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  • Paula Lavigne

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    ESPN Staff Writer
    • Data analyst and reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit.
    • Winner, 2014 Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award; finalist, 2012 IRE broadcast award; winner, 2011 Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism; Emmy nominated, 2009.

  • Dan Murphy

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    ESPN Staff Writer
    • Covers the Big Ten
    • Joined ESPN.com in 2014
    • Graduate of the University of Notre Dame

WHEN ALABAMA’S NICK Saban and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher traded barbs this year over payments to college football players through name, image and likeness deals, Saban called for transparency, and Fisher said his team was an open book.

“I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to hide. And our program has nothing to hide,” Fisher said at a May 19 news conference. “Be interesting if everyone could say that.”

Saban, who had accused Texas A&M of having “bought every player” during recruiting, advocated for transparency on May 31: “I’m all for players making as much as they can make,” he said. “I also think we’ve got to have some uniform transparent way to do that.”

ESPN sought to take the coaches and other universities up on the notion that NIL information should be more transparent, asking a sampling of 23 universities — 20 from Power 5 conferences — to release their NIL-related documents or data. Across the board, schools provided few to no records. In the case of Saban’s Alabama, the university declined to release any information. And at Fisher’s A&M? The university said it would provide hundreds of records, but still hasn’t; records that officials did release omitted financial terms, athletes’ names and sports; and though A&M did end up releasing a per-sport breakdown, it came months later after ESPN made a subsequent request.

No uniform NIL transparency or deal-disclosure rules exist, meaning the only way to get any kind of picture of what’s happening in the marketplace is by cobbling together incomplete and unverifiable figures from public statements from athletes, the companies they endorse, and others. Some of that information, though, revolves around an athlete’s marketplace value as opposed to what they’re actually earning. Even NCAA officials, who have at times been denied access to school records, told ESPN they’ve found instances in which numbers shared publicly are exaggerated or inaccurate.

As such, it’s nearly impossible to identify trends and outliers that might point to inequities in the way schools are promoting or supporting their athletes across sports, gender and race; whether athletes are treated fairly if a school has a competing interest with a company or donor; or whether schools are ensuring athlete deals abide by state and NCAA NIL rules and aren’t exploitative. For athletes and recruits, some information — even anonymous, aggregate figures that give an overview of the market — could help them assess whether their own NIL offers are fair.

SINCE JULY 2021, when college athletes became able to profit off their name, image and likeness, thousands of athletes have inked deals — some for hundreds of thousands of dollars — but there’s little to no oversight of the market. NCAA rules say schools must ensure deals aren’t used as recruiting incentives, but the rules do not specifically require schools to track detailed information. The degree to which schools are allowed to be involved in facilitating endorsements or gathering data varies by state.

Starting in May, ESPN filed requests with 23 universities for NIL records, seeking not only compensation amounts but any records that show aggregate totals. In addition, ESPN sought NIL reports submitted to the NCAA, an athletic conference or any state or federal regulatory agency.

ESPN selected schools that reflect various regions, conferences, and state NIL and open records laws.

Alabama, Central Florida, Florida, Iowa, Iowa State, Louisiana State and Mississippi denied requests and provided no records. As of Friday, Florida State, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Washington State have acknowledged receiving ESPN’s request, but have not yet agreed or declined to provide records.

In their denials, most schools cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that exempts a student’s education record from disclosure to a third party. ESPN sent a follow-up email to several schools explaining how federal student privacy laws allow them to release records if students’ identifying information were removed or redacted, but few schools budged.

Days after Fisher stated that his program has “nothing to hide,” he chided a local reporter who asked about NIL deals for football players: “You’re news. You’re media. I’m asking you, did you do your research? … Nobody wants the truth,” Fisher said May 22.

So, on May 23, ESPN asked Texas A&M for records that would show NIL figures with the names of companies, compensation amounts or other categories, or for any report with aggregate totals. On June 7, Texas A&M offered to provide copies of 490 contracts to ESPN, but with names, sport, company and dollar amount redacted, for a processing fee of $1,470.06. The school offered no other records with NIL totals.

ESPN paid the fee in June, but as of Oct. 6, the university has produced only 47 contracts.

Texas A&M released aggregate data only when another reporter, from the Bryan-College Station Eagle, requested it in August — three months after ESPN’s request. The data, which the school gave to ESPN after yet another request, showed football players received $3.4 million in NIL deals, 81% of the almost $4.2 million for all athletes from July 1, 2021, to Aug. 1, 2022, and far above second-place men’s basketball deals at $472,735. The women’s team with the most in deals was softball, with $35,337.

When asked why Texas A&M didn’t provide the aggregate data to ESPN in response to its initial request, the school’s open records coordinator, Tricia Bledsoe, wrote that the information was created after ESPN’s request submitted in May but before the Eagle submitted its request Aug. 17. The metadata of the document that Texas A&M sent to ESPN, however, show it had been created on Aug. 31. When asked about this discrepancy, Bledsoe said the “information existed before the request and was put into the provided document.”

