When organizers of a brand-new Thanksgiving week tournament first called Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, he didn’t just doubt the offer — he laughed at it.
They were promising his program $1 million in guaranteed NIL compensation to participate in an eight-team Las Vegas event.
“Man, get out of here,” Sampson remembers thinking. “Ain’t nobody going to believe that.”
Months of Zoom calls later — with the tournament founders, private-equity backers, and NIL compliance advisers — Sampson’s skepticism evaporated. The funding was real. The corporate sponsors were lined up. The NCAA had been consulted to make sure everything passed legal muster.
So Houston became the first program to commit to the inaugural Players Era Championship last November.
One year later, the event has exploded into the premier early-season tournament in college basketball, reshaping November basketball and threatening the dominance of long-established staples like the Maui Invitational and Battle 4 Atlantis.
The NIL Era’s First Super-Tournament
Co-founder Seth Berger confirmed this week that the average NIL guarantee for participating schools now exceeds $1 million, even if individual deals vary.
“What I can tell you is that on average each team is getting over $1 million in guaranteed NIL compensation,” Berger said.
That financial edge helped the Players Era Championship grow from eight teams to 18 men’s teams and four women’s teams this year. Among them:
• Houston
• Kansas
• Michigan
• Alabama
• Gonzaga
• Tennessee
• Auburn
• Iowa State
• St. John’s
Altogether, eight men’s programs are ranked this week in the AP Top 25. Ten have reached a Final Four in the past decade, and seven have won national championships.
On the women’s side, three of the four participating teams are ranked in the national top four.
Games are being played across two venues — MGM Grand Garden Arena and Michelob Ultra Arena — using a pod structure that feeds into Wednesday’s championship.
And the growth isn’t slowing.
In 2026, the tournament will expand to a 32-team men’s field with four quadrants. Organizers say 26 schools have already committed.
Perhaps the strongest signal of long-term stability came Monday when the Big 12 purchased a multi-year, $50 million equity stake in the event. Beginning in 2026, eight Big 12 teams will receive automatic bids each year through 2030.
Why Teams Are Flocking to Las Vegas
The answer is simple:
Money drives recruiting — and NIL drives money.
Top high school recruits and transfer-portal stars now command six- and seven-figure NIL packages. Coaches must compete financially as well as on the court. Participating in the Players Era Championship gives schools a direct NIL infusion without having to lean on boosters.
“Right now, the schools with the most money get the best players,” Sampson said. “If you ain’t got enough money, you ain’t going to get your guy. Simple as that.”
For programs trying to stay nationally competitive — especially those outside the traditional blue-blood donor circles — this tournament is a financial lifeline.
Sampson even framed it as an ethical duty.
“I believe in donor fatigue,” he said. “The more we can go do ourselves without having to ask other people, I think that’s our responsibility.”
That financial self-sufficiency has quickly made the Players Era Championship the must-play event of November.
Maui Invitational’s Decline: A New Reality
For decades, the Maui Invitational symbolized early-season college basketball: a tiny gym, high-level matchups, electric atmospheres, and iconic moments. But the NIL era has changed the calculus.
Eighteen months ago, Maui announced a stacked 2025 field: Baylor, Oregon, UNLV. All three later backed out to join the Players Era Championship instead. Their departures forced Maui organizers to scramble.
This week, the 42nd Maui Invitational tipped off with its weakest field in years:
Only one ranked team (NC State) and only one program coming off an NCAA tournament appearance (Texas).
The rest: Arizona State, Seton Hall, Boise State, USC, Washington State, and host Chaminade.
Battle 4 Atlantis also suffered. Auburn and Ohio State withdrew, leaving the weakest field in its 14-year history.
The contrast with Las Vegas is stark.
While Maui plays to modest crowds in a high school gym, Las Vegas is staging 18 elite teams under NBA-style lights, broadcast-quality production, and — most importantly — million-dollar payouts.
Kansas coach Bill Self, who has long embraced Maui, acknowledged the shift:
“That’s up to the organizers to see if they can do what the Players Era is doing,” he said. “They’re not in danger unless maybe they don’t make some adjustments.”
Translation:
If legacy tournaments can’t match NIL incentives, they cannot compete.
