Where Mizzou prospects Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill stand heading into 2025 NBA draft
Missouri guard Tamar Bates is defended by Illinois guard Tre White in the second half of the Braggin鈥 Rights rivalry game on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, at Enterprise Center.
Post-Dispatch photo
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Two former Missouri men鈥檚 basketball players stand a solid chance of being selected in the NBA draft this week, with the possibility of three MU products joining the professional ranks.
Guards Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill, who each spent two seasons with the Tigers, could parlay key roles on last season鈥檚 NCAA Tournament team into draft spots. Guard John Tonje, who played a limited role in Mizzou鈥檚 2023-24 due to injury before transferring to Wisconsin, could also be selected.
Of the three, Bates has the best chance of going off the board during the first round, which begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York. The first round will be televised on ESPN and ABC (KDNL, Channel 30 locally). The second round, taking place at 7 p.m. Thursday, will air on ESPN.
Bates was a popular invite to pre-draft workouts held at NBA team facilities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing, and it鈥檚 been a blessing, for sure,鈥 Bates told reporters after one such workout with the Golden State Warriors. 鈥淕oing from city to city, might be a little tired, a little sore, but I鈥檝e been telling everybody the same thing: that these are great problems to have, just because this is a dream that myself and my peers and teammates (have) been trying to accomplish forever.鈥
Draft analysts are mixed on Bates鈥 pro potential. For a time, it seemed like he could slide into the back end of the first round. As of this week, however, a spot in the middle of the second round seems more likely.
Bates鈥 6-foot-10 wingspan helps his stock, as does a very efficient pair of seasons at Mizzou that saw him nearly shoot 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the free-throw line.
Bates led all Division I players in free-throw percentage last season, converting 94.6% of his shots from the charity stripe and making every free throw he took in Missouri鈥檚 final 12 games of the campaign. That鈥檚 attractive to NBA teams: While 3-pointers become deeper and layups harder to manage in the pros, a free throw is a free throw at both the college and NBA levels.
Still, some analysts have concerns about Bates鈥 offensive versatility. The Athletic ranked him as the No. 54 prospect in this draft class with the following scouting report:
鈥淪omehow, he only tried 8.5 3s per 100 possessions last season; I get that he鈥檚 better with his feet set and more comfortably attacking the paint in straight lines once he dribbles, but man, it feels like there is some money left on the table there. That said, Bates is also quite efficient inside the arc 鈥 59.1 percent on 2s last season. He just can鈥檛 create off the dribble for himself or others.
鈥淏ates has a 6-10 wingspan and had a high steal rate as a senior, helping offset some of his physical disadvantages at that end, but his calling card will be as an offensive player. There is some Isaiah Joe potential here if he can hunt 3s more efficiently, and he might still be undervalued.鈥
The reference to Joe, a guard on the NBA title-winning Oklahoma City Thunder, is a key model for the type of player Bates wants to be at the next level: an efficient shooter who can provide some defensive value. Other players in the 鈥3 and D鈥 category Bates said he鈥檚 modeling his game after include the San Antonio Spurs鈥 Devin Vassell and the Detroit Pistons鈥 Malik Beasley.
That鈥檚 a relatively similar mold to what Grill is chasing.
鈥淭he feedback I鈥檝e got is to keep playing to my strengths and doing what I did at Mizzou this past season, and that鈥檚 shoot the ball at a very good level and then keep having high intensity on the defensive end and keep bringing toughness, is what I do,鈥 he said after his workout with the Warriors.
Grill was a prolific 3-point shooter for much of his last season at Mizzou, a trait that could land him a spot in the NBA. His age 鈥 he鈥檒l be 25 when the season starts 鈥 is a limiter, but a strong jumper is still a strong jumper.
According to ESPN鈥檚 big board, Grill is the No. 63 prospect in the draft class, which would position him on the bubble of being a late second-round pick or going undrafted.
Either way, he and Bates are likely to need to prove themselves during NBA Summer League to earn a two-way or permanent roster spot.
The same is true of Tonje, who projects as a mid-second round pick after enjoying a breakout season at Wisconsin.
The most recent MU player to be taken in the NBA draft was forward Kobe Brown, who was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2023 event.
Mizzou football picks up commitment from Chicago running back
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Fresh off another weekend of official visits, Missouri football picked up another verbal commitment in its 2026 class.
Running back Maxwell Warner, a three-star prospect out of Chicago, committed to the Tigers on Monday. He's rated as the No. 53 running back in the country and No. 24 player in Illinois by 247Sports.
