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Just as quickly as NIL collectives became a major part of college football, it now appears that they could be on their way out the door. The Colorado Buffaloes program cut ties with its NIL collective, 5430 Alliance, recently as it prepares for a new era of revenue sharing in college athletics.
“We are restructuring our NIL procedures in order to be prepared for the changes to come,” Colorado athletic director Rick George told fans in an email according to David Rumsey of Front Office Sports.
But that doesn’t mean that George and company aren’t still raising money to pay players. Instead, he advised potential donors to invest in Colorado athletics via the Buff Club’s AD Excellence Fund or Sport Excellence Fund.
Colorado Shutting Down NIL Collective Helps Make Paying Players More Efficient
George told donors that doing so would “makes giving to third-party collectives like the 5430 Alliance unnecessary.”
More or less, donating to the excellence fund is a way to more directly ensure that players are compensated without any middle men or red tape.
“I feel these changes will not only keep CU the gold standard in student-athlete support but also make it easier for fans like you to invest in our student-athletes at a time when it is most crucial,” he continued.
Direct payment from the program to players also gives the school more power to enforce standards. Colorado coach Deion Sanders recently told his team that he would dock pay for players who don’t succeed in the classroom.
“When you stop doing certain things that you’re supposed to do, that you signed up to do, then you’re going to be affected,” Sanders said.
Colorado is neither the first nor the only program to take this route. Both Alabama and Notre Dame shut down collectives in 2024. Although the Crimson Tide still operates its Yea, Alabama collective according to Rumsey.