How the Players Era Was Built — and Where It’s Going
The Players Era Championship was founded by a coalition of sports entrepreneurs and a private-equity investment group. Their model is straightforward:
Corporate sponsorships → NIL funding → top teams → more sponsorships → more expansion.
The Big 12 investment accelerates that cycle dramatically. With automatic conference bids beginning in 2026, the event now has a built-in pipeline of powerhouse programs — including Kansas.
Berger insists the goal isn’t to wipe out Maui or Atlantis.
“I love Maui. I love Atlantis,” he said. “Why can’t they play more college basketball tournaments in November?”
But the economic reality is hard to ignore.
Teams will always choose the tournament that pays them, not the one that asks them to pay for travel.
The Players Era Championship still has issues to work out — including a confusing pod format and uneven attendance at weekday afternoon games — but those are fixable.
What matters is that the sport’s top brands are choosing Las Vegas, and the financial model is built for the long haul.
“You’d Be Crazy Not to Do It”
When Sampson first committed last year, fellow coaches called him to ask why he was taking the risk.
“I told them, ‘You guys are crazy if you don’t do it,’” Sampson said.
One year later, with the Big 12 investing millions, Kansas and other bluebloods signing on, and Maui struggling to keep top teams, Sampson’s early bet looks prescient.
The Players Era Tournament isn’t just another early-season event —
it’s a new business model that reflects the future of college basketball.
How the Players Era Tournament’s Confusing Format Decided This Year’s Finalists
LAS VEGAS — The Players Era Championship has quickly become college basketball’s most talent-heavy early-season event, but its format continues to confuse fans. Instead of a traditional bracket, the 18 men’s teams are split into two pods, and advancement is based solely on two games played Monday and Tuesday. Those results — and a tight set of tiebreakers — determined which teams reached Wednesday’s championship and third-place games.
Two Pods, Two Games, One Big Math Problem
Each team plays two predetermined games. If multiple teams finish 2–0, the tournament turns to tiebreakers rather than head-to-head matchups. The primary tiebreaker is point differential, but with a key twist:
🔹 Margin of victory is capped at +20 per game.
That means:
- A 20-point win earns +20
- A 35-point win also earns +20
- Maximum possible point total = +40 across both games
- The system is intended to discourage running up the score — though critics argue it still encourages teams to push late in games to reach the +20 threshold.
How This Year’s Results Shook Out
Every team that advanced to the top placement games went 2–0. Their advancement came down entirely to their capped point differential.
⭐ Michigan — Championship Qualifier
Michigan dominated both games, earning the full possible +40 behind blowout wins over Auburn and San Diego State.
⭐ Gonzaga — Championship Qualifier
Gonzaga beat Alabama by 10, then crushed Maryland 100–61 — capped at +20 — giving them one of the highest tiebreak totals among unbeaten teams.
⭐ Kansas — Just Short
Kansas finished 2–0 with a solid +21 combined margin after beating Notre Dame and Syracuse. Strong, but not enough to catch Michigan or Gonzaga.
⭐ Tennessee — Edges into Third-Place Game
Tennessee finished with a +23 applied margin. Their 85–60 win over Rutgers was capped at +20, allowing them to narrowly exceed Kansas’ +21.
⭐ Iowa State — in the Mix but Below the Cut
Iowa State posted a +19 after wins over St. John’s and Creighton — good, but outside the top four.
Matchups for Wednesday, Nov. 26
🏆 Championship Game
Michigan vs. Gonzaga, 9:30 p.m. CT, TNT TV
The two unbeaten teams with the highest capped point totals.
🥉 Third-Place Game, 7 p.m. CT, TNT TV
Kansas vs. Tennessee
A strong consolation matchup produced by Tennessee’s slim two-point tiebreak edge.
Will the Format Change?
The Players Era pod system has drawn widespread criticism for being confusing and hard to follow. Even coaches have questioned whether the cap truly eliminates incentives to run up the score. With the tournament planning to expand to 32 teams in 2026, many expect organizers to consider a clearer, more bracket-style structure.
For now, the math stands — and it set up a marquee Michigan-Gonzaga championship and a high-level Kansas-Tennessee third-place showdown.