Warner attends Whitney Young High School 鈥 coincidentally, where MU men's basketball coach Dennis Gates won a 1998 state championship as a player.听
With Warner's commitment, Mizzou is up to five in the 2026 cycle. SLUH linebacker Keenan Harris, quarterback Gavin Sidwar, wide receiver Jabari Brady and tight end Isaac Jensen have also committed.
The Tigers will likely to continue to pick up a few more verbal commitments this summer as high school players make decisions ahead of their senior seasons.
'Checkmark No. 1': New Mizzou hoops GM sees emphasis on player retention
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 For Missouri men鈥檚 basketball, the keyword starts with the same letter as roster-building.
It鈥檚 fitting, because retention is at the core of coach Dennis Gates鈥 program, heading into his fourth season at MU. Even in the age of constant player movement, it鈥檚 becoming clearer that Gates鈥 emphasis is going to be on players who stay more than players who arrive.
It was evident, immediately, to Tim Fuller, Mizzou鈥檚 first men鈥檚 basketball general manager.
鈥淩etention, for Coach Gates and his culture and what he wants to build moving forward, is checkmark No. 1,鈥 Fuller said. 鈥淎nd then evaluating the transfer portal and filling in the gaps through elite high school recruiting is checkmark No. 2.鈥
Fuller, as the GM, will play a key role in helping Gates shape future rosters, so that understanding of the program鈥檚 priorities is notable. It鈥檚 also unsurprising, given how the Tigers operated in the transfer portal this offseason.
There were acquisitions, naturally, as every team needs to make. Guard Sebastian Mack transferred from UCLA to become an immediate contributor in the backcourt. Arizona State transfer Shawn Phillips Jr. is on track to be the primary traditional center, for however much that role is used. Jayden Stone has been out of the game for close to a year, but he could be a bench scorer if he avoids rust. Jevon Porter could be a 3-point and rebounding threat if he can adjust to the Southeastern Conference. Luke Northweather will provide depth upside and some local flavor.
But with all due respect to those incoming transfers and Missouri鈥檚 two-player freshman class, there weren鈥檛 any groundbreaking additions. Contributors and valuable options, yes, yet the Tigers鈥 two biggest wins of the transfer portal cycle never entered it.
That鈥檚 power forward Mark Mitchell and point guard Anthony Robinson II, both of whom turned down the likely lucrative offers they would鈥檝e received in the portal to stick around as stars for Mizzou.
Mitchell is one of the best returning players in the SEC, particularly when it comes to scoring. Robinson is already one of the league鈥檚 premier defenders.
Combine them with a returning core of Trent Pierce, Jacob Crews and T.O. Barrett 鈥 plus relative unknowns Annor Boateng and Trent Burns 鈥 and Gates鈥 vision becomes clearer. All of these present returners were, of course, newcomers at some point. Funneling them into positions where they become the necessary bridges between teams and seasons is where MU鈥檚 philosophy shows.
鈥淐oach Gates, when he first came to the University of Missouri, brought several players from Cleveland State with him,鈥 Fuller said. 鈥淭hey knew his system, they knew the culture, they knew him. You saw what that team was able to do: some phenomenal things. Obviously, we all know the injury bug hit (in 2023-24), but then Coach was able to retain the guys that he needed to retain.鈥
That included players like Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill and Robinson.
The next season, this past one, 鈥渨e saw what that team was able to do,鈥 Fuller said.
Will it work? Summer practices have only just begun, and the season is still more than four months away, so that鈥檚 a question for later on. What鈥檚 apparent now is how retention will inform the shaping of Fuller鈥檚 new role.
As a former Mizzou assistant himself a decade ago, Fuller has underscored how he wants the GM position to be one that makes life easier for Gates and MU鈥檚 assistant coaches. At the moment, Fuller is connecting them with the agents they鈥檒l need to know come portal season. And at that point, Fuller鈥檚 ability to focus on the portal while coaches focus on the postseason will theoretically be the time a GM becomes a major asset.
By looking for the new 鈥 鈥渃heckmark No. 2,鈥 as he called it 鈥 Fuller gives the coaching staff more bandwidth for retention, the top priority.
鈥淭he assistant coaches鈥 main responsibilities and their day-to-day is about building the proper relationships with the current players and the retention of those players,鈥 Fuller said. 鈥淏ecause the first players that you have to recruit, when it comes to the transfer portal, are your own 鈥 making sure that you鈥檙e retaining the guys that you want to keep.鈥
College sports 'need congressional support', Mizzou AD Laird Veatch says
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 A couple of months ago, Missouri athletics went to Washington.
