The field expands to 18 teams.

The Players Era Festival is a week-long tournament in Las Vegas with NIL opportunities for players.

The Players Era Festival debuted in 2024 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and was a huge success! The tournament will feature a new format in 2025 with an expanded field. The structure will combine international style-group play with championship games.

The tournament website indicated it committed to providing $9 million in NIL to players in the 2024 tournament outside of competition. It stated that more than $50 million will be available in NIL in the next three years through activities that comply with NCAA rules.

Oregon beat Alabama to win the inaugural Players Era championship in November. The field also included Creighton, San Diego State, Houston, Rutgers and Notre Dame.

For the 2025 season, the festival has expanded to an 18-team field. Tennessee is the 18th team in 2025. The field so far consists of Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Iowa State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. Joe’s, St. John’s, Syracuse and Texas A&M.

Players Era team.

Players Era was created by EverWonder Studio and Seth Berger. The first ever festival was hosted by partner MGM Resorts International at the iconic MGM Grand Garden Arena.

EverWonder is a new independent content studio led by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer Ian Orefice – the former President of TIME and TIME Studios – and backed by RedBird IMI and Jeff Zucker – the former President of NBCUniversal, CNN, and Turner Sports.

Seth Berger has been the CEO of four consumer businesses, including being the Founder and CEO of AND 1 Basketball.

MGM Resorts International is a global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife, and retail offerings.