What is the North Carolina Tar Heels NIL strategy for women's basketball in 2027?

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Direct Answer

North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball runs its 2026-27 NIL strategy through the new Carolina NIL umbrella — the Old Well Management entity that absorbed Heels4Life and the Secondary Break Club in 2026 — paired with the school's roughly $250,000 direct revenue-sharing pool carved out specifically for women's basketball inside UNC's $20.5 million House-settlement cap.

Head coach Courtney Banghart is using a retention-first model: keep returners like Reniya Kelly, Ciera Toomey, and Indya Nivar paid through brand-deal contracts while spending direct rev-share dollars on top-50 freshman Noelle Bofia and high-ceiling portal additions.

The result is a Sweet 16-caliber roster funded by a blended model that leans on brand storytelling, not bidding wars.

1. The Money Stack Behind Carolina Women's Hoops In 2027

UNC's women's basketball NIL strategy in 2026-27 is not one bucket — it is three stacked pools that the staff and Old Well Management coordinate every month.

Under the House v. NCAA settlement that took effect July 1, 2025, UNC opted in for the full $20.5 million athlete revenue-sharing cap. The publicly reported internal split allocates $13 million to football, $7 million to men's basketball, and $250,000 each to baseball and women's basketball.

That $250K is the guaranteed floor that Banghart can distribute to her 14-player roster — roughly $17,800 per scholarship player if split evenly, or front-loaded toward two or three priority players.

1.2 Carolina NIL Collective — The Brand-Deal Engine

Old Well Management, launched in 2025 and rebranded under the Carolina NIL umbrella in early 2026, consolidated Heels4Life, the Secondary Break Club, and the Rams Club marketing arm into one entity. For women's basketball, Old Well sources booster-funded appearance fees, autograph signings, and social-media activations that historically pushed individual WBB earnings into the $25K-$75K range for starters and $100K+ for stars.

1.3 Third-Party Marketplace Deals

On top of school and collective dollars, players sign direct brand contracts through agencies and platforms like Opendorse, INFLCR, and MOGL. National brands — Nike (UNC is a Jordan Brand school), Dr Pepper, Powerade, State Farm, Buick — all run WBB-specific NIL programs that UNC starters routinely qualify for.

2. Roster-Level NIL Targets For 2026-27

The 2026-27 Tar Heels return nine players from the Sweet 16 team and add one top-50 recruit plus portal pieces. Carolina NIL's job is to stack deals around the production curve.

2.1 The Retention Core

Reniya Kelly (senior guard, 22 starts as a junior, 24-point career high vs. Miami) — primary backcourt face, projected $80K-$150K combined rev-share + collective + brand package.
Ciera Toomey (R-Jr. Forward, 5-star recruit out of high school, started all 36 games, 15-rebound career-high at Georgia Tech) — frontcourt anchor, projected $70K-$130K package.
Indya Nivar (returning wing, glue starter) — projected $45K-$80K.

2.2 The Freshman Bet

Noelle Bofia — ESPN No. 52 overall in the Class of 2026, graduated early from Xavier Prep, practiced with UNC in Spring 2026. Carolina NIL is building her introductory brand package before tipoff: social channel launch, signature autograph card, a local Chapel Hill restaurant tie-in. Expected first-year compensation: $50K-$90K.

2.3 Portal Additions

Banghart added multiple highly ranked portal players for 2026-27. The standard portal-recruit package in ACC women's basketball in 2026 runs $60K-$120K for proven starters, and UNC is reportedly at or above market on its top adds.

3. The Carolina NIL Operating Model

graph TD A[UNC Athletics $20.5M Cap] --> B[$13M Football] A --> C[$7M Men's Basketball] A --> D[$250K Women's Basketball] A --> E[$250K Baseball + Olympic Sports] F[Old Well Management] --> G[Carolina NIL Collective] G --> H[Heels4Life Legacy Donors] G --> I[Secondary Break Club] G --> J[Rams Club Marketing] D --> K[14-Player WBB Roster] G --> K L[Third-Party Brands: Nike, Dr Pepper, State Farm] --> K K --> M[Sweet 16 Repeat Goal]

3.1 One Front Door, Three Funders

Every Tar Heel WBB player has one point of contact — an Old Well account manager — who stacks rev-share, collective dollars, and third-party deals into a single contract package per player. This avoids the double-paying and gap coverage problems that plagued the 2024-25 collective-only era.

Because women's basketball gets only $250K in direct rev-share at UNC, Banghart and the compliance office use a 3-tier model: roughly 40% to two or three priority retention players, 40% spread across the next five rotation players, and 20% held as a mid-season retention reserve for transfer-portal counter-offers in March.