Posing for a photo in front of the U.S. Capitol building after visiting with the state鈥檚 congressional delegation were Mizzou athletics director Laird Veatch, men鈥檚 basketball coach Dennis Gates, women鈥檚 basketball coach Kellie Harper and wrestling coach Brian Smith. They鈥檇 stopped by, according to a social media post announcing their visit, 鈥渢o discuss initiatives to help navigate the future of college athletics.鈥
Since that early April trip to D.C., college sports鈥 path forward cleared mildly with the approval of the landmark House v. NCAA settlement. But Veatch, like others in his position, wants to see more.
The Tigers鈥 AD wants to see Congress step in.
It鈥檚 a view grounded partially in pragmatism, that without federal intervention rules will continue to be bent and broken, and idealism, that a bipartisan fix for college sports could come to fruition. Lawmakers have recently been discussing what could go in such a bill, perhaps setting it up for a run through the U.S. House and Senate.
The House settlement 鈥渋s only going to be as successful as the (schools) decide to make it,鈥 Veatch said last week. 鈥淚f we are committed to it and give it a chance, then that鈥檚 a starting place. Will there be lawsuits? Will there be continued outside pressures? Absolutely. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a step, but it鈥檚 not the last or final step.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also why we need congressional support, why we need to have at some level federal action that gives us a level of protection so we can continue to move forward.鈥
What could 鈥渃ongressional support鈥 look like? It鈥檚 still to be determined, but discussions and drafts stemming from three House of Representatives committees lay out the blueprint.
At a macro level, there would be a ban on college athletes becoming classified as employees, wide-ranging antitrust protection for the NCAA and major conferences, and clarity that federal legislation would overrule the patchwork quilt of state laws which often conflict with NCAA rules.
A little more in the weeds would be clauses codifying aspects of the House settlement, requiring agents to register and changes to transfer and eligibility policies.
Such a bill, if it comes together in that form, would be friendly to the NCAA and its goals. Veatch declined to say whether he backs the ideas included in a draft of the so-called S.C.O.R.E. Act (鈥淪tudent Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act鈥), given the timing of its arrival with the sweeping changes brought about by the House settlement.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 speak to the specifics, just because I鈥檓 not up to speed enough to truly do that,鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淚 am encouraged that we are continuing to have real dialog and we鈥檙e making real progress in that area. I am convinced that we鈥檙e going to need that type of action and support for us to really get to a truly stable environment and be able to protect the future of college athletics 鈥 particularly our Olympic sports 鈥 as we move this process forward.鈥
From here, it looks like it鈥檒l take time and bipartisan agreement for any concrete congressional action to come about. The present state of Congress suggests a bill would need 60 votes to avoid a Senate filibuster, and getting there requires crossing the aisle for support.
And that鈥檚 not a simple thing. Party lines might well form around the issue of college athletes as employees and antitrust protections for the NCAA.
To set up the points of division and stakes for Congress鈥 discussions, just look at a comment from U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from New York:
鈥淲ith the recent settlement in House v. NCAA, it鈥檚 more important than ever that we reach some consensus on what exactly our role is here,鈥 Clarke said during a recent hearing. 鈥淯nfortunately, in its current form, the discussion draft before us today is something I cannot support.鈥
Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz speaks with the media on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. about the NCAA House settlement lawsuit. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
Mizzou will need to wait before reaping financial benefits of football stadium renovation
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Rising increasingly higher over the northern end of Missouri鈥檚 Faurot Field are steel beams that aren鈥檛 quite a silver bullet.
Work on a new north concourse has progressed steadily in recent months. Excavation that revealed much of the playing surface to cars passing by along Stadium Boulevard has yielded to a metallic skeleton hinting at what鈥檚 to come.
The $250 million project won鈥檛 be completed until the 2026 football season. At that point, Mizzou leadership hopes it鈥檒l be helpful in stadium atmosphere, football recruiting and revenue generation.
Those first two aspects are fairly simple. A closed-in, nice-looking structure ought to contain some crowd noise and improve the aesthetics of Memorial Stadium. In turn, that ought to help impress high school and transfer visitors who might play for the Tigers.
The revenue piece 鈥 which rests on the thinking that an influx of premium seating and a year-round event space will bring in more money to MU athletics than the previous grassy hill and open concourse plaza did 鈥 is more complex.
