CLEMSON — Clemson athletic director Graham Neff penned a letter to fans Tuesday outlining how the athletic department will be competitive in name, image and likeness (NIL) and revenue sharing before changes are enacted from the settlement of the House v. NCAA federal antitrust cases.
The settlement will add roster limits in place of scholarship limits, allow schools to pay athletes directly through a national-standard revenue share, and require third-party NIL deals to be legitimate and for fair market value. Neff said Clemson intends to share the maximum allowable amount of revenue with its athletes, which will be up to approximately $20.5 million in 2025-26, and add 150 new full scholarships across all sports at an approximate additional cost of $6
We recognize the role that we play on our campus and in our community and with integrity we are taking decisive action to best position ourselves for long-term success,” Neff said.
Before the changes go into effect on July 1, Clemson will implement new NIL and revenue-sharing initiatives in the coming months. One is establishing a “front office” to oversee contract details, compliance and allocation strategy. Neff didn’t announce who will lead the new organization, but the person’s role will be similar to Georgia Tech’s J.J. Cosh, who was hired Monday to be its first-ever executive associate athletic director for player management.
To handle regulated commercial NIL opportunities for Clemson athletes, Neff wrote that the school has created an in-house agency by partnering with Everett Sports Marketing (ESM) to “provide expert guidance to our staff and student-athletes, and to connect our students with businesses seeking brand ambassadors.” Neff said the school is pursuing revenue streams via Clemson Ventures as well.
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