ESPN filed a request with Alabama in August for records pertaining to athlete NIL deals — even if they were merely aggregate reports or documents without student identities. University of Alabama policy requires athletes to disclose any NIL agreement to the school. Alabama did not provide any records, writing that there were “no responsive public documents.”

The University of Maryland provided the most in-depth response, sharing a spreadsheet showing individual transactions with the name of the business, the paid-for activity (for example, social media post or video rights), the dollar amount, date and sport.

Maryland’s data, which ranged from July 2021 to July 2022, showed 81 transactions for football players totaling $199,709, followed by 18 transactions for field hockey players for $17,853. Maryland athletes were paid the most for social media posts ($139,422), but the three autograph deals listed were the most lucrative, averaging $5,933 — each for football players. Social media deals were worth about $684 on average.

Other schools responded to ESPN’s request with a range of information:

  • The University of Arizona provided only a copy of an NIL slide presentation it shares with athletes. The presentation, which was partially redacted, didn’t show any data about athletes’ deals.

  • Arizona State released a summary document that said “more than 110” athletes have signed deals, and “more than 75 deals involved football players” while “more than a dozen involve men’s or women’s swimming.” The school provided no further numeric breakdown and no dollar figures.

  • The University of Illinois offered to provide a spreadsheet showing company names, the type of activity, and the grade level of the athlete, but without names, sports or dollar amounts. ESPN did not accept Illinois’ offer because the response would have lacked financial information and instead appealed the overall withholding and redactions. Illinois responded citing a state exemption to withhold company “trade secrets.”

  • Indiana provided several documents with general NIL information and presentations for students. One document listed the names of about 100 businesses with which athletes have done deals.

  • Nevada provided a spreadsheet that included the name of the company and a brief description of the deal, sometimes listing a dollar value but other times describing merchandise or other benefits. Athletes’ names and sports were redacted. The highest dollar amount listed was $35,000 for a deal with Leaf Trading Cards.

  • Ohio State provided a slide presentation that shows 225 athletes have NIL deals for a combined $3 million. The men’s sport with the highest combined deal value is football at $2.7 million, and gymnastics tops women’s sports at $31,800.

  • In June, Purdue University initially released a summary report that showed 157 deals totaling $176,431 from July 1, 2021, to June 1, 2022, and a spreadsheet listing individual businesses. In September, it released a more detailed spreadsheet that listed the value of individual transactions with company names, but it redacted corresponding sports or athletes’ names.

  • The University of Texas provided a document that listed amounts or types of individual NIL deals, in some cases paired with the athlete’s sport, but without athletes’ names. In other cases, sports or deal values were redacted (including the dollar amounts of what appear to be the four largest contracts). Texas also provided a document showing totals by sport for NIL deals from August 2021 to May 2022. Football players topped the list with $879,447 in deals, followed by softball with $295,790.

  • The University of South Florida released a spreadsheet with individual amounts paid by type of transaction, such as social media posts, camps and lessons, and public appearances, but didn’t identify the transactions by sport. From July 2021 through August 2022, the most common deal — a total of 96 — was for social media posts adding up to about $8,275.

  • According to a document from the University of Washington, athletes had signed a total number of 172 deals worth a combined $518,190 as of June 10. Of those deals, 52 were for football totaling $257,410, 17 were for men’s basketball totaling $74,000 and 10 were for women’s basketball totaling $95,000. The university did not detail which athletes or sports received the remainder. It noted that the largest individual deal, for $50,000, went to a female athlete, and the average cash deal value was $3,012.73. The school also noted that male athletes made up 52% of the deals and female athletes 48% . It also included information on some of its NIL partners, listing that 150 deals (average value $3,970) were with Huskies NIL collective Montlake Futures and 56 deals (average of $205.73) were with Opendorse.

THE NCAA INITIALLY planned to be far more prescriptive in how it regulated the industry but abandoned those plans to avoid antitrust litigation. The association also wanted to establish a third-party administrator to gather NIL data and act as a clearinghouse but also called off that plan in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court raising concerns about the NCAA violating antitrust laws.

Numbers released by athletes or companies can’t always be trusted, said Jonathan Duncan, the NCAA’s vice president of enforcement, who gets access to the underlying contracts for college athletes — only if schools volunteer them — to determine whether the deals were arranged within NCAA rules.

“In more than a few instances, after a thorough investigation where we have had cooperation of parties and we have had credible testimony from individuals with personal knowledge, sometimes the numbers that are reported are not the numbers,” he said, or the terms of the deal were misrepresented. “I’m not prepared to say that every number reported is false. But what we have found is that not everything that’s reported is true.”

The NCAA itself has even been denied NIL documents, according to a July report from On3. This year, the NCAA asked Oregon for details on contracts between athletes and companies organized by the Division Street collective — an organization that pools money from boosters and businesses to offer endorsement or service contracts to athletes — associated with the school. Oregon denied the request, citing federal student privacy and business confidentiality clauses, according to On3.