鈥淭he north end zone is going to have a significant impact on our capacity to generate revenues,鈥 Missouri athletics director Laird Veatch said last week. 鈥淏ut in order for that to happen, we鈥檙e going to have to continue to receive the kind of response that we need on the philanthropic side.鈥
When UM System officials approved the renovation in 2024, they did so with the stipulation that half of the project鈥檚 cost, so $125 million, would come in via donations.
鈥淓ssentially, for us to utilize that north end as an opportunity to truly increase our revenues and help our bottom line, we need more and more of those dollars provided upfront by our key contributors to help unlock that margin, if you will,鈥 Veatch said, adding that MU鈥檚 fundraising efforts are 鈥渢racking really well.鈥
Getting the facility up and running, from a revenue standpoint, will be critical for Mizzou as it enters college sports鈥 revenue-sharing age. Starting with this upcoming sports and fiscal year, there鈥檚 at least $21 million more going to athletes 鈥 $18 million in shared revenue, $3 million in added scholarships 鈥 that the athletics department needs to find.
Like any salary cap, the revenue-sharing limit will rise a bit each year. This isn鈥檛 getting cheaper for athletics departments, such as Mizzou, that have recently operated in the red even with support from the campus side of the university.
Premium ticket sales and assorted events taking place in the new north end zone might alleviate some of that burden in the future.
鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 hit for a few years either, right?鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something else that has to take time to play out. It鈥檚 managing through these immediate fiscal years that we see in front of us.鈥
In the meantime, Veatch said he鈥檚 pleased with how MU fans have responded to the athletics department鈥檚 decision to raise prices on football tickets 鈥 a decision made in the hopes it could provide an injection of revenue. Renewals on season tickets are around 85%, he said. There鈥檚 currently a waiting list for new season tickets.
As he鈥檇 promised when he was hired last year and university administrators have asked, Veatch has also targeted the other half of the financial equation: spending.
鈥淲e looked at it on an in-depth level on the expense side, not just the venue generation side,鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淐ertainly, we鈥檙e asking more of our people: the ticket prices, how we鈥檙e adjusting some of our fundraising, etc. But we鈥檝e looked in areas like travel and dining and equipment, specific elements to what we do. And stepping back, from a staffing standpoint, how do we approach certain areas? Where do we need to apply our resources?
鈥淚 would say it was across the board and inclusive 鈥 really, everybody鈥檚 touched, whether that鈥檚 the administrative side or sports. We鈥檙e going to have to adjust and make room for this opportunity to provide more of these resources directly to student-athletes.鈥
It hasn鈥檛 been and won鈥檛 be the kind of fix found in any one source of money, whether that鈥檚 cuts to expenses, higher ticket prices or the new north end zone. As the college sports landscape and Mizzou鈥檚 own facilities continue to change from fiscal year to fiscal year, the financial strategy will have to shift too.
鈥淎ny athletic director worth their salt is going to say they鈥檙e not pleased yet with the revenue where we鈥檙e at,鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淚 do feel like we鈥檝e made significant improvements there, and I feel really good about the decisions we鈥檝e made, how that鈥檚 been embraced and the response we鈥檝e received from fans.鈥
Read the full transcript of Mizzou beat writer Eli Hoff's sports chat
Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday. Scroll past the chat window for the transcript.
Transcript
Eli Hoff: Good morning, folks, and thanks for coming by this week's Mizzou chat. I'm sure we'll find plenty to discuss as always, but I'll start this off by making sure everyone saw this week's story on MU's NIL spending. If you haven't seen it yet, I'm confident you'll learn something.听
Now, your questions! Drop whatever's on your mind in the chat window.
箩飞惫濒:听Eli, should I have any concerns on the lack of more 2026 football recruiting
贬辞蹿蹿:听I don't think so, but I also recommend a general feeling of nonchalance toward recruiting these days 鈥 not getting too excited or too worked up about it. Mizzou has another round of official visits coming up this weekend. The few weeks after that should net a decent number of commitments. Drinkwitz and co. will get up to 15-17 recruits (maybe more, we'll see) as expected. There are players who want to play at MU, it just depends what quality they're eyeing.听
The reality is that recruiting has never mattered less than it does right now. Take a kid who commits, say, tomorrow. What are the chances he doesn't flip to another school and signs with Mizzou? What are the chances he stays out of the portal for the 2-3 years it takes to be a viable SEC player? The portal dictates so much as far as roster-building now. Hence why I think it's best to be happy for kids who commit and then turn attention to their older counterparts who will actually do the playing.
