Montana
Montana Athletes Accept NIL Compensation to Endorse Jon Tester
Roughly two weeks ago, news surfaced that a largely unknown Montana political group, Montana Together, had contacted University of Montana athletes offering NIL compensation in exchange for a social media endorsement of incumbent Democratic senator Jon Tester. Athletes at the University of Montana were offered NIL deals ranging from $400 – $2,400, depending on services provided, to produce scripted or unscripted social media videos supporting Tester and his policies.
Montana Together is not affiliated with the Jon Tester campaign, which has publicly stated that it was unaware of the activist group’s behavior. The senator currently trails Republican challenger Tim Sheehy by as much as 8% in a race that will likely affect which party holds control of the Senate for the next two years.
According to Federal Campaign Laws, political candidates can pay for endorsements as long as they are publicly disclosed. Since Montana Together is a separate entity from the Tester campaign, the value of these endorsements does not need to be transparent; however, any social media engagement of this nature must be marked as a paid promotion to comply with FTC guidelines.
The Montana Together NIL campaign was shared with student-athletes via the Grizzlies athletic department in what has been noted as standard NIL practice by the university. According to a statement by University of Montana Senior Associate Athletic Director of Student Affairs and Compliance and Senior Woman Administrator Jean Gee to the school’s independent newspaper, The Montana Kaimin, “It’s not my job, necessarily, to verify the legitimacy of an organization that’s coming to us to pass on an opportunity… This is part of the new NIL world for our student athletes, that you have to become an informed person.”
The offering has appeared to polarize Montana student-athletes. The story gained traction when track athlete Lily Meskers leaked details of the NIL campaign to media outlets and launched a strong-worded statement to Fox News about Jon Tester’s platform and the Montana Together NIL campaign. Two women’s soccer team players, Taij’a Anderson and Riley Carolan, have entered into a NIL partnership with Montana Together and created Instagram videos supporting Tester. Both videos have been marked as paid promotions.
Without a doubt, Montana Together’s NIL campaign raises novel moral and ethical questions about NIL and political endorsements. While we all have political tilts, I implore readers to engage with this dilemma from an agnostic viewpoint. It could have just as quickly been a Republican, Libertarian, Green, or Independent political group engaging in NIL payment for endorsement. Here are my summations of two common perspectives.
Positive: The Montana Together NIL offering has the potential to bring about positive change in the political landscape. It encourages Democratic-leaning athletes to engage in the civic process, become more educated and informed about their political opinions, and, as people of high influence in their communities, inspire other younger people to get out and participate in the electoral process. This practice is viewpoint-neutral and does not hurt any political party or viewpoint, as every group can leverage NIL for endorsement.
While some athletes may only share the candidate’s opinions to receive money, the net impact is positive, as it encourages a population that traditionally has low voter turnout to become more engaged. Nothing about the endorsements is deceptive, as they have been clearly and conspicuously marked as “paid promotion.”
Negative: Even with disclosure practices in place, financial coercion to endorse a candidate raises ethical and moral concerns. Athletes, especially non-revenue athletes at a school like the University of Montana, are not rolling in cash in the way the media often likes to paint college athletes in the NIL era. Less than 2% of NCAA athletes receive full scholarships and, due to vigorous sports schedules, do not have the same freedom to work as non-athlete peers. Students athletes are often susceptible to financial coercion and these offers can entice athletes to compromise their political beliefs for their monetary well-being.
Non-campaign-related activism groups, like Montana Together, are not mandated to disclose the payment value for an endorsement. This leads to a lack of transparency for viewers, even if the post itself is disclosed. Increased commercialism of campaign endorsements also likely hurts voters, as it is seen as inauthentic and can dilute the meaning of bona fide endorsements without financial compensation. This NIL practice helps propagate financial influence on elections. It utilizes political funding to influence public opinion by targeting a susceptible population of people with relatively high influence and small bank accounts.
NIL continues to have implications that span far beyond the field. Montana Together’s campaign continues to remind all of those who follow college sports just how novel the NIL industry is and how much gray area continues to be created through boundary-pushing NIL concepts.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 13, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 13 drawing
22-31-52-56-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from May 13 drawing
17-18-28-37-42, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 13 drawing
02-06-10-16, Bonus: 16
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 13 drawing
08-13-39-63-66, Powerball: 02
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 13 drawing
02-04-13-17-32
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 13 drawing
21-24-29-42-49, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Montana
Public Meeting at Hub on Smith Concerning Montana Water Call Prompting Priority Administration in Tongue Basin
Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart announced that on May 5, 2026, the State of Montana placed a call under Article V(A) of the Yellowstone River Compact to fill Tongue River Reservoir in Montana. As a result, priority administration is in effect on post-1950 water rights in Wyoming that divert water from the Tongue River and its tributaries and are not excluded from the compact.
A public meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 18, in the dining room of The Hub on Smith. Attendees are asked to enter on the north side of the building.
The Tongue River Basin has been experiencing drought conditions over the past year with historically low winter snowpack and streamflow conditions. According to the release, those conditions led to Montana’s interstate call and prompted the administration of the Tongue River Basin in Wyoming.
The priority administration will affect post-1950 water rights within the Tongue River Basin, including reservoir storage, stream diversions and groundwater withdrawals, all of which affect river flows. Post-1950 water rights will be regulated off or prevented from turning on. Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners will continue to administer reservoir storage and post-1950 diversions throughout the spring and work with affected water users until the administration is lifted.
As provided in the compact, domestic uses less than one-half acre in area and livestock uses, including stock reservoirs less than 20 acre-feet in capacity, are excluded from this administration. The release noted these excluded rights could be subject to future regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
Beginning May 5, 2026, Wyoming hydrographer-commissioners have worked to record the current storage levels of reservoirs with post-1950 water rights. Going forward, those reservoirs can continue to accrue storage so long as post-1950 storage gained after the interstate call on May 5 remains in storage until either the water is released to satisfy the Montana call or Montana lifts the call because Tongue River Reservoir will fill.
Reservoirs with unfulfilled pre-1950 water rights can continue to store water and that storage will not be subject to release to satisfy Montana’s call. However, that storage and other direct flow rights could be subject to regulation to satisfy priority calls by senior Wyoming water rights.
The priority administration will be carried out pursuant to state law by hydrographer-commissioners assigned to various portions of the Tongue River Basin, working under the direction of Division II Superintendent David Schroeder.
The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office can be contacted at:
Jack Morey, deputy state engineer, 307-777-5032, jack.morey2@wyo.gov
David Schroeder, Division II superintendent, 307-674-7012, d.schroeder@wyo.gov
Jeff Cowley, interstate streams administrator, 307-777-1942, jeff.cowley@wyo.gov
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 12, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 12 drawing
17-32-35-40-47, Mega Ball: 17
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 12 drawing
04-12-17-24, Bonus: 11
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 12 drawing
19-21-35-38-53, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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