LSU Tigers Beneficiary of State-Funded NIL Deal Stemming From Juul Lawsuit

The bizarre modern landscape of college football involves countless never-before-seen headlines and the LSU Tigers are the focus of this one.

LSU, Louisiana, Louisiana Monroe, Grambling, Northwestern, Southwestern and McNeese will be the recipients of a state-funded NIL deal in which the players will be involved in anti-vaping education and “vaping cessation programs,” among other things.

The LSU Tigers’ state-funded NIL deal comes from a settlement with the vape brand Juul

The disposable vaping boom of the last decade was driven by the vape brand Juul. Juul has been involved in numerous lawsuits with states and individuals. They recently settled a case with North Carolina for $40 million.

Juul has settled over 10,000 individual lawsuits for nearly $2 billion (as of Dec. 2022). The Louisiana settlement, which was worth $10 million, was brought about by former Attorney General Jeff Landry on the basis of the idea that they were marketing to underage consumers.

The money settled upon by the state of Louisiana was to be used for anti-vaping purposes, and the NIL deal is a part of that. $225,000 will go to LSU athletes over three years. The rest of the $281,000 meant for athletes within the state will go to the other aforementioned schools.

In an article from the LA Illuminator, the executive director of Louisiana Progress, a group that advocates for marginalized people, says he is weary of using public dollars for NIL deals.

“I just question this approach because while you’re addressing an important issue, opening up a whole other can of worms by paying college athletes with public dollars feels very problematic,” Peter Robins-Brown, executive director of Louisiana Progress.

“I’m having a hard time imagining when it would be appropriate to pay college athletes, especially college athletes at state universities, with public dollars, to be a part of any kind of ad campaign,” Robins-Brown added.

Fans not only criticized the NIL deal for the sheer nature of using public money for sports NIL deals, but for showing massive amounts of favoritism towards one university.

Seems like this should be illegal. That money belongs to the CITIZENS of the state. To play favoritism towards one university borders on the criminal.

— F5_AngryWave (@RFMoldaner) December 18, 2024

So the state has a huge backlog of infrastructure projects and chooses instead to waste money on NIL deals. Hashtag priorities! 🙄

— Morgan Pfost, MHA #RollWave (@Spirit29) December 18, 2024

No wonder Louisiana is such a bottom tier state

— 𝕿𝖍𝖊 Ohio State (@AesculusGlabra_) December 18, 2024

What about the other colleges in Louisiana????? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

— D’Mari Harding, M.A. (@DmariHard) December 18, 2024

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