With the University of Tennessee refusing to back down amid a blockbuster NCAA investigation into the name, image and likeness deals of its athletes, fans have been left wondering: What exactly is Spyre Sports Group and the Volunteer Club, two of the entities embroiled in the NIL dispute?

The investigation involves multiple sports, and a key question is whether quarterback Nico Iamaleava was flown on a private plane to Knoxville at the same time he was being recruited by UT. The university maintains he flew as a client of a sports collective that signs athletes to NIL deals, and therefore wasn't subject to NCAA rules.

UT Chancellor Donde Plowman denies any wrongdoing by the university, which could be facing the most serious of NCAA charges: lack of institutional control. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is suing the NCAA amid the investigation.

What does NIL mean, and why are we talking about it now?

NIL is short for name, image and likeness. It's essentially who you are, and professional athletes have been leveraging their persona for years to strike endorsement deals and make money beyond their team contracts.

In June 2021, the NCAA adopted its first NIL policy to allow collegiate athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness. Prior to this, athletes' only legal form of "payment" was through the scholarships they received to play sports.

The Volunteer Club: What is an NIL collective?

Knoxville-based Spyre Sports Group describes itself as a "sports marketing and media agency."

It’s the Volunteer Club − a collective of fans and donors facilitated by Spyre − that funds dozens of UT athletes signed by the company in the new NIL era.

Former Tennessee football player and NIL expert Derrick Furlow Jr. told Knox News most college sports markets typically have one major collective privately created by individuals who saw NCAA rules were changing and worked early to capitalize on NIL opportunities.

This leads to the collectives being closely associated with universities because these groups have the most money and power to help attract top student athletes. But other UT-focused collectives exist, including the Lady Vol Boost Her Club, which specifically works with female athletes.

Collectives and colleges are required to remain independent of each other.

Representatives from Spyre Sports Group did not respond to requests for comment.

How are Tennessee athletes paid by NIL groups?

Iamaleava reportedly struck an $8 million deal with Spyre while still in high school. That doesn't mean he was paid $8 million up front.

"When you see a NIL deal and it's a $100,000 or a $1 million contract, that is a contract to that particular player," Furlow said. "They will get paid that amount, and it's supposed to be based off them doing an amount of work over the course of that particular term."

Let's stick with round numbers. If a player signs a contract of $100,000 over 10 months, for example, that player could expect to make $10,000 per month.

But let's say a local company has $20,000 to spend on an appearance by the athlete under contract. That would go into a larger pool to help the NIL collective pay its contractual obligations to all of the athletes signed, including the $10,000 monthly obligation to the athlete who's speaking. This pool is funded by all the collective’s donors and members.

Collectives can work with athletes on one-off engagements, Furlow said, but typically they look to sign athletes to deals that require multiple engagements to leverage the athlete’s full NIL potential.

Simply put, an NIL contract − not individual engagements – establishes an athlete’s value with a collective.

Can an NIL collective have a role in recruiting?

Traditional boosters are not allowed to recruit players to a university. In May 2022, NIL collectives were added to the booster category.

The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia are now arguing in a suit against the NCAA that collectives should be able to outbid their counterparts in other markets because NIL opportunities are being weighed by athletes when choosing a school.

The suit seeks to deregulate the process by which recruits can negotiate NIL contracts and communicate with schools directly about NIL opportunities before enrolling or signing a letter of intent.

Iamaleava struck his NIL deal in early 2022 with Spyre Sports Group, making him a client of the collective while still a junior in high school in California.

The agreement came "independent of the University of Tennessee or anyone in its athletics program," lawyer Tom Mars said Jan. 30, on behalf of Spyre.

The Volunteer Club's donor model and other examples of NIL agencies

The Volunteer Club offers memberships ranging from $25 to $500 per month. Each tier comes with its own perks, from tailgate access to custom video messages from student athletes.

The collective takes 10% of the money it generates for "overhead costs," according to its website. The rest goes directly to athletes.

In October 2022, the NCAA clarified that university staff, including coaches, can assist with fundraising for NIL entities by making appearances or providing autographs but cannot donate cash directly.

That guidance was repeated earlier this month when the NCAA's Division I council approved new NIL disclosure and transparency rules that say schools "could identify potential NIL opportunities for student-athletes and even facilitate deals between student-athletes and third parties."

Schools could request donors give money to collectives, according to the October 2022 guidance, as long as the request isn't for a specific sport or student athlete. They could even provide suite tickets to NIL collectives through typical sponsorship agreements.

These collectives are not the only type of NIL entity.

Furlow, for example, runs SLB The Agency, which does not rely on donors. The agency instead takes a small portion from the deals it curates between athletes and local businesses, and then reinvests the money to help pay future athletes who work with SLB.

How prominent are Spyre Sports Group and the Volunteer Club?

The Volunteer Club has 3,853 active memberships as of Jan. 31, according to its website.

More than 200 UT athletes across 11 sports had signed deals with Spyre as of September 2023 when Knox News reported the group was ranked the most ambitious NIL collective in the country by college sports news outlet On3.

At the time, the Knoxville group had inked deals with eight of Tennessee's 10 most valuable NIL players, as ranked by On3.

Knox News reporters Silas Sloan, Adam Sparks and Mike Wilson contributed to this report.

Ryan Wilusz is a downtown growth and development reporter. Phone 865-317-5138. Email ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Instagram @knoxscruff.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How does NIL work? What to know about Knoxville agency for athletes