JohnL:听Good morming-How good is KU on paper this year? I don't care if we win another game this year other than beating the snot out of KU on 9/6! It's personal. Quite frankly...
贬辞蹿蹿:听Good morning, John, and I don't think you're alone in that sentiment. It's a bit difficult to get a read on the Jayhawks. Like with Mizzou, they've got a lot of turnover happening on that roster. Kansas does, however, have a very experienced QB in Jalon Daniels. He's one of the most veteran quarterbacks in college football at this point and there are some big expectations for him. That said, it remains to be seen how quickly this KU team will coalesce. The Big 12 is up for grabs this year 鈥 there aren't really any clear favorites, I'd argue 鈥 but the part y'all are most interested in is what Kansas looks like early on. Even if it's a hate-watch, the Jayhawks vs. Fresno State during Week Zero might be worth tuning in to for the purposes of answering this question.
Mjhtiger:听Hi Eli! Did Horn pitch any baseball games this past spring?
贬辞蹿蹿:听He did, and he'll probably be selected in the MLB draft that is coming up soon. Horn made 5 appearances, pitching a total of 10.2 innings. He allowed seven hits, five runs (all earned), two homers, walked eight and struck out 14.
Slow day today, so we'll cap today's chat off there. Thanks for stopping by! We'll be back again next week.
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Mizzou men's basketball releases full nonconference schedule
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Missouri men鈥檚 basketball unveiled its 2025-26 nonconference schedule on Wednesday, lining up another home-heavy slate of lesser-profile programs before Southeastern Conference play begins.
It鈥檚 a similar schedule to past ones Mizzou has played under coach Dennis Gates, with marquee rivalry games in December but few games of significance otherwise.
Based on last season鈥檚 final NET rankings, the Tigers would have nine Quad 4 matchups this season, one in Quad 3, one in Quad 2 and two in Quad 1. That means MU鈥檚 NCAA Tournament resume will rely heavily on the strength of the SEC and, ideally, a near-perfect run through these nonconference games
As previously announced, Missouri will open the season at Howard on Nov. 3, the second meeting in a three-year series. Mizzou鈥檚 home opener will come Nov. 7 against Southeast Missouri State.
Two days later, the Tigers will face the Virginia Military Institute on Nov. 9, with a football game against Texas A&M sandwiched on the day between the SEMO and VMI games.
On Nov. 12, Minnesota will visit MU in the return leg of a series that started in 2023. Prairie View A&M will come to town on Nov. 17, followed by South Dakota on Nov. 20 and South Carolina State on Nov. 25.
Missouri will host Cleveland State Nov. 28 in a game that will be a reunion on many fronts: between Gates and the school that gave him his first head coaching job, where former Mizzou assistant Rob Summers is now the coach.
As part of a crossover challenge between the SEC and Atlantic Coast Conference, the Tigers will visit Notre Dame 鈥 which plays basketball in the ACC, not as independent 鈥 on Dec. 2.
This year鈥檚 matchup with Kansas will take place Dec. 7 in Kansas City鈥檚 T-Mobile Center.
Missouri will host Alabama State on Dec. 11 and Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14 before heading to the Enterprise Center for this year鈥檚 Braggin鈥 Rights showdown against Illinois, scheduled for Dec. 22.
SEC play will begin in the new year.
Mizzou will play Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi State both home and away. The Tigers have the Razorbacks and Sooners as permanent twice-a-year opponents, and the league鈥檚 rotation pits them twice against the Bulldogs.
While dates won鈥檛 be released until closer to the season, MU will also face Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Vanderbilt at home. Missouri gets Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas A&M on the road.
Mizzou men's basketball coach Dennis Gates speaks with the media on Thursday, March 20, 2025, after a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Drake. (NCAA/Veritone)
Mizzou spent more than $31 million on NIL for athletes in the last year, records show
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 The University of Missouri athletics department has spent more than $31 million on name, image and likeness compensation for its athletes during the past year, according to financial records.
Mizzou鈥檚 NIL spending reflects the university鈥檚 push to compete in football and men鈥檚 basketball under the terms of a modern college sports landscape that has spawned a lucrative market for athletes.
The records show that nearly two-thirds of the money in 2024 went to football players and about a fourth to men鈥檚 basketball. The remainder was split among baseball, women鈥檚 basketball and lower-profile programs.
MU鈥檚 spending in the past month alone shows how the school has tried to take advantage of a disruption in the NIL market, distributing an influx of cash to athletes before the landmark House v. NCAA settlement takes effect soon and imposes a de facto salary cap.
