Pitt QB Pickett signs NIL deal
Promises his linemen ‘Hog Dinners’
Two weeks after new legislation took effect, Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett signed the school’s first known deal of the Name, Image & Likeness era.
In a deal announced on Twitter, Pickett signed with the Oaklander Hotel and its restaurant Spirits & Tales. The Oaklander is about a block off Pitt’s campus. Spirits & Tales is a brasserie with French-inspired cuisine.
While the new laws help athletes benefit from their own name, image and likeness, Pickett made his decision with more than just himself in mind.
“For my first NIL deal, I want to make sure I can take care of the big guys who take care of me,” he wrote. “I’m excited to announce my association with the Oaklander Hotel & their restaurant Spirits & Tales, where I will be treating my linemen to our weekly Hog Dinners!”
More colleges
NCAA President Mark Emmert said the time is right to consider a decentralized and deregulated version of college sports, shifting power to conferences and campuses and reconsidering how schools are aligned. Emmert said the recent Supreme Court ruling against the NCAA along with the lifting of restrictions on athletes monetizing their fame should be a catalyst to “rethink” what college sports is about. Emmert said the NCAA’s more than 1,100 member schools should consider a less homogenous approach to the way sports are governed and re-examine the current three division structure, which includes 355 Division I colleges.
Baseball
The Washington Wild Things (19-23) lost both games of a doubleheader to the TriCity ValleyCats, 5-0, in Troy, N.Y. In the opener, the Wild Things managed only three hits against starter Josh Hiatt, who pitched a completegame seven innings for the ValleyCats (20-22). Washington and Tri-City fought to a 1-1 tie in eight innings before the ValleyCats won in a home-run derby. Hector Roa scored the Wild Things’ only run on a wild pitch after doubling to lead off the fifth inning.
Tennis
Barbora Krejcikova advanced to the quarterfinals of the Prague Open by defeating Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium, 7-6 (2), 6-4. The French Open champion next will face her doubles partner and Czech compatriot Katerina Siniakova.