Geo Baker on his vision for NIL and his latest event to fulfill it at Rutgers
As a founding father of the NIL movement, former Rutgers basketball standout Geo Baker has maintained a vision for college athletes’ ability to profit from use of their name/image/likeness.
Make an appearance or perform a service, get compensated. Receive financial support from fans – and give those fans something personal in return.
That’s not the way the dawn of the NIL era has unfolded in all places, largely because the NCAA declined to put any guardrails around the process and twinned it with a lifting of most transfer restrictions. But Baker is doing his part to fulfill his vision locally, and his latest venture is a model example.
On Tuesday the Baker-led Knight Society announced the first annual Scarlet Open, an outing at Top Golf in Edison that will group donors with current Rutgers basketball players and coaches for a tournament-style golf competition. The event is scheduled for July 23.
“We want to do this every year where it’s a chance for fans to meet the team, meet the staff, and really get involved and support the players,” Baker said via phone. “It’s a way to support the team through NIL, but we also see it as a way for guys to meet their biggest supporters. While they’re supported financially, it’s also a chance to really connect and get involved with the community.”
Knight Society has reserved 16 driving-range bays at Top Golf, and registrants will be part of teams “paired with a player and somebody from the staff,” Baker said. The pairings will be decided draft-style, with the draft order based on the registration packages participants sign up for. The day, which runs from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., begins with brunch and an auction and ends with cocktails, dinner and an awards ceremony.
Baker said all players and coaches on Rutgers 2023-24 squad are scheduled to take part.
“We want to make sure we put on something that’s good for the student-athletes but also good for the fans,” Baker said. “NIL is a great thing when it’s done correctly and people are getting something in return – yes, they’re donating money, but they also want to feel like they’re part of something and connect with the team in some way.
“That’s our goal for this.”
An 'up and down' NIL revolution
Baker is a thoughtful guy, and he knows his NIL ideal is not always how it’s unfolding in practice as some programs and fan bases are approaching it as straight pay-for-play – and buying players through the transfer portal. Rutgers got stung by this last month when sharpshooter Cam Spencer bolted into the portal May 19 after blindsiding head coach Steve Pikiell, who’d spent the previous two months building a 2023-24 roster with Spencer in mind as his two-guard (Spencer is still visiting schools).
Baker caught heat for that from some Rutgers fans, but on the other side of the coin, All-Big Ten center Cliff Omoruyi turned down pro-ball opportunities and is coming back to Rutgers for his senior year in part because he’ll benefit from some NIL avenues.
“It’s been up and down,” Baker said. “I love NIL and what it’s doing for student-athletes. I love that players are coming back for another year of college (instead of turning pro before their eligibility is up). When you combine NIL with the transfer portal, it becomes a free-agency type of deal and that’s going to be hard to deal with. There’s always going to be bad players in the game – there was before NIL and there is now – but I think the good outweighs the bad and that’s why I’m very positive about NIL as a whole.”
Finding a niche in Jersey
In a pro-sports market like New Jersey, a big open question is whether college athletes can serve as effective brand ambassadors. Baker is betting yes.
“I think the future of NIL will be influencer and brand deals,” he said. “Companies are already starting to realize how influential student-athletes are and how great fans are who support them – that there’s value in connecting your brand with an athlete and their personality. I think that’s the future of NIL, but there’s always going to be schools that have a massive donor pool and they’re going to be able to buy players. That’s still going to be a thing.
“But at Rutgers specifically, I don’t know if that can last – I don’t know if people want to do that every year when there’s so many things they can be spending money on. I think events like this (the Scarlet Open), and brand deals, are where Rutgers is going to have to make its mark.”
In that vein, Rutgers recently announced a partnership with Altius Sports Partners to oversee NIL endeavors and hire an on-campus general manager for the department (a search for a GM is underway).
Baker looks forward to working with that GM.
“I’ve had a good relationship with compliance these last couple of years, making sure we’re doing things correctly,” he said. “I’m sure those duties will be passed on to whoever gets that role. I want to make sure everyone’s on the same page in helping student-athletes get the best deals and trying to connect people to them.”
Connecting people is a goal of the Scarlet Open. Baker won’t be golfing – “I am the worst golfer,” he said – but he’ll be working the room in the hope of planting a seed for future outings.
“Just like when we started getting good and the RAC started filling up,” he said, “if we put something good on, then more and more people will want to join.”
For more information on the Scarlet Open, contact Geo Baker at geo@knightsociety.io.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Geo Baker on his NIL vision and his latest Rutgers event to fulfill it
