One in all Colorado’s former assistant football coaches reportedly went rogue — and to the Middle East — in an try to secure name, image and likeness (NIL) funding.
Trevor Reilly, the varsity’s ex-special teams coordinator, wrote in a resignation letter — reviewed by Sports Illustrated — this month that he tried to lobby Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund throughout the last holiday season to attempt to get money for Colorado’s 5430 Alliance NIL collective.
“You paid me $90,000 a 12 months and let me handle special teams,” Reilly reportedly wrote. “I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it. I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, which is value about $3 trillion. Now, I can’t get these people to reply my calls because I just discovered today that none of my endeavors will occur.
“I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a gathering with the Saudis, who were taken with pursuing business. I even have email receipts to prove it, and also you guys let it fall flat on its face.”
Within the resignation letter, Reilly added that he did “nothing illegal” in his attempts.
A spokesperson for Colorado told CBS that, in Reilly’s own words, he acted on his own volition in attempting to secure the cash for the collective.
“In accordance with Trevor Reilly himself, he acted on his own accord and isn’t any longer an worker of the university,” the spokesperson said.
Reilly, a former Jets and Patriots linebacker, was a graduate assistant at Jackson State under then-head coach Deion Sanders before following him to Colorado last season because the special teams coordinator before resigning earlier this month.
Blueprint Sports, which operates the collective in query, said it didn’t direct Reilly to get funds from the PIF.
“We would like to make clear that Trevor Reilly has never been authorized or directed to talk or advocate on behalf of 5430 Alliance in Saudi Arabia,” Blueprint told Front Office Sports. “Since our launch in March 2024, all funding and initiatives have been managed solely inside domestic channels and are entirely unrelated to Mr. Reilly’s work. Any claims suggesting otherwise are unfounded and patently false.”
Reilly, in line with The Athletic, resigned after he tried to widen the pool of fundraising for the collective and Blueprint decided to go against what he was offering.
He told ESPN 700 this week that he also frolicked in Jordan — and his own dime — during his attempt throughout the holiday season to secure money for the collective.
“I spent two months and a variety of my very own personal money and a variety of my time I sacrificed,” Reilly said. “I spent Christmas in a Turkish bathhouse in Amman, Jordan. Saying hi to my kids, ‘Hey, I’ll see you in a pair weeks.’”
One in all Colorado’s former assistant football coaches reportedly went rogue — and to the Middle East — in an try to secure name, image and likeness (NIL) funding.
Trevor Reilly, the varsity’s ex-special teams coordinator, wrote in a resignation letter — reviewed by Sports Illustrated — this month that he tried to lobby Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund throughout the last holiday season to attempt to get money for Colorado’s 5430 Alliance NIL collective.
“You paid me $90,000 a 12 months and let me handle special teams,” Reilly reportedly wrote. “I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it. I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, which is value about $3 trillion. Now, I can’t get these people to reply my calls because I just discovered today that none of my endeavors will occur.
“I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a gathering with the Saudis, who were taken with pursuing business. I even have email receipts to prove it, and also you guys let it fall flat on its face.”
Within the resignation letter, Reilly added that he did “nothing illegal” in his attempts.
A spokesperson for Colorado told CBS that, in Reilly’s own words, he acted on his own volition in attempting to secure the cash for the collective.
“In accordance with Trevor Reilly himself, he acted on his own accord and isn’t any longer an worker of the university,” the spokesperson said.
Reilly, a former Jets and Patriots linebacker, was a graduate assistant at Jackson State under then-head coach Deion Sanders before following him to Colorado last season because the special teams coordinator before resigning earlier this month.
Blueprint Sports, which operates the collective in query, said it didn’t direct Reilly to get funds from the PIF.
“We would like to make clear that Trevor Reilly has never been authorized or directed to talk or advocate on behalf of 5430 Alliance in Saudi Arabia,” Blueprint told Front Office Sports. “Since our launch in March 2024, all funding and initiatives have been managed solely inside domestic channels and are entirely unrelated to Mr. Reilly’s work. Any claims suggesting otherwise are unfounded and patently false.”
Reilly, in line with The Athletic, resigned after he tried to widen the pool of fundraising for the collective and Blueprint decided to go against what he was offering.
He told ESPN 700 this week that he also frolicked in Jordan — and his own dime — during his attempt throughout the holiday season to secure money for the collective.
“I spent two months and a variety of my very own personal money and a variety of my time I sacrificed,” Reilly said. “I spent Christmas in a Turkish bathhouse in Amman, Jordan. Saying hi to my kids, ‘Hey, I’ll see you in a pair weeks.’”
