Cleveland, OH
NILLY: Kendrick Perkins’ NIL Platform Faces Ethical Scrutiny
Former NBA champion and TV commentator Kendrick Perkins has attracted attention with the launch of NILLY, a platform designed to help college athletes navigate the intricacies of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. Backed by Harlan Capital Partners, which has committed up to $200 million, NILLY aims to ease the financial strain on athletes by offering upfront payments in exchange for percentages of their NIL earnings. Yet, despite its seemingly positive and uplifting intentions, NILLY has faced scrutiny, with some questioning whether the model takes advantage of broke student-athletes needing quick cash.
Launched in February 2024, NILLY offers athletes cash advances ranging from $25,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. In return, the company secures exclusive rights to the athlete’s NIL for up to seven years, taking a portion of their future earnings, anywhere from 10% to 50%. Though this approach provides immediate financial relief, it has sparked concern among consumer protection advocates and financial advisers.
Perkins, who has an estimated net worth of $28 million, sees NILLY as a critical lifeline for athletes and their families, who often face significant financial challenges. “You have so many athletes and their parents who are struggling day-to-day,” Perkins stated. “Because we’re actually taking a bit of a gamble on what the student-athlete is going to make in the NIL space, the benefit is the kid, the student-athlete, gets financial security, so they don’t have to rush.”
However, financial experts are wary, suggesting that NILLY’s contracts may resemble high-interest loans in disguise. Michael Haddix Jr., CEO of Scout, which provides financial education to athletes, commented, “It feels predatory, and it’s capitalizing on young people who need money and haven’t thought through the long-term implications.” Likewise, Chris Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah, bluntly labeled NILLY’s contracts as “trashy products designed to take advantage of young kids.”
One case illustrates how much athletes might end up giving away. According to a contract obtained by ESPN, a high school senior received $50,000 upfront, agreeing to give NILLY 25% of his NIL earnings for seven years or until the company recoups $125,000, 2.5 times its original investment. Critics argue that deals like this can leave athletes with significant financial burdens long after they leave college, with some paying the equivalent of $75,000 in potential earnings just to access $50,000 upfront, a steep cost for short-term relief.
In defense, NILLY co-founder Chris Ricciardi argued that these are not loans but licensing agreements. “There’s no interest rate. There’s no requirement to pay back… it’s purely a licensing deal,” he explained, emphasizing that NIL earnings are unpredictable and that NILLY assumes considerable risk by paying athletes without guaranteed returns. However, Mike Pierce, a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau executive, advised caution, suggesting that the contracts’ fine print may reveal more. “The promise here that if you don’t make it big, you don’t have to pay anything back has a lot of fine print underneath it.”
As NILLY Continues to grow, with 20 athletes already signed on, the ethical debate around its model is gaining momentum. While Perkins and Ricciardi stand by the platform’s intent to provide immediate financial relief, critics warn that its structure could leave athletes with long-lasting financial challenges. The broader issue remains: Can NIL-focused ventures like NILLY truly empower athletes without taking advantage of them?
CLEVELAND — For the first time in U.S. history, a Navy warship will be commissioned in Ohio.
Commissioning a ship is a time-honored naval tradition that formally places a ship into active duty.
The USS Cleveland arrived in its namesake city on Saturday, coasting into Cleveland’s North Coast Yard. It’s the fourth ship in U.S. Navy history to bear the name Cleveland.
“It’s a little bit bigger than a flight deck. About 25% bigger,” said Commanding Officer Bruce Hallett. “And it’s higher up, the water makes it a little easier for pilots to be able to land on it. So they like it.”
Hallett has served with the Navy for more than 20 years.
“There are up and overs. So these flags are actually single flags. So we have quartermasters on board,” Hallett said of the colorful flags seen across the ship. “So they can use these to send signals to other ships. But in this capacity right here, they’re just purely for decoration.”
Inside the ship, the decorations pay homage to Cleveland, with two murals in the waterborne mission zone depicting key landmarks and Cleveland Browns signs in the gym.
“It’s all swagged out with all kinds of Cleveland Browns stuff new,” said Hallett. “We got the colors down there, the flags, the towels. It looks phenomenal. And the crew loves it.”
Sailors have been touring the city throughout the week, and Executive Officer Adam Cline has been coordinating community relations events with the crew. He sent two specific sailors to City Hall.
“We have two members of our crew that are from Cleveland,” Hall said. “That’s where they grew up. So it was real nice to incorporate them into that and to get a great memento from the city, a nice flag for us.”
The USS Cleveland will be commissioned Saturday and then head to its home port of Florida. When the ship eventually retires, the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation hopes to bring it back to become a museum.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A U.S. Navy warship will be commissioned in Ohio on Saturday for the first time in 250 years.
The USS Cleveland is docked on Lake Erie ahead of the 10 a.m. ceremony.
Commander Bruce Hallett has commanded the USS Cleveland for more than two years.