Missouri鈥檚 athletics director, Laird Veatch, has declined to specify how his department will share $18 million of revenue with athletes under the terms of that settlement. But Mizzou鈥檚 NIL spending breakdown provides a window into how it has distributed money to this point and how it may share revenue with athletes moving forward.
The Post-Dispatch compiled Mizzou鈥檚 spending through a series of invoices sent to the athletics department from Every True Tiger Brands LLC, the collective-turned-marketing agency that runs the school鈥檚 NIL operation. The athletics department turned the money over to Every True Tiger to distribute to athletes. The Post-Dispatch obtained the invoices, dating back to Sept. 1, 2023, through an open records request.
The invoice figures represent 90%-95% of all the NIL compensation Mizzou athletes receive, Brad Larrondo, the CEO of Every True Tiger, told the Post-Dispatch.
What they don鈥檛 capture is deals with third parties 鈥 such as football wide receiver Luther Burden III鈥檚 ad campaign with clothing brand Nautica or men鈥檚 basketball guard Caleb Grill鈥檚 TV commercial for a Columbia law firm 鈥 because they鈥檙e independently arranged.
NIL data points are typically murky and often exaggerated, making the clarity of Mizzou鈥檚 figures unique within college sports.
MU was billed more than $31.7 million by Every True Tiger from July 1, 2024, to date, a span that roughly aligns with both a sports and fiscal year. The number of athletes receiving NIL benefits varied month to month, ranging from 155 to 65, with an average of 125.
Every True Tiger is not quite like the collectives used to generate and distribute NIL funds at most schools. It is a self-described 鈥渕arketing and branding agency鈥 tethered to Mizzou, allowing the school to funnel NIL money to its athletes. The funds are listed in the invoices as 鈥渢alent fees.鈥
The $31.7 million tally includes a 2024 football season in which the Tigers went 10-3 and a men鈥檚 basketball campaign that saw Mizzou return to the NCAA Tournament. It also includes spending on transfers for both teams鈥 upcoming seasons.
Because NIL nationwide is so murky, it鈥檚 not possible to compare Missouri鈥檚 spending with that of similar universities, whose figures are not available or have not been reported.
The NIL landscape will undergo a drastic change on July 1, when the settlement with the House takes effect. Major athletic programs, including Missouri, will share $18 million of revenue directly with their athletes each year. Previously unregulated NIL deals will now have to come from third parties and receive approval from a nationwide clearinghouse to ensure that they fall within an established range of fair values.
As such, Mizzou鈥檚 NIL operation will look different moving forward.
Spending flurry before July 1
Of the roughly $31.7 million spent on NIL in the last year, nearly $10.3 million came earlier this month 鈥 just weeks ahead of the House settlement鈥檚 effective date.
Mizzou has sent just shy of $25 million to Every True Tiger so far in 2025, more than doubling the school鈥檚 $12.4 million spent across all of 2024. The last six months of invoices were the six most lucrative of the 22 obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
Mizzou's NIL spending by month
Month
Every True Tiger invoice total
Sept. 2023
$881,446
Oct. 2023
$789,046
Nov. 2023
$825,846
Dec. 2023
$848,313
Jan. 2024
$767,584
Feb. 2024
$824,700
March 2024
$754,200
April 2024
$662,233
May 2024
$991,250
June 2024
$1,619,400
July 2024
$940,900
Aug. 2024
$876,900
Sept. 2024
$1,871,900
Oct. 2024
$902,400
Nov. 2024
$950,850
Dec. 2024
$1,211,500
Jan. 2025
$4,647,950
Feb. 2025
$1,919,100
March 2025
$2,332,150
April 2025
$2,185,950
May 2025
$3,592,850
June 2025
$10,279,300
This practice of 鈥渇ront-loading鈥 deals with athletes, believed to be common across major college sports, allowed MU to provide extra compensation to athletes signed for next season before it is restricted by the settlement鈥檚 revenue-sharing cap.
Starting July 1, schools will be limited in how much revenue they can share with athletes, and external NIL deals will be subject to increased scrutiny. In the meantime, athletic departments like Mizzou鈥檚 have taken the closing months of the NIL free-for-all to give a rising amount of money to athletes competing in 2025-26 鈥 and continually up the ante to keep pace with others doing the same.
