New NIL collective to pay SMU football, men’s basketball players $36,000 per year

The Name, Image and Likeness era has had different ways of showing itself over its one year of existence. Donors at SMU have shown a willingness to engage with each of them. The latest engagement might be the biggest. Boulevard Collective, a NIL collective with alumni and donors but not associated directly with SMU, launched over the weekend. The group, operated by longtime compliance expert Chris Schoemann, expects to pay football and men’s basketball players $3,000 per month and $36,000 per year — according to three school representatives with knowledge of the deal — amounting to a total commitment of roughly $3.5 million per year. Schoemann didn’t go into details on the financial agreement, but he did say, “with what we have looked at in terms of a budget for Boulevard, I feel comfortable saying this puts SMU student-athletes on par or exceeding their Power Five contemporaries.”

On3 was first to report the financial details. Schoemann also added that the Boulevard Collective doesn’t plan on stopping with football and men’s basketball. “Our plans here are more expansive than that,” he said. Dallas businessmen and SMU alumni Chris Kleinert and Kyle Miller were credited with leading the efforts to create Boulevard Collective, according to a release. “This is just the beginning,” Kleinert wrote in a statement. “The purpose of the Boulevard Collective is to create opportunities for SMU athletes that enhance their athletic career, while preparing them for wherever their professional aspirations might take them at SMU and beyond. Our goal is to ensure this Collective becomes the gold standard for NIL efforts across the country.” Boulevard Collective will be the second NIL collective working with SMU student-athletes. Pony Sports DTX has already dished out over $1 million in NIL deals since its inception. Boulevard Collective will be operated through Opendorse, a popular NIL marketplace that works with 20 NIL collectives across the country. The Boulevard Collective is set to be one of the “largest” entities in the NIL marketplace, per a release.