The NCAA’s national office — which has struggled in recent years to maintain credibility with fans, lawmakers and its own stakeholders — doesn’t create the rules it enforces. Instead, member schools need to propose and vote for any rule changes that would increase transparency.

“Many schools want instant justice, full transparency and draconian penalties when it’s some other school,” Duncan said. “They don’t necessarily want those same things when it’s them.”

David Schnase, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, said building trust in the college sports industry is one reason to share more information about the NIL market with NCAA staff and the general public. He said the NCAA has a working group studying NIL issues, including transparency.

“The public is interested in college sports,” he said, “and the more transparent we can be, the more equity that builds with people who care about this and the better it is for the industry in the long run.”

ATHLETES WHO SPOKE to ESPN said they’d prefer some level of transparency in NIL data.

“I just like to decide if something feels worth it for me. And that’s why I think more transparency needs to come into the NIL area,” said University of Florida gymnast Leah Clapper, who founded a website to help college athletes navigate NIL issues. “If people are able to share their experiences working with brands and share how big their platform size is and how much they got paid … that can really make a huge difference as a means for comparison. Like, wait a second, this person has a really similar platform as me and they’re getting paid way more?”

For every deal Clapper gets, Florida’s compliance office requires her to enter the details of the contract into an app run by INFLCR, a company that works with schools and athletes to track and use NIL data. (ESPN has a deal with INFLCR to have Andscape- and espnW-branded pages in the INFLCR app that will “help inform [college athletes] about upcoming news and ongoing events/promotions available for them to participate in.”)

Companies such as INFLCR and competitor Opendorse have published aggregate data about the deals struck on their platforms during the first year of NIL rules. While the information has shed more light on the going rate for college athlete endorsements than any other source, it’s not independently verified and provides an incomplete picture of the marketplace.

Clapper said she wouldn’t want her name publicized with her actual contract details, “but I would absolutely want my data to be used in aggregate against all the other athletes and I think there are so many ways that would be really beneficial.” She pointed to comparisons across sports and platform sizes, such as the size of an athlete’s social media following, as being potentially useful.

Shortly after NIL deals became available for college athletes last year, Indiana University football player Dylan Powell posted a tweet noting that he was open to businesses contacting him for offers. Powell, who finished his MBA at Indiana this summer, said he wasn’t a big name and wasn’t expecting much, and he said the offer he appreciated most was a promotion for a local dog kennel, which offered him free boarding for Hoosier, his yellow Labrador retriever, during game weekends.

“I think it’s totally OK for the schools to release the full aspect of what the entire team would be getting. I don’t know that it would be appropriate to release individual contracts if they’re not given the permission to do so. I wouldn’t want that to divide a team, if, ‘Oh, this guy is getting more,'” Powell said, adding that he thought it was appropriate for schools to use the figures as recruiting tools.

Athletes and their schools are, in many cases, competing for money from the same pool of marketing dollars from apparel companies, corporate partners and boosters. As a growing number of schools become more involved in facilitating deals for their athletes, transparency also might help athletes feel confident they’re being treated fairly and help athletic departments navigate some inherent conflicts of interest.

“You could come up with a lot of situations where it’s going to benefit everybody to be able to show what you’re doing,” said Bill Squadron, the former president of Bloomberg Sports and an assistant professor of sport management at Elon University. “In the long run, everyone benefits from understanding how the market is operating. It also gives people the ability to understand what may be outliers.”

SOME SCHOOLS ARE exceedingly resistant to any disclosures, actually pushing for new laws that would prohibit the release of NIL information. LSU, for example, requested that state officials enact a law to make NIL information confidential, said Louisiana State Sen. Patrick Connick, the Republican who sponsored the bill.

In response to ESPN’s requests for NIL information, LSU referred to that law, which went into effect three days after ESPN submitted its ask. The law states “any document” that “references the terms and conditions” of an NIL contract “shall be confidential and not subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction pursuant to the Public Records Law.”

LSU officials didn’t respond to a request for comment about the university’s involvement in the creation of the bill.

Connick said NIL contracts are agreements between athletes and companies, and while LSU — or any university — can help facilitate the deals, LSU is not a party to the contract. When asked whether disclosing information would help assess whether a university was being fair in its dealings with athletes, Connick responded, “Why would a school discriminate one athlete over another? I don’t know that’s a valid point.”

If athletes want to know what deals are being offered, they can just talk to fellow athletes, who can decide whether they want to share that information, he said.

“I think it’s just people being nosy about, ‘How much do you make?'” Connick said. “We’re looking out for the students in the big picture, and I think making that a public record to be broadcast out throughout the nation is not in the best interest.”

University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari testified in favor of a state law regulating NIL deals that included a specific open records exemption that kept information private. The law passed with bipartisan, near-unanimous support in the state legislature in March. The legislation, said Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, protects athletes by giving them the ability to nullify contracts if and when they turn pro, and gives the university a role in reviewing contracts and connecting athletes with potential business partners.

