The Colorado football program is distancing itself from efforts to push the boundaries of NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) funding in what would have been an extraordinary partnership, according to a report by Sports Illustrated.
Former assistant coach Trevor Reilly told SI that he traveled to the Middle East during the past holiday season to try and secure funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for the Buffaloes’ NIL program.
Reilly resigned as the team’s special teams coordinator on Aug. 1. In his resignation letter to Colorado athletic director Rick George and head football coach Deion Sanders, Reilly claimed that he was placed in charge of NIL activities with his special teams duties and expressed frustration over attempting to raise funds. Ultimately, those efforts fell through due to lack of support from the athletic department.
“You paid me $90,000 a year and let me handle special teams,” Reilly wrote in the letter reviewed by SI. “I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it. I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, which is worth about $3 trillion. Now, I can’t get these people to answer my calls because I just found out today that none of my endeavors will happen.
“I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a meeting with the Saudis, who were interested in pursuing business. I have email receipts to prove it, and you guys let it fall flat on its face.”
Reilly went on to explain that he acted on his own, “did nothing illegal” and was not asked to pursue these streams of revenue for NIL. That was confirmed by the Colorado athletic department to Front Office Sports’ A.J. Perez.
“According to Trevor Reilly himself, he acted on his own accord and is no longer an employee of the university,” a department spokesperson said in an email to Perez.
Blueprint Sports, which operates Colorado’s NIL collective, 5430 Alliance, in addition to those of 26 other schools told Front Office Sports that it was also unaware of Reilly’s efforts and nothing to do with outreach to a sovereign fund.
“We want to clarify that Trevor Reilly has never been authorized or directed to speak or advocate on behalf of 5430 Alliance in Saudi Arabia,” a statement from Blueprint Sports said. “Since our launch in March 2024, all funding and initiatives have been managed solely within domestic channels and are entirely unrelated to Mr. Reilly’s work. Any claims suggesting otherwise are unfounded and patently false.”
While the football staff, athletic department and NIL collective may have been unaware of Reilly’s specific efforts with Saudi Arabia and his Mormon contacts, there has been initiative to find different sources of NIL funding because Colorado can’t rely solely on boosters, donors, alumni and fans to match the revenues generated by the top college football programs in the nation. Seeking funding outside the country was certainly an unusual – and in this case, controversial – path to pursue.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund, backed by the government of Saudi Arabia, may be best known for funding LIV Golf. But it is also a stakeholder in Chelsea and Newcastle United, in addition to outright owning several international professional soccer clubs. The PIF has also made efforts to buy the PGA Tour, as well as stakes in professional tennis and Formula One racing.
These efforts have been criticized as “sportswashing,” an attempt to obscure the Saudi government’s human rights abuses with “blood money,” considering its origins. Similar accusations have previously been directed at China and Russia for hosting the Olympics, and at Qatar for hosting the World Cup.
With a possible partnership with Saudi Arabia being pursued for NIL funding, how it’s received by fans, media, alumni, boosters and university officials will likely determine whether or not future overtures are made – whether by Colorado again or another athletic program looking to close the gap with the elite powers in college football.
Source Agencies
