Kendrick Perkins' company accused of "Preying on" college and high school athletes: Report
Former NBA champion and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins' company has been accused of "preying on" athletes in college and high school. The retired big man co-founded the company named 'Nilly,' which offers athletes upfront payments starting from $25,000 to hundreds of thousands.
This payment will give Nilly the right to use or sell such athlete's name, image and likeness for seven years or when they get a percentage of the player's NIL deal.
ESPN writer Dan Murphy reports that the company's practice hasn't been met with good eyes by several financial advisers. Three of them, for example, reportedly think that one of Nilly's contracts resembles a high-interest loan and wondered if this is a high price to pay to get money fast.
Michael Maddix Jr. of Scout, a company that provides college athletic departments with financial education seminars, called the contracts "predatory." As per ESPN:
"To me it feels like you are preying on people who need the capital now and using that to cloud their focus on the future," Maddix said. "It feels predatory, and it's capitalizing on young people who need money and haven't thought through the long-term implications."
Nilly can take between 10% and 50% of the player's NIL earnings during the seven years the contract lasts. Many were critical of this business model, but the former Boston Celtics center and his partner, Chris Ricciardi, say they provide valuable help for players who dream of making a living out of playing their favorite sport.
Kendrick Perkins explains the mission of Nilly
Kendrick Perkins talked about Nilly and their goals, explaining that they're not sure how athletes will fare in the NIL space but still want to provide some sort of security.
"You have so many athletes and their parents who are struggling day-to-day," Perkins said. "Because we're actually taking a bit of a gamble on what the student-athlete is going to make in the NIL space, the benefit is the kid -- the student-athlete -- is able to get financial security so they don't have to rush."
Kendrick Perkins' business partner, Wall Street veteran Chris Ricciardi, clapped back at the criticism, shooting down the notion that this is like a high-interest loan.
"There's no interest rate. There's no requirement to pay back," Ricciardi said. "It's purely a licensing deal. I would be surprised if those people thought that music advances were high-interest loans."
It will be interesting to see if there is more to come out on this storyline.