“I’ve heard coaches say, ‘Well, we’d rather not have a bill, we could go do whatever we want,'” Calipari told the legislature. “The problem with that is, you don’t have any safe harbor. … The NCAA could come back and say, ‘You’re wrong, we’re not going to let you do that.'”

Amye Bensenhaver, a former assistant attorney general and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition, said she thinks the hype and publicity of Calipari’s testimony got in the way of critical thinking about the bill.

“There was such a ‘rah-rah’ session going on at the legislature, it was almost disgusting to watch it,” she said. “Are you consistently enforcing the same policies relative to the types of products that can be endorsed? Or are you selectively deciding that this is inappropriate here but not there because this player is slightly less valuable to the university? They have absolutely erected an impenetrable barrier to these records.”

A spokesperson for Kentucky said Calipari declined to comment for this story.

McGarvey said legislators were under a time crunch to get some legislation passed before the session ended in April and that it’s possible the issue of disclosing records pertaining to NIL “could be revisited in part.”

McGarvey said there could be a better argument for transparency if a university itself was negotiating contracts directly on behalf of the athlete, which is not how the current system works. As for ensuring equal treatment and opportunity, he said the legislation calls for NIL deals to be offered at a “prevailing market rate” based on a comparison with athletes of similar skill, experience and fame in their sport.

“We want to protect, support, empower these student-athletes. And I think we have to strike a good balance between what is truly in the public’s interest and what is protected under basic student privacy,” he said.

Ramogi Huma, a former UCLA football player and executive director of the National College Players Association, a nonprofit advocacy group for college athletes, said he favors laws that don’t require athletes to disclose their information because the laws allow athletes to enter into contracts with companies that require confidentiality clauses.

When asked whether transparency could help determine whether universities are acting equitably toward students, he said there’s “definitely merit” in that issue and that he could see a need for reporting that would provide aggregate figures, perhaps broken down by gender and race. But, Huma added, “usually discrimination suits are brought because something becomes apparent, not necessarily because everything is transparent, by default.”

U.S DEPARTMENT OF Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in an interview with ESPN this spring that he’s looking at NIL deals in the context of Title IX, the federal gender equity law that requires schools provide equal access to students regardless of gender.

“Some of the concerns I have is that it’s going to be the male athletes getting paid and [the] just-as-committed, just-as-hard-working women athletes, not. … Universities must adapt and create structures that are monitoring this, that are communicating what they’re doing to proactively create equity,” he said.

He said it’s possible that NIL deals might be part of the information schools are required to report to the federal government but didn’t specify how his department or the government would mandate that.

“I think we have an opportunity here to really learn from maybe the past and create structures here, or promote structures at the federal level that could be visited at the state, at the college level, that ensure equity, that ensure access,” he said.

ESPN’s Abbey Lostrom and researcher John Mastroberardino contributed to this report.

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Most iconic — and chaotic — alternate CFB uniforms of the past 25 years

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July 27, 2025

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Most iconic -- and chaotic -- alternate CFB uniforms of the past 25 years

Jul 26, 2025, 11:05 AM ET

Some have had a few. Some have had many. The Oregon Ducks seemingly come up with a new one every week.

The topic is, of course, alternate uniforms. The best of the best have become beloved staples of the fall calendar for college football fans. Just as many, though, have been relegated to the dustbin of history (or at least a campus storage closet). A vaunted few have risen to an even higher tier: cult classic.

With the 2025 college football season approaching, we decided to run through the extensive catalog of alternate uniform offerings in the sport since 2000 and parse through it all to determine some of the most memorable — for better or for worse.

We broke our superlatives list down into a number of categories — three broad, three specific, each with multiple nominations, and six exclusive awards. Some of these categories reward aesthetic beauty. More prefer just plain zaniness.

Here are the best, worst and wildest of alternate uniforms from the past 25 years.

Best in show

In the nominations for our best of the best, we covered a wide range of topical ground. From distinct colors to well-executed throwbacks, our five picks offer an array of different ways to make an alternate uniform pop.

Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors: Retro and rainbow, 2015

Florida International Panthers: Miami Vice, 2024

Houston Cougars: Paying homage to the Oilers, 2023

Florida Gators: Simplistic throwback perfection, 2019

SMU Mustangs: Repping Dallas, 2019

Most … ambitious

It’s always encouraging when a team is willing to try something new — creativity and boldness are two traits that help make college football fun. That said, not every outside-the-box alternate uniform idea is created equal. We’re not necessarily saying these uniforms are bad, but they definitely were… enterprising.

Florida Gators: Gator-print, 2017

Michigan State Spartans: Neon green, 2019

Colorado Buffaloes: Throwbacks gone too simplistic, 2009

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Yankee Stadium crossover, 2018

Miami Hurricanes: Orange sleeves, 2005

Craziest helmets

A great — or poor — helmet can make or break a uniform, so we created a separate category for some of the most notable lids. Bonus points were awarded for distinctiveness, regardless of how well-executed.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: Big Red front and center, 2024

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Honeycomb theme, 2012

Utah Utes: Rose Bowl specials, 2022

Georgia Bulldogs: Georgia tries grey, 2011

Virginia Tech Hokies: The flexing HokieBird, 2012

Most “State-triotic”

A key element of college football is representing a school’s hometown or home state. These three schools went the furthest in going above and beyond to fulfill that mission, incorporating their state’s flag into their alternate uniforms. The aesthetic results were varied.

