Dawn Staley reveals that South Carolina players will sign NDAs on money they receive
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Dawn Staley revealed on former First Lady Michelle Obama’s podcast that her South Carolina women’s basketball players will be required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements regarding the money they receive.
In the podcast that was recorded on June 10 and released on Wednesday, Obama chimed in that college athletes shouldn’t need to know what other players are making.
Now whether they can stick with that or not, some of them get disgruntled and maybe transfer and just say what ‘I was making (amount)’ and it can stir up the pot but I’m very honest,” Staley said, per Lulu Kesin of the Greenville News. “I’ll tell them, there’s a reason why you get paid this and you get paid that. I’ll explain that to them.
The 55-year-old Staley, who’s been the head coach at South Carolina since 2008 and led the Gamecocks to 3 national championships, talked about revenue sharing for the first time during her appearance with Obama. Staley touched on the challenges of keeping things in control during this era of extreme change in college sports. The podcast aired on Wednesday and provided the revelation that Staley is putting her foot down regarding Non-Disclosure Agreements and their effects on college athletes.
A recent House settlement allowed colleges to start paying their athletes up to $20.5 million per year, starting on July 1. That money is in addition to athletes’ NIL money.
Staley was asked by Obama how the changes in college sports have impacted the athletes in the locker room. The South Carolina coaching legend told Obama that, so far at least, the changes haven’t had an impact. Staley said she tries to do most of the communication with agents, but knows that if some players have the same agent that it could mean players are likelier to know what another player makes.
South Carolina hasn’t publicly revealed how the money will be distributed.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
