2 Michigan football players enter partnerships with Yoke Gaming as NIL opens up
"We are building our brands and working every day to be the best student-athletes we can be," Corum wrote on Instagram in the post announcing his partnership. "We finally have the chance to get paid for marketing opportunities. This is my first paid post announcing I’ve joined @yokegaming.
"All fans can now game with me on the @yokegaming app. All athletes DM me and I can help you get set up and let’s get PAID."
The announcements from Corum and Sainristil came early Thursday, the first day that college athletes can profit off their names.
On Monday, the NCAA Division 1 Council recommended the NCAA "suspend amateurism rules" relating to the ability to profit off name, image and likeness; Wednesday, those proposals were approved, meaning college athletes can now receive compensation for endorsements, autographs or the usage of their social media accounts — a gigantic change from the rules that were previously in place.
The NCAA's policy changes came after numerous states passed legislation with July 1 start dates; there is currently no unifying federal legislation. As it stands, universities in states with laws about NIL activity are now "responsible for determining whether those activities are consistent with state law," according to the NCAA.
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Other universities in states without NIL laws can develop their own policies, with the NCAA saying it will sustain "prohibitions on pay-for-play and improper recruiting inducements."
Michigan falls under the latter category of schools, given that the NIL bill signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will not take effect until the final day of 2022.
"We essentially default to a similar status as states without any policy in the eyes of the NCAA," said Kurt Svoboda, Michigan's associate athletic director for external communications and public relations. "We would fall under that umbrella. If there’s anything there that is less restrictive than what the Michigan law is going to have on the books, schools in Michigan are going to be able to determine which direction they want to go.
"Everybody is having these discussions right now. ... I think schools can decide to either put the Michigan law into practice right now, or is there gray space to work with potentially within this next year and then change?”
Corum is a sophomore running back who rushed 26 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns while catching five passes for 73 yards last season. He has at least 17,100 followers on Instagram. Sainristil is a junior receiver who caught seven passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns in 2020; he has at least 12,200 followers on Instagram.