Maryland Terrapins, 2011

Colorado State Rams, 2017

Texas Tech Red Raiders, 2014

Best from the final frontier

An unlikely source of quality alternate jerseys in recent years? Outer space. In fact, space-themed uniforms produced enough impressive alternates that we deemed it worthy of its own category. Here are the best of the best to have drawn inspiration from the stars.

UCF Knights: Space U, 2023

Purdue Boilermakers: Honoring the school’s astronauts, 2019

Air Force Falcons: Representing the Space Force, 2022

Best tribute

Context matters for uniforms, too. Almost all alternate uniforms represent or honor something, but some threads have particularly special motives. These two alternates have established themselves as particularly distinguished in the backstory category.

Boston College Eagles: The red bandana series

The Eagles have donned uniforms featuring a red bandana pattern and a “FOR WELLES” nameplate once a year since 2014. The uniforms pay homage to Welles Crowther, a Boston College alum who died saving lives in the Sept. 11 attacks while wearing a red bandana.

UAB Blazers: The Children’s Harbor series

A tradition since 2016, UAB has worn special jerseys for select games as part of a partnership with Children’s Harbor, a service center for seriously ill children and their families in Birmingham, Alabama. The Blazers’ Children’s Harbor jerseys feature the names of patients on the back in place of those of players.

Worst trend to never catch on

Block letter jerseys

A very brief but nevertheless unfortunate stint in the pantheon of alternate uniform history was the spurt of designs in the early 2010s featuring jerseys with block letter logos front and center. Of the assorted pitfalls an alternate uniform can hit, these ran the gauntlet.

Changing the aesthetics for the jerseys of teams with classic traditional threads? Check. Unwieldy designs without grounding in a school’s history or tradition? Check. Creating a strange on-screen viewing experience? Check. Blissfully, these never took hold outside of a few Big Ten one-offs.

Lifetime achievement award

Oregon

Undoubtedly the most prolific uniform-producing school, the Ducks put out more uniform combinations in a season than some programs do in a decade. Instead of trying to choose which categories to slot them into — since they’ve produced enough memorable combinations to be involved in just about every option, really — we’re simply giving the Ducks a lifetime achievement award, showcasing a short palette of their range here.

Best alternate uniform reveal series

Notre Dame

While there have been plenty of great alternate uniform reveals, nobody in the game has committed to a bit quite like Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish started in 2022, parodying “The Hangover” to unveil their uniforms for that year’s Shamrock Series game in Las Vegas. They’ve since established the movie parody lane as their niche, riffing “Jerry Maguire” in 2023 and “Wolf of Wall Street” in 2024.

Best consistent yearly alternate uniform matchup

The Army-Navy game

Admittedly, there are not a ton of matchups producing alternate uniform matchups on an annual basis. Or any, for that matter. But it simply wouldn’t be an alternate uniform story without plaudits being given to the level of detail put into Army and Navy’s respective uniforms on a yearly basis for their rivalry game in recent years. So, like Oregon, we’ve created a specific category to highlight some of the best Army-Navy alternate uniform showdowns.

Techs Stick Together unity award

Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech, 2007

It felt right to end this piece with an “alternate” uniform that, while very much not intentional, was certainly memorable. On November 1, 2007, Virginia Tech played a routine road game against Georgia Tech. There was just one issue — some of the Hokies’ jerseys had gone missing. As a result, four Virginia Tech players had to play with the only extra uniforms on hand: Yellow Jacket road jerseys, with new names scrawled on the back and “Georgia Tech” blacked out on the front.

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Va. Tech probing tampering claim by NC Central

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Va. Tech probing tampering claim by NC Central

  • David HaleJul 26, 2025, 10:54 AM ET

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    • College football reporter.
    • Joined ESPN in 2012.
    • Graduate of the University of Delaware.

At a media event Friday, North Carolina Central coach Trei Oliver was asked about the most ridiculous moments he has faced in coaching, and his response set off alarms across the state of Virginia.

Oliver said he found a Virginia Tech assistant coach on the sideline for one of North Carolina Central’s games last year and suggested the coach was there to lure his star running back, J’Mari Taylor, into the transfer portal.

“Virginia Tech was actually on my sideline recruiting our running back,” Oliver told reporters, according to WRAL News. “That was pretty bold. I couldn’t believe it.”

Oliver didn’t name the running back, but he said the player later transferred to Virginia. Taylor was a first-team all-conference player who is now on Virginia’s roster.

Oliver said he needed assistant coaches to calm him down on the sideline, noting several told him, “He’s just down here visiting.'”

“But I knew what it was,” Oliver said.

