Players Era Festival organizers betting big NIL is the future of college basketball tournaments

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Players Era Festival organizers have done what so many other have tried — bet their fortunes in this city that a big payoff is coming.

Such bet are usually bad ones, which is why so many massive casino-resorts have been built on Las Vegas Boulevard.

But it doesn’t mean the organizers are wrong. They’re counting on the minimum of $1 million in guaranteed name, image and likeness money that will go to each of the eight teams competing in the neutral-site tournament that begins Tuesday will create a precedent for other such events.

EverWonder Studios CEO Ian Orefice, who co-founded Players with former AND1 CEO Seth Berger, compared this event to last year’s inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament that played its semifinals and final in Las Vegas by saying it “did really well to reinvigorate the fan base at the beginning of the year.”