Get Stitches? College Commission Creates Hotline To Snitch On Opposing Teams Over Shady NIL Deals

Snitching on rivals just got a lot easier in college sports. The College Sports Commission (CSC) has launched an anonymous tip line for schools to report opposing teams for what could be shady NIL deals. 

When the House settlement was approved, which now allows schools to use $20.5 million for revenue-sharing purposes to pay athletes, the College Sports Commission was set up to provide oversight as to how rules would be enforced moving forward. 

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One major point of contention is "NIL-Go," a reporting tool that requires disclosure of deals worth $600 or more. It’s already creating headaches, with questions about whether these deals reflect "fair market value" or if they’re thinly veiled pay-for-play arrangements.

Are the deals being presented to athletes of ‘Fair Market Value’ and are they also not just ‘pay-for-play’ arrangements that some schools can use to pay their athletes? This was one of the biggest concerns for those who are monitoring the contracts that are being presented to the student-athletes, and I use that term very loosely. 

The new clearinghouse is swamped with millions of dollars’ worth of contracts, many still stuck in backlog. Meanwhile, CSC leaders insist their priority is keeping everything above board — a task that feels a lot like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. 

Good luck. 

While there have been plenty of times in the past where one school might turn in another through back-channels to the NCAA, the times are changing in how these rivals will now be able to ‘rat’ on their opponents. 

You Want To ‘Rat’ On The Opposing School? Call The Tip-Line

First reported by Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports and confirmed by OutKick, the CSC is now giving schools a direct way to report rule-breaking anonymously. Think of it as an 800-number for ratting out rivals: overpaying athletes, sketchy NIL deals, or contracts that bend the rules.

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I mean, come on. This is where we're headed now? Absolutely it is, and now all one team has to do is pick up the phone and rat out a rival for overpaying for an athlete, or setting up a deal that bends the rules. 

And, while there are currently deals being approved that are more on the ‘pay-for-play’ end of things, this feels like a bit much in the long term. 

Remember over the past few years when coaches have made threats about exposing other schools for tampering in the transfer portal, but never really did anything to act on those threats? 

Well, congratulations, you now have a phone number to call in order to turn in the schools who are providing deals that aren’t passing the smell test. 

Like it or not, we’ve entered a new era of college athletics. And in this one, snitching is just an anonymous phone call away.