Virginia Tech released a statement Saturday saying this was the first time the issue had been raised and that the school would investigate.

“This is the first time the issue has been brought to our attention, and no concern has previously been shared with us through any formal channel,” the team said. “Virginia Tech takes all NCAA rules seriously and is committed to conducting our program with integrity. We are reviewing the matter internally and will address any findings appropriately.”

Taylor, a graduate transfer, will be part of the Virginia backfield rotation this season, and Oliver said he will be rooting for his former player at his new school — particularly when the Cavaliers play Virginia Tech on Nov. 29.

“Thank God he went to UVA,” Oliver said, “and UVA is going to beat the smoke out of them other folks.”

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MLB trade deadline updates, rumors: Bubble teams could shape week ahead

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July 27, 2025

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MLB trade deadline updates, rumors: Bubble teams could shape week ahead

Jul 27, 2025, 09:20 AM ET

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is just around the corner, with contending teams deciding what they need to add before 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 31.

Could Jarren Duran be on the move from the Boston Red Sox? Will the Arizona Diamondbacks deal Eugenio Suarez and Zac Gallen to contenders? And who among the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies will go all-in to boost their 2025 World Series hopes?

Whether your favorite club is looking to add or deal away — or stands somewhere in between — here’s the freshest intel we’re hearing, reaction to completed deals and what to know for every team as trade season unfolds.

More: Top 50 trade candidates | Passan’s preview | Fantasy spin

Jump to: Completed deals | Latest intel

Completed deal tracker

Yankees make another deal for infield depth

The New York Yankees acquired utility man Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals in exchange for two minor leaguers. Story »

Royals get outfielder in trade with D-backs

The Kansas City Royals acquired veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-hander Andrew Hoffmann. Story »

Yankees land infielder McMahon in deal with Rockies

The New York Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon in a trade with the Colorado Rockies, sources confirmed to ESPN. Story » | Grades »

Mets get bullpen help from O’s

The New York Mets have acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles, sources confirmed to ESPN. Story » | Grades »

Mariners start trade season with deal for Naylor

The Seattle Mariners have acquired first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks for left-hander Brandyn Garcia and right-hander Ashton Izzi are headed back to the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Seattle Mariners for first baseman Josh Naylor, sources told ESPN. Story » | Grades »

MLB trade deadline buzz

July 27

Can Mets find an ace at deadline? The market has been very thin in teams offloading, but according to sources, the Mets continue to look around to see whether there’s a match for a starting pitcher capable of taking the ball for a Game 1, Game 2 or Game 3 of a postseason series. Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks could be that guy, or maybe it’s Seth Lugo of the Royals, or the Padres’ Dylan Cease. Perhaps it’s one of the two big-time starters who will be under team control beyond this season, the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara or the Twins’ Joe Ryan. The Mets’ rotation was exceptional early in the year, before injuries and natural regression began to take a toll, and the team could use a boost in the front end of this group as they fight the Phillies for NL East supremacy. — Buster Olney

Which way will deadline bubble teams go? The staredown continues as deadline week begins, with perhaps as many as a half-dozen teams waiting to declare their status. “This weekend is big for a lot of teams,” said one evaluator.

The Rays, who appeared to be gathering momentum a month ago, are now just a game over .500, and given the organization’s longstanding focus on maximizing the value of their players, some rival evaluators think they could now be considering dealing some pieces away.

The St. Louis Cardinals are two games over .500, with the industry waiting to see whether they will deal closer Ryan Helsley. The expectation is that they will, given the tough NL playoff landscape. The Tigers could be interested, maybe the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers or Yankees.

The Los Angeles Angels are now five games under .500, and the presumption is that they will eventually move some players before the deadline, but the Angels don’t always operate in the way teams typically do. Taylor Ward has drawn interest from other organizations. — Olney

July 25 updates

Will the Royals trade Lugo — or extend him? Seth Lugo is an intriguing name in the trade market, but rival evaluators don’t sense the Royals are especially motivated to make a deal. Kansas City could also use this moment to explore an extension with Lugo, to keep their deep well of starting pitching intact. — Buster Olney

Angels’ deadline plans coming into focus: Any confusion about whether the Angels will add or subtract ahead of the trade deadline has seemingly cleared up in recent days, with a four-game losing streak that has them five games under .500.

The Angels are telling teams their pending free agents are available, sources with knowledge of the situation said. That includes third baseman Yoan Moncada, utility infielder Luis Rengifo, starting pitcher Tyler Anderson and closer Kenley Jansen. Left fielder Taylor Ward, controllable through 2026, can also be had with the right deal.

The Angels famously never rebuild under owner Arte Moreno and are prone to adding even in times when they seem like long shots to contend — most notably in 2023, when they not only held on to Shohei Ohtani but also traded for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez before collapsing in August.

At this time last year, they tried to move the likes of Anderson and Rengifo but did not believe they would have received enough back to justify holding on to them through the following season. And so it is worth noting: Even if the Angels do decide to punt on 2025, their goal would be to contend again next season.

