The Syracuse Orange basketball program appears set to be back in Las Vegas for the 2026 Players Era tournament. In a social media post this week, Players Era wrote about the 2026 field and specifically mentioned the upcoming tournament would be “powered by all returning programs from 2025.”
TNIAAM did reach out to a Syracuse men’s basketball spokesperson for confirmation on if the Orange are officially competing in the 2026 event. In an email statement Thursday, the program declined to comment if the team
would be officially participating in the event until Syracuse University “has signed contracts.”
The Orange participated in the first-of-its-kind, NIL-based competition in November 2025. All participating teams are awarded $1 million for competing in the tournament. An additional $1 million is awarded to the team for winning the event.
Sportico reported earlier this month “multiple participating teams” are still awaiting NIL payouts, including Oregon, UNLV and Iowa State. Michigan had received payment for participation, but had not yet received payment for winning the event. TNIAAM asked Syracuse to confirm if the Orange have been fully paid out. We’ll follow up with additional reporting when information becomes available.
Players Era officially started in the 2024-25 season with eight teams. It then expanded to a field of 18 programs, including Syracuse, which finished 0-3 in the competition after losing to Houston (by four in overtime), Kansas (by 11) and Iowa State (by 31).
Players Era is seeking $50 million for broadcasting rights to the event, but so far has yet to secure a bid, according to Sportico. Players Era drew criticism for its championship game selection process in 2025, electing to go with standings as opposed to a traditional bracket. Only teams that were 2-0 were eligible for the championship game while point differential, points scored, points allowed and AP ranking were used to determine tie-breaker scenarios. That put Gonzaga and Michigan in the championship game and somehow put 2-0 Iowa State up against 0-2 Syracuse.
Assuming Syracuse and the other remaining 2025 teams return to Vegas, the 2026 PE field will include 22 teams, as of Thursday. Players Era previously announced four more Big 12 Teams — Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia — would be competing. Syracuse and Notre Dame were the only two teams from the ACC who participated in the 2025 Players Era Festival.
