They just get to operate in the shadows and take their kids to Nike. It’s almost like they’re in a different category.”
Oregon has figured out how to best use Division Street, too. Knight’s name was trending on Twitter by noon ET of December’s National Signing Day. And as one agent pointed out, “No head coach in the country is more aggressive about NIL than Dan Lanning.”
4. Texas One Fund (Texas)
Roughly six months ago, five separate NIL entities focused on Longhorn athletics came together to form the Texas One Fund. After jousting for funding, all efforts were consolidated under one umbrella.
In an NIL space where it’s common for collectives to contend with one another for control of a college market, Texas got its act together. It’s paid off. The Longhorn-driven collective has Patrick “Wheels” Smith running day-to-day operations. Football coach Steve Sarkisian and men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry recently held a meet-and-greet with fans, with a $1,000 entry fee for a couple.
Similar to Texas A&M, they have embraced the new state law. The Texas athletic department announced earlier this month that current members of the Longhorn Foundation will earn loyalty points for any donations to the NIL collective starting July 1. With donor fatigue remaining an ever-present issue for collectives, this will give boosters a tangible return on investment.
If there’s any questions remaining about viability, look at the collectives that came together to form the Texas One Fund. Clark Field Collective announced an initial commitment of $10 million at its launch. Horns with Heart generated headlines with its plan to pay each offensive lineman $50,000 a year. Everyone is in unison in Austin, including the donors.
“It goes without saying, Texas has made some really strategic moves recently that have put them in a really good spot,” an SEC operator said.
5. John Ruiz/Canes Connection (Miami)
John Ruiz has now made appearances on three sets of collective rankings released by On3. But the Miami businessman has seen his role in the world of NIL shift dramatically change in recent months.
The CEO of LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing made a name for himself as one of the biggest spenders in the space. He distributed more than $10 million in NIL deals in the first year of college athletics’ new era. While the brunt of those partnerships have come with athletes who attend Miami, not all of the athletes are Hurricanes.
He grabbed headlines shortly after former Kansas State guard Nijel Pack committed to Miami in April 2022, announcing that LifeWallet had signed the guard to a two-year deal worth $800,000 along with a car. He signed three other basketball players: Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller and Norchad Omier. The Hurricanes made the Final Four back in March, delivering a return on investment for Ruiz. He has been adamant, however, that LifeWallet’s return on investment in NIL is not tied to the University of Miami’s success.
He also signed endorsement deals with the Cavinder Twins, the NIL stars who transferred to Miami last offseason. The NCAA placed Miami on probation this spring regarding an impermissible benefit during their recruitment. The NCAA said the Cavinders had an impermissible meal with Ruiz, who it classified as a Miami booster. The governing body did not disassociate him from the institution, which would prevent him from receiving special in-venue seating, booster memberships and interactions with coaches.
Ruiz told On3 he planned to sue the NCAA this spring. He has yet to file the paperwork. All of this comes as his healthcare company missed its 2022 fourth quarte and fiscal year earnings, according to the Action Network’s Darren Rovell.
Canes Connection has become a prominent collective in the space in the past few months, taking care of many NIL deals with the football team. When rumors circulated Tyler Van Dyke might transfer to Alabama, it was Canes Connection who signed an NIL deal with the star quarterback
“Nobody really knows what’s going on in Miami,” a source in the space told On3. “You don’t know what to expect there. You obviously know John’s body of work.”
6. The Battle’s End (Florida State)
When Ingram Smith launched The Battle’s End in December, he made one promise to Florida State fans. And a warning to the rest of the country. “I’m not going to tell you that I’m John Ruiz and I have unlimited money,” he said. “But I will tell you that we can be as competitive as we want to be in this space.”
The Seminoles-driven collective has not disappointed, especially after Florida and Miami dominated headlines in the first 18 months of NIL. A day after its launch, Jordan Travis was under contract. Making sure the quarterback is back for another season has the Seminoles in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth this fall.
Florida State was active in the transfer portal this offseason, too, landing major names like wide receiver Keon Coleman and cornerback Fentrell Cypress. The Battle’s End has been innovative in motivating boosters. The collective sent Travis and Trey Benson to the Super Bowl, flying on a donor’s private plane to Arizona for the game. And in March, a trio of linemen attended the John R. Lewis Legacy Gala in Atlanta.
Smith told On3 in March the collective is fully financed for this year and next. As of June 22, The Battle’s End has more than 60 football players and golfers under contract.
“Florida State has been aggressive, they’ve come on really strong,” a source in the industry said.
Added another: “They’re very sharp.”
Florida State NIL collective reported $1.2M in 2022 contributions
The nonprofit corporation Rising Spear Garnet Spirit Inc., which is one of the two arms of the collective Rising Spear that provides NIL opportunities for Florida State athletes, reported receiving more than $1.2 million in contributions in the 2022 fiscal year.
Rising Spear’s nonprofit arm reported $1,249,479 in contributions in its renewal application to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which received the application on April 11, 2023. The fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2022.
The application defines contributions as “the promise, pledge, or grant of money or property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value in response to a solicitation.”
“That number accurately reflects the funds raised through our nonprofit,” Rising Spear COO Will Cowen said in a phone interview. “However, that does not account for nearly all the transactions through Rising Spear with our Gold Standard, which is on the for-profit side.”
Rising Spear’s application to renew its nonprofit corporation provides just a partial window into Florida State’s ecosystem of NIL collectives.
“Florida State’s NIL picture is actually a really good one,” Cowen said. “Our nonprofit aspect is only a small fraction of what we’re doing in totality.”
Rising Spear also has a commercial arm called Rising Spear Gold Standard LLC. Plus, another collective called The Battle’s End focuses on Florida State football players. It also includes separate nonprofit and for-profit entities. Micconope 1851 is a for-profit collective powered by Blueprint Sports.
Florida State nonprofit reported $200K in 2021
Rising Spear Garnet Spirit stated its original charitable purpose was, “Working with local college athletes to help further the efforts of the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Bend and other local non-profits.”
In early 2022, Rising Spear’s nonprofit arm reported on its solicitation of contributions application that it received $200,000 in contributions in the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2021. Rising Spear’s directors legally established the nonprofit corporation in early December 2021.
Its proposed budget based on its 2021 fundraising included $182,500 in total expenses. Although, the itemized expenses added up to $186,500. That included $135,000 on “program service expenses” and $51,500 on “management and general expenses.”
When itemized, its management and general expenses included $25,000 in legal fees, $15,000 in fees for service from non-employees and $10,000 in information technology. In April 2023, the law firm Dean, Mead, Egerton, Bloodworth, Capouano & Bozarth, P.A. provided the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with a cover letter and Rising Spear Garnet Spirit’s application for annual renewal.
The application says four Rising Spear directors – Robert Davis, Alan Flaumenhaft, Robert Frey and Robert Miller – were not compensated.
“The true picture of Florida State NIL is The Battle’s End has two entities as well so you really have four entities,” Cowen said. “You have the two with The Battle’s End and the two with us, and it’s a very powerful formula but it is certainly not weighted into the nonprofit side and that’s by design.”