Any moves they make would probably be geared toward that. By trading away rentals, the Angels will try to use the trade deadline to add accomplished players who can help the team next year. — Alden Gonzalez

What the Astros might be looking for: The Astros’ best fit in a hitter is someone who could play second base or left field, and they can move Jose Altuve accordingly. Per FanGraphs, the Astros have a 94.5% chance to reach the postseason; they lead the Mariners by five games in the AL West. — Buster Olney

How Arizona could shape the trade deadline: The Diamondbacks informed other teams in the past that they would “probably” be dealing away players, but even after trading Josh Naylor to Seattle, it’s unclear just how far Arizona will go. If the D-Backs decided to go all-in on trading veterans, they could reshape their organization significantly, by moving free-agents-to-be Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and, of course, Eugenio Suarez.

The perception of other front offices is that Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick does not want to completely offload, especially with the Dodgers drifting back toward the pack in the NL West — and as of Thursday night, Suarez wasn’t even officially on the market.

The Diamondbacks, who reached the World Series in 2023 after winning just 84 games during the regular season, won their first three games after the All-Star break, but have subsequently lost three in a row. What some rival evaluators believe is that if the D-Backs keep dealing, it’ll be because of a nudge from the front office. Arizona has been extensively scouting other organizations in preparation. — Buster Olney

White Sox starter drawing interest from contenders: About a half-dozen or more scouts will be in attendance at Rate Field on Friday night when Adrian Houser takes the mound for the White Sox. He has compiled a 1.89 ERA in 10 starts for Chicago after being picked up midseason. Teams don’t believe they’ll have to give up a lot to acquire him, and he could make for a good back-end starter or depth piece for a contender. The White Sox are likely to move him at his peak, and Friday could be the final look for those who are interested. — Jesse Rogers

July 24 updates

Could Mets land this deadline’s top slugger? Eugenio Suarez could be an intriguing option for the Mets as they’ve gotten little production out of Mark Vientos at third base. And if things work out and Suarez wants to stay — and they want him to — he could also provide protection for the Mets at first base in case Pete Alonso moves on next season. The Mets rank 23rd in OPS at third, so why wouldn’t they inquire about Suarez, knowing they can hand the position back to Vientos in 2026 if they wish. — Jesse Rogers

July 23 updates

Houston is in the market for a third baseman: Add the Astros to the list of contenders looking for a third baseman. With All-Star Isaac Paredes expected to miss significant time because of what manager Joe Espada described as a “pretty serious” right hamstring strain, the Astros have begun poking around for available third basemen. One of them is the Rockies’ Ryan McMahon, who also has drawn interest from a few other clubs.

The 30-year-old represents a solid veteran option. McMahon is slashing .217/.314/.403 with 16 home runs, and the metrics indicate he has been one of the top defensive third basemen in the majors this season. He is under contract over the next two seasons for $32 million, so he wouldn’t be just a rental, which should raise the Rockies’ asking price. — Jorge Castillo

A big addition to the available deadline starting pitching options? A surprise name has emerged in the starting pitcher market: Dylan Cease, who will be eligible for free agency at year’s end. Perception of other teams is that the Padres are intent on making a push for the playoffs and would use Cease to help fill other roster needs. Mets, AL East teams, Cubs among teams that have talked about him. — Buster Olney

How Cubs are approaching deadline: The Cubs are looking for a starting pitcher first and foremost, but won’t part with any top prospects for rentals. They would be willing to trade a young hitter for a cost-controlled pitcher or one already under contract past this season. They are desperate to add an arm who can help while Jameson Taillon recovers from a calf injury. Bullpen games in Taillon’s place haven’t gone well. — Jesse Rogers

Will Twins trade top pitchers? Several high-profile teams are in need of bullpen help ahead of the trade deadline — including the Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers — and the Twins have two of the best available in Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran. The sense is that at least one of them will be traded, but those who are looking for relief help expect the asking price to be very high, partly because both of them are controllable through 2027 and partly because the Twins’ uncertain ownership situation has clouded the approach with those who are not pending free agents.

The Twins are widely expected to trade outfielder Harrison Bader, super-utility player Willi Castro, starter Chris Paddack and lefty reliever Danny Coulombe. But Jax, Duran and young starter Joe Ryan are the ones who would bring back the biggest return. The Twins are said to be listening on everyone. But the team being up for sale since October, and in limbo ever since prospective buyer Justin Ishbia increased his ownership stake in the White Sox in early June, has complicated matters with longer-term players. — Alden Gonzalez

July 22 updates

An Orioles starting pitcher to watch: It seems very likely that Charlie Morton (3.47 ERA last 12 appearances) will be traded, within a relatively thin starting pitching market with a lot of teams looking for rotation help — the Padres, Yankees, maybe the Mets or Astros; a number of teams have expressed interest. In the past, Morton has had a preference to pitch for a team closer to the East Coast and his Florida home, but he doesn’t control that. O’s GM Mike Elias does. — Buster Olney