鈥淎s we were all anticipating this coming, we all recognize that we needed to best position ourselves,鈥 Veatch said of the front-loading practice. 鈥淟ike you can see, we were aggressive in that approach. I don鈥檛 feel like it鈥檚 necessarily inconsistent with a lot of those schools out there.鈥
鈥淚t was an absolute necessity,鈥 Larrondo said. 鈥淭hat was the standard you were trying to meet. ... We weren鈥檛 uncommon in that.鈥
Every True Tiger鈥檚 2025 invoices haven鈥檛 broken down spending by sport. But it鈥檚 likely that football players who signed deals in the winter and men鈥檚 basketball players who signed in the spring have received a significant portion of the compensation they鈥檙e due already 鈥 months before their seasons start.
What each sport received
In 2024, Mizzou sent about $12.4 million to Every True Tiger. Just under $8 million, or 64.3%, went to football. Men鈥檚 basketball received $2.9 million, or 23.5%.
Baseball received $488,500, or 3.9% 鈥 the third-most of any program. Women鈥檚 basketball received the fourth-most, at $348,100 or 2.8%.
Softball (1.5%), wrestling (1.2%) and track and field (1.1%) were the only other programs to receive more than 1% of the total spending.
Mizzou's 2024 NIL spending by sport
Team
2024 Every True Tiger Invoice Amounts
Percentage of All 2024 Invoices
Football
$7,956,034
64.3%
Men's basketball
$2,907,583
23.5%
Baseball
$488,500
3.9%
Women's Basketball
$648,100
2.8%
Softball
$189,150
1.5%
Wrestling
$146,950
1.2%
Track and Field
$140,000
1.1%
Gymnastics
$97,000
0.8%
Volleyball
$40,000
0.3%
Golf
$30,000
0.2%
Soccer
$20,500
0.2%
Tennis
$10,000
<0.1%
Total
$12,373,817
The records do not detail which athletes within those programs received the money. And for 2025 spending, the invoices did not break down how the money was distributed by sport.
The NIL breakdown is not a perfect science. Looking at the 2024 calendar year, for example, it encompasses one football season but parts of two basketball seasons.
Still, it鈥檚 something of a baseline and the clearest possible view into which sports were NIL priorities.
While it鈥檚 not yet clear how Mizzou鈥檚 spending trend will carry over into the revenue-sharing era, expenditures on football and men鈥檚 basketball clearly spiked during transfer portal windows, as the programs acquired new players and signed current players to new deals.
In January 2024, when the football program signed most of its transfers for that year, it was the only sport included on that month鈥檚 Every True Tiger invoice. MU jumped from spending about $561,000 on football in NIL in December 2023 to about $767,600 in January before dipping back down to $420,000 in February.
In May, while most of the nearly $3.6 million spent on NIL across the athletics department wasn鈥檛 broken down by sport, the tail end of the men鈥檚 basketball transfer portal cycle was marked by two players receiving a combined $170,000 that month 鈥 seemingly on top of what the team had planned to distribute.
Future of Mizzou and NIL
NIL spending is about to change dramatically just a few years after it began. Mizzou will share the $18 million in revenue, plus add about $3 million in new athletics scholarships 鈥 $2.5 million of which will count toward the overall House settlement cap of $20.5 million.
Every True Tiger will still exist, in part to help with revenue-sharing cap management but also to help arrange third-party NIL deals that will allow athletes to earn more than what they get from their school. It鈥檚 a process that will include collaboration with Learfield, which holds MU athletics鈥 multimedia rights.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of what we鈥檙e talking about internally, with Brad Larrondo, with ETT, but also with Learfield,鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淗ow do we all come together to help facilitate those deals at a high level? One of the kind of operational advantages we鈥檒l continue to have is (that) Brad and our ETT program, they have such good relationships directly with student-athletes. They鈥檙e able to facilitate those revenue share contracts, and at the same time, they can be front-line in terms of fulfilling all those things with student-athletes, coordinating with them.鈥
Local and regional businesses will be vital, too, if they can sign Missouri athletes to the kind of third-party deals that will be approved by NIL Go, the clearinghouse.
With internal spending on athlete compensation now capped, Missouri will look for money to come in from the outside.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to need our businesses, our sponsors to really embrace that as part of the new era,鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be on us, as athletic departments, (and) Learfield, as our partner, to continue to integrate those types of opportunities in meaningful ways for sponsors. ... I see that as the next area of innovation and where we can really help try to give our sports and our programs another competitive leg up.鈥
Mizzou women's basketball coach Kellie Harper speaks at her introductory press conference on Monday, March 31, 2025, in Columbia, Missouri. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
New Mizzou men's basketball GM Tim Fuller starts job focused on meeting players, agents
Missouri associate head coach Tim Fuller reacts during the second half against Hawaii on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, in Kansas City, Mo. Fuller is now Mizzou鈥檚 first mens鈥 basketball general manager.