“It is extremely exciting to be able to bring the USS Cleveland here to Cleveland and to be able to commission this ship here — obviously to introduce it to the city so that they can see the ship that bears their name,” Hallett said. “This has been a long time coming.”
The ship’s hallways are named after Cleveland streets, including East 9th and St. Clair Avenue.
A mural honoring the city of Cleveland is displayed on board. The Navy says it is rare to see something like this on a warship.
“Amazing mural, right? We’re so proud to have that on board,” Hallett said. “We’re just pretty much in awe when we saw all the stuff that we have in the city, and now we have it as part of the Cleveland. We love it as a crew.”
The ship’s weight room was outfitted by the Cleveland Browns with flags, towels, and mats.
“The Browns came and added their own touches to that weight room,” Hallett said. “So it’s all swagged out with all kinds of Cleveland Browns stuff now.”
The ship carries a crew of about 90, including two sailors who grew up in Cleveland.
The USS Cleveland is the final Freedom-variant littoral combat ship to be commissioned in the U.S. Navy.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
A trio of locally made films will grace area screens, here is your Movie Nerd Report for the week of May 11-17.
Thursday evening will bring the red-carpet premiere of “The Last Shop On Walnut” at the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd Cleveland Heights, OH 44118) . The film, which was written and directed by Jason Richardson, was mostly shot in Ravenna. It stars Peter Lawson Jones and Cleveland native Kym Whitley. The screening will benefit the Charles & Margaret Jones Endowed Scholarship Fund at College Now. Tickets can be found at this link.
Can’t make the premiere? The Cedar Lee will be playing the film for at least a full week starting Friday!
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“Blood & Rust” the debut feature from Kent State alumni Jeremy Herbert, will be coming to Cranked Up TV on May 19 and The Ashland Cinema (212 Center Street Ashland, OH 44805) will be offering a screening of it this Friday evening at 7 p.m., and it is free!
Sunday at 3:30 p.m. the Capitol Theatre (1390 W.65th Street Cleveland, OH 44102) will present the directorial debut of Frank Calo IV in “Last Call”. Sounds like this one is poised to sell out so click here to grab your tickets.
Over at the Cleveland Cinematheque (11610 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44118) :
Cleveland is fortunate to be one of the five select cities of the Future of Film Is Female Series which highlights films from female and nonbinary filmmakers. The first film in this series kicks off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with the Midwest road trip film, “Dreams In Nightmares.”
Thursday at 9 p.m. and Friday at 9 p.m. they will present a 4K Restoration of the Dutch classic “Malpertius,” which features Orson Welles.
Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4:30 p.m. they will present the Italian dramedy “The Last One For The Road.”
Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:35 p.m. they will present a documentary that explores the effects of colonialism on Northern Argentina in “Our Land.”
Saturday at 8:50 p.m. and Sunday at 5:45 p.m. they will present a 4K Restoration of the Argentinian film “The Headless Woman”
Sunday at 3:30 p.m. they will present the documentary “Four Rational People,” which looks at the Emerson String Quartet’s final performance.
More information about the films and ticket prices are at: cinematheque.cia.edu
At the Nightlight Cinema (30 N High Street Akron, OH 44308):
One of the most acclaimed films of the year is the Canadian drama “Blue Herron,” it is the feature debut of Sophy Romvari, who gained attention for her short films.
They also will be playing the documentary “Steal This Story, Please,” which highlights independent investigative journalist Amy Goodman.
More Information about the films and ticket prices are at: nightlightcinema.com
This weekend there are a trio of new films opening in wide release: The first is one that I would recommend if you are a horror fan – “Obsession”. This film continues a trend where we are seeing Youtubers become filmmakers, in this case it is 26-year-old Curry Barker. This is a spin on “be careful what you wish for” when a young man makes a wish for his crush to love him more than anything else in the world, and it gets increasingly disturbing from there. I personally loved it and thought the performance from actress Inde Navarrette will make her a star.
“Is God Is” is a revenge tale which was based on an award-winning play by Alesha Harris. Harris makes her feature directorial debut and currently the film stands at 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!
The other film opening is the latest from director Guy Ritchie, the action-thriller “In The Grey” with Jake Gyllenhall and Henry Cavill.
Rounding out this busy week are some anniversaries hitting screens in “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” for one week to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Tony Scott’s original, and the original “Shrek” is also playing for one week to commemorate its 25th Anniversary (Anniversaries like this are making your resident movie nerd feel old!).
Lastly, I just wanted to wish congratulations to my longtime friend Dave Huffman, who has just been named the new director of The Cleveland Cinematheque! If you have ever attended some of the Late Shift Series back in the day at the Cedar Lee or Capitol, or the 12 Hours of Terror, you know that Dave is a huge cinephile and I am certain will do a great job at the Cinematheque!
Until next week my friends, see ya at the movies!
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