Will Cleveland deal All-Star outfielder? The player asked about the most on the Guardians’ roster is Steven Kwan, but given that he is two and a half years away from free agency, it’s unlikely he’ll be traded, according to sources. Kwan’s slash line this year: .288/.352/.398. He also has 11 stolen bases and has made consecutive All-Star appearances. — Olney

Braves not looking to move Murphy: Sean Murphy‘s name has been tossed around in trade speculation, but according to sources, he will not be available. Atlanta’s catcher is playing well this year and will be playing under a high-value contract for the next three seasons — $15 million per year from 2026 to 2028, plus a team option in ’29. And the Braves are set up well with the right-handed-hitting Murphy and left-handed-hitting Drake Baldwin perhaps sharing the catching and DH spots into the future. — Olney

Why the 2022 Cy Young winner isn’t the most in-demand Marlins starter: Edward Cabrera has become more coveted than Sandy Alcantara, who teams believe might take an offseason to fix. Alcantara’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is scary low — just 1.9 — and his ERA is 7.14. Cabrera, on the other hand, is striking out more than a batter per inning and his ERA sits at 3.61. The 27-year-old right-hander will come at a heavy cost for opposing teams. — Jesse Rogers

How Kansas City is approaching the trade deadline: The Royals have signaled a willingness to trade, but with an eye toward competing again next year — meaning they aren’t willing to part with the core of their pitching staff. Other teams say Kansas City is (unsurprisingly) looking to upgrade its future offense in whatever it does.

Right-handed starter Seth Lugo will be the most-watched Royal before the deadline, since he holds a $15 million player option for 2026 “that you’d assume he’s going to turn down,” said one rival staffer. That’ll make it more difficult for other teams to place a trade value on him: The Royals could want to market him as more than a mere rental, while other teams figure he’ll go into free agency in the fall when he turns down his option. — Olney

What the Dodgers need at the deadline: The Dodgers’ offense has been a source of consternation lately, with Max Muncy out, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman slumping, and key hitters tasked with lengthening out the lineup — Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Michael Conforto — also struggling.

But the Dodgers’ focus ahead of the deadline is still clearly the bullpen, specifically a high-leverage, right-handed reliever. Dodgers relievers lead the major leagues in innings pitched by a wide margin. Blake Treinen will be back soon, and Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol are expected to join him later in the season. But the Dodgers need at least one other trusted arm late in games.

It’s a stunning development, considering they returned the core of a bullpen that played a big role in last year’s championship run, then added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates in free agency. But Scott and Yates have had their struggles, and there are enough injury concerns with several others that it’s a need. — Alden Gonzalez

Which D-backs starter is most coveted? The Diamondbacks are getting as many calls — if not more — about Zac Gallen as they are for Merrill Kelly, even though the latter starting pitcher is having the better season. Teams interested in adding to their rotations still have more faith in the 29-year-old Gallen than the 36-year-old Kelly. — Rogers

Who are the White Sox looking to deal? Chicago’s Adrian Houser seems likely to move, as a second-tier starter who has performed well this season. The 32-year-old right-hander was released by the Rangers in May but has been very effective since joining the White Sox rotation, giving up only two homers in 57⅔ innings and generating an ERA+ of 226. Nobody is taking those numbers at face value, but evaluators do view him as a market option. The White Sox also have some relievers worth considering.

But it seems unlikely that Luis Robert Jr. — once projected as a centerpiece of this deadline — will be dealt, unless a team makes a big bet on a player who has either underperformed or been hurt this year. The White Sox could continue to wait on Robert’s talent to manifest and his trade value to be restored by picking up his $20 million option for next year, which is hardly out of the question for a team with little future payroll obligation. — Olney

Why Rockies infielder could be popular deadline option: Colorado’s Ryan McMahon is the consolation prize for teams that miss out on Eugenio Suarez — if he’s traded at all. The Cubs could have interest and would pair him with Matt Shaw as a lefty/righty combo at third base. — Rogers

Does San Diego have enough to offer to make a big deal? The Padres have multiple needs ahead of the trade deadline — a left fielder, a catcher, a back-end starter. How adequately they can address them remains to be seen. The upper levels of their farm system have thinned out in recent years, and their budget might be tight.

The Padres dipped under MLB’s luxury-tax threshold last year, resetting the penalties. But FanGraphs projects their competitive balance tax payroll to finish at $263 million this year, easily clearing the 2025 threshold and just barely putting them into the second tier, triggering a 12% surcharge.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller might have to get creative in order to address his needs. One way he can do that is by buying and selling simultaneously. The Padres have several high-profile players who can hit the market this offseason — Dylan Cease, Michael King, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez — and a few others who can hit the open market after 2026. Don’t be surprised to see Preller leverage at least one of those players, and their salaries, to help fill multiple needs. — Gonzalez

Which Orioles could be on the move? Not surprisingly, Baltimore is perceived as a dealer and is expected by other teams to move center fielder Cedric Mullins, first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and some relievers. — Olney

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