Ed Zurga,
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 How else would the first-ever general manager of Missouri men鈥檚 basketball divvy up his early days in the role than with percentages?
In a sport that to a large degree centers around the numbers that go in front of a percent sign, new Mizzou hoops GM Tim Fuller has broken his first 100 days down by the percentage of them he鈥檒l spend on different tasks.
The first 10% were about the players currently on the MU roster. Fuller has familiarity with the program, having worked as an assistant coach for the Tigers from 2011-15, but some present-day Missouri players were in elementary school then.
So Fuller has spoken to the team and met them, trying to understand them for the players 鈥渢o have a chance to get to know me,鈥 he said Saturday, meeting with reporters after a football and basketball alumni game on the Mizzou Arena hardwood.
The next 30 days 鈥 or 30%, as Fuller framed it 鈥 are about agents, a key part of his freshly crafted job description. In the name, image, likeness age of college sports, agents are involved in recruitment and negotiations. Missouri coach Dennis Gates felt it was time he had someone on his staff who specialized in working with them.
When Gates decided he wanted to fall in line with a national trend and hire the program鈥檚 first general manager, the agent relations angle was key.
鈥淥ne of the interesting elements of this is the interpretation or definition of GM at different places is different,鈥 MU athletics director Laird Veatch said last week. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why, with Coach Gates, that was important to him: He wanted to have that kind of role on staff and have somebody that can really help him interact directly with agents and manage some of those elements.鈥
While agents are new to college hoops, they鈥檙e not to Fuller. He worked with them as a marketing executive at Nike, then in closer proximity to the modern NIL landscape with the Overtime Elite preps setup and then as an assistant to Kim English at Providence.
Fuller is first connecting with agents who are already on friendly terms with the Mizzou staff. Then he鈥檒l broaden their horizons.
Both Fuller and Gates will travel to Las Vegas later this summer for the NBA Summer League, where two former Tigers in Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill will likely be trying to play their way into NBA roster spots. It鈥檒l be a business trip for Gates and his new GM, too.
Fuller is already lining up meetings with agents in Vegas to introduce them to Gates and Missouri, making the connection well before the Tigers might have interest in an agent鈥檚 transferring client.
鈥淛ust so we can start to understand what their expectations are moving forward in this new day of college basketball and also share our expectations in terms of the quality and types of athletes and people that we want to be part of the program,鈥 Fuller said.
Fuller and Mizzou are investing in relationships with three groups of people, he said. One is the agents who will become particularly influential when the transfer portal opens up each spring. Another is the high school players who can make up recruiting classes down the road.
Of growing interest to the Tigers, among other programs, are international prospects who see an increasingly professionalized college basketball as an attractive alternative to working up through European professional ranks. Missouri was linked to a couple of international prospects during this year鈥檚 transfer portal window, though none of those contacts came to fruition. Now, though, MU could be laying the foundation for a future foreign player or two.
Staff will head to some FIBA events soon to court international players, Fuller said.
For now, this is Fuller鈥檚 focus. Well after his first 100 days, he鈥檒l start getting ready for his first transfer portal window as the Tigers鈥 GM 鈥 when he can relieve some of the acquisition burden on a staff that hopes to have postseason competition to prioritize at that point of the season.
Fuller鈥檚 responsibilities and Gates鈥 vision for the general manager position might change. Both expect there to be an evolution of what the job entails. GM roles are far from standard in college sports.
At some places, like Stanford and Cal football, the head coaches report to the general manager. That鈥檚 not the case with Mizzou men鈥檚 basketball: Fuller is on par with the coaching staff, reporting to Gates. With other programs, like MU football, a GM can seem redundant.
Since football coach Eli Drinkwitz gave up play-calling duties in 2023, he has more time for the personnel aspects of running a program that might otherwise fall to a GM. Plus Brad Larrondo, the CEO of Mizzou鈥檚 NIL marketing agency Every True Tiger, moved to that role from the football program.
All of that would make a football general manager rather redundant 鈥 and therefore an unlikely job for Drinkwitz to create at the moment.
That鈥檚 why Veatch doesn鈥檛 necessarily expect one GM hire at Missouri to turn into a whole flock of them.
鈥淚t is going to be different depending on the coach and the sport,鈥 Veatch said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 important, that we meet coaches where their needs are. Some coaches are positioned differently to manage this than others, so we need to support them in whatever they need.鈥
