Players Era Festival
| Current season, competition or edition: 2025 Players Era Festival | |
| Sport | College basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2024 |
| Founder | EverWonder Studio and Seth Berger |
| No. of teams | 8 (2024) 18 (2025) |
| Country | United States |
| Venues | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, Nevada |
| Most recent champions | Michigan (Men's) Texas (Women's) |
| Most titles | Men's: Michigan & Oregon (1) Women's: Texas (1) |
| Broadcaster | TNT, truTV, and HBO Max (streaming service) |
| Tournament format | Round robin (2024) |
| Official website | PlayersEra.com |
The Players Era Festival is an American early-season college basketball tournament. The tournament takes place in Paradise, Nevada, with games being played at MGM Grand Garden Arena, during the Thanksgiving week. A title sponsor has not been announced, but the tournament was created to give each team at least $1 million toward each team's Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).[1] The tournament played its inaugural edition during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.[2]
History
In August 2024, the NCAA sent out a memo reiterating that players could not be directly compensated for participating in an MTE, even if the money was routed through a collective. EverWonder claimed that players would participate in sponsorship opportunities on behalf of the event that would allow for NIL compensation, with this compensation being described in agreements between EverWonder and the schools' NIL collectives, but not in the agreements between EverWonder and the schools themselves.[3]
The following month, a financial representative for the event informed Sportico that an announcement would be made soon for the sponsor and TV partner. The publication questioned the event's prospective profitability, as other MTEs bring in between $1–3 million, far below the potential amount needed to make the event profitable.[4]
On December 16, 2024, it was announced there will be an inaugural Players Era Women's Championship in 2025, which took place over three days during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas. The women's iteration coincided with the men's tournament.[5]
On November 24, 2025 the Big 12 Conference announced a five-year deal to take a 15% equity stake in the Players Era Festival, along with a minimum guarantee from annual revenues and the Big 12 will receive eight bids to the Players Era tournament when it expands to 32 teams next season.[6]
Tournament history
Men's tournament
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Oregon | Alabama | 83–81 | TJ Bamba, Oregon[7] |
| 2025 | Michigan | Gonzaga | 101–61 | Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan[8] |
Women's tournament
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Texas | South Carolina | 66–64 | Rori Harmon, Texas[9] |
References
- ^ "Players Era Festival Event Overview".
- ^ "Sources: Houston, Alabama among field for Players Era Festival". June 12, 2024.
- ^ "NCAA Memo Fuels Questions About Big-Bucks NIL Hoops Event". August 21, 2024.
- ^ "Multimillion-Dollar NIL Hoops Tourney to Finalize Plans Soon".
- ^ Andrews, Kendra (December 16, 2024). "South Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Texas in inaugural Players Era Women's Championship". ESPN. ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ "Players Era and Big 12 Conference Announce Landmark Partnership for Players Era Men's Championship".
- ^ "Ducks Defeat No. 9 Alabama in Players Era Festival Championship". goducks.com. November 30, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Quinn (November 27, 2025). "Michigan Cruises Past No. 12 Gonzaga to Claim Players Era Title". MGoBlue.com. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ^ "No. 4 Women's Basketball tops No. 2 South Carolina 66-64, Harmon breaks Texas career assist record". texaslonghorns.com. November 27, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.