A name, image and likeness collective formerly known as the Nittany Commonwealth has rebranded and now is called We Are NIL.
NEW: The NCAA won't require schools to offer athletes disability insurance. But there's a new way for them to gain access to it: NIL collectives.
We Are NIL @ Penn State hopes to raise $6-10M to buy total permanent disability insurance for top FB players.https://t.co/7kmUulIwSC
— Amanda Christovich (@achristovichh) September 13, 2022
The main focus of this collective is disability insurance, and the collective’s founder, Michael Krentzman, told Front Office Sports that is where much of the $6-10 million We Are NIL hopes to raise will go.
Penn State offensive tackle Caeden Wallace has his insurance taken care of by We Are NIL, the collective plans to take care of plenty of other athletes.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is a well-known NIL leader, having started an agency, Limitless NIL, this spring.
A few months later, word got out that Clifford was leading the start of an Independent Players Association, focusing on taking care of players who suffered medical setbacks.
“I think that it’s all about, you know, two things,” Clifford said back in July. “It’s the players that are here currently, seeing how football wears on them, and then secondly, the players that have come and gone, the medically retired players.”
One medically retired player Clifford mentioned was Journey Brown, who played at Penn State from 2017-20 before medically retiring in 2020.
Brown is one of Clifford’s best friends.
“The game was taken from him earlier than he expected, and it’s tough for guys like that to be able to continue on and figure out what the next step is,” Clifford said. “I think that’s important, too.”
Penn State and some other schools offer disability insurance to some athletes, but exactly how much the school can provide is constrained by its budget.
Krentzman told Front Office Sports that not all athletes are eligible for this insurance and must have specific health qualifications and the chance to be a top draft pick.
Although there will be complications, this news could be huge in the world of NIL and for Penn State, which appears to be at the forefront of this specific area.
