Bees, And Other Prospect League Teams, Deal With NIL – Baseball at The Hive

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Prospect League David Brauer knew that it was only a matter of time that in a summer league of college baseball players, the subject of letting players take advantage of their name, image and likeness was going to be something that would be an issue.

“You can’t bury your head in the sand about it,” Brauer said in a recent video conference with the league’s media. “It’s here. It’s here to stay, and it’s a vital part of college athletics.”

It’s why several teams in the league, including the Burlington Bees, are doing NIL events to help players offset costs to play in the league. Players pay a $600 fee to play a full season, $350 to play in the second half.

“That’s how we’re selling it,” said Bees director of baseball operations Ted Gutman. “That’s how we’re presenting it to them. We’re saying you will get NIL money. We’re going to start out small. You’ll get a little bit this year. Everybody will get something. It might not be much. Hopefully next year, it’s more something.”

“When we talk about NIL, we’re not talking about … it’s not the million-dollar recruitment of a quarterback, by any stretch,” Brauer said. “It’s not being out recruiting a player from one team to another.”

Gutman has approached area businesses about having Bees players in for appearances — three players, for example, went to the Black Water Mini Golf and Mississippi Moon Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Burlington the night before the Bees’ home opener last week. The Bees are also planning a baseball card set, with a percentage of the sales going to the players, and are looking at other merchandising ideas in the future.

“It’s a starting point,” Gutman said. “So much of it is timing, because our season is so short (58 games in two months). We’ve got 29 games to sell whatever we’re going to sell, or we’ve got 60 days or a little more to move them around, to do appearances, and half of those days they’re going to be gone.”

The Prospect League also partners with NOCAP Sports, a college sports marketing company that can help with questions about what kind of NIL ideas are allowed, or not allowed, by NCAA rules.

“Our purpose behind that was two-fold,” Brauer said. “One, to provide guardrails for our teams that want to get involved in NIL, so that they’re doing it correctly and not going to jeopardize any eligibility situations. And then there’s the educational standpoint. We run the gamut of backgrounds for our players — the SEC players and Big Ten players, for example, they’ve got all these resources on campus. So they’re getting the guidance they know how to build their brand and utilize it to their advantage. But some of the smaller-school players, maybe they’re just starting out and this gives them some education and some opportunities to do so.”

“Any time I have a question about something, I call them,” Gutman said. “I’ve got to be careful. They’ve told me what I can and can’t do when I solicit opportunities. They’ve been very helpful.”

Brauer said promotional appearances can be beneficial to the teams as well.

“I think it ultimately just forms a bond with the community, having the players out and about,” Brauer said. “They’re visible. Kids look up to them and want to go get autographs and get pictures and that type of thing. And for the player, getting a little pocket money in the summer, that’s a big thing for a college kid. And so the more we can do and make it more appealing to come to our league, we want to do those things. We want to embrace NIL and utilize it as much as possible.”

“We have to try,” Gutman said. “It doesn’t hurt to do this. It helps us stay competitive in the league with trying to find players.”

Photo: Bees pitcher Danny Harris signs an autograph for a fan after an on-field contest at last Tuesday’s season opener. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)