3.3 Title IX Pressure Valve

Schools nationwide are bracing for Title IX challenges against rev-share splits that send 75%+ to football. UNC's modest $250K WBB allocation is legally vulnerable if challenged, and Old Well Management is positioned to shore up the gap through collective dollars to keep total WBB compensation proportionate.

4. Where UNC WBB Fits In The National 2027 NIL Market

4.1 League Context

Women's basketball receives roughly 5% of the typical school's rev-share cap nationally, with $1.8 million in average per-school WBB spending across the power conferences. UNC's $250K direct allocation is below the national average but supplemented heavily by Carolina NIL collective dollars and the strength of the Jordan Brand affiliation.

4.2 ACC Competitive Set

NC State runs a comparable collective model through OneCarolina with a similar $200K-$300K rev-share floor for WBB.
Notre Dame spends above market on WBB NIL given its Hannah Hidalgo-led national title chase, reportedly clearing $1M+ in combined WBB compensation in 2025-26.
Duke matches UNC roughly dollar-for-dollar on WBB rev-share but trails in collective fundraising.
Louisville runs a portal-aggressive model funded by the 502Circle collective.

4.3 National Top End

The On3 women's basketball NIL valuation leaderboard in 2026 is led by stars like JuJu Watkins (USC), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), and Olivia Miles (TCU/Notre Dame) at $1M+ each. UNC's top earners cluster in the $80K-$150K band — a deliberate broad-based strategy rather than a superstar-concentrated one.

5. The 2027 Playbook — What Carolina NIL Is Selling

graph LR A[Recruit Prospect] --> B[Coach Pitch] B --> C[Old Well Brand Audit] C --> D[Custom NIL Package] D --> E[Rev-Share Offer] D --> F[Collective Floor Guarantee] D --> G[Brand-Deal Pipeline] E --> H[Signed LOI / Portal Entry] F --> H G --> H H --> I[Monthly Activation Calendar] I --> J[Social Content + Appearances] J --> K[Renewal at Year-End]

5.1 The Pitch Is Infrastructure, Not Top-Dollar

Banghart and Old Well sell infrastructure: a full-time NIL manager, monthly content calendars, financial-literacy programming built into the player-development plan, and a brand-building runway aimed at the post-college WNBA pipeline. The pitch is "we will build your brand", not "we will outbid Notre Dame".

5.2 Tar Heel Alumni Network Activation

UNC leans on its alumni base — Michael Jordan, Marion Jones, Hubert Davis, Roy Williams — to drive Carolina NIL appearances and Jordan Brand signature merchandise opportunities exclusive to Tar Heels.

5.3 Sweet 16 To Final Four Storyline

The two consecutive Sweet 16 runs are the anchor sales proposition for the 2026-27 season. Every NIL pitch leads with postseason exposure — first-weekend NCAA Tournament games carry ESPN linear-TV valuations of $15K-$40K per appearance in incremental social and search lift for the players involved.

6. Risks To The Strategy

6.1 ACC Realignment And Media-Rights Volatility

The ACC media-rights dispute with Florida State and Clemson is unresolved. A revised distribution formula could reduce UNC's projected rev-share ceiling in 2027-28, which would compress Banghart's already-tight WBB pool.

6.2 Collective Donor Fatigue

Heels4Life donors funded the early NIL era heavily. The consolidation into Old Well Management is partly designed to simplify the donor ask — but booster fatigue is a known risk across the SEC and ACC in 2026, and UNC is not immune.

6.3 Portal Counter-Offers

The mid-season transfer portal opens in March, and Notre Dame, South Carolina, UConn, LSU, and Texas routinely throw $200K-$500K counter-offers at Tar Heel starters. UNC's 20% retention reserve is the primary defense, but it can be overwhelmed by a true superstar bidding war.

7. The Forward Calendar — What To Watch In 2027

7.1 Bofia's Debut Brand Launch

Old Well Management is expected to roll out Noelle Bofia's signature NIL package in August 2026, likely featuring a Jordan Brand youth-camp tie-in and a Chapel Hill restaurant ambassadorship — the standard UNC freshman template.

7.2 Kelly's Senior-Year Maximization

Reniya Kelly's senior year is her peak earnings window before the WNBA Draft. Expect Carolina NIL to push her into regional auto-dealer, bank, and insurance brand deals on top of national activations.

7.3 The First Title IX Test Case

Legal observers expect the first major Title IX challenge to House-settlement rev-share splits to land in federal court during 2026-27. UNC is not the named defendant, but a ruling against the 75%-to-football model would force a mid-year reallocation that could double WBB's direct rev-share pool.

FAQ

Q: How much money does a typical UNC women's basketball starter make in NIL in 2026-27? A: A returning starter like Reniya Kelly or Ciera Toomey is projected to clear $80K-$150K in combined rev-share, collective, and third-party brand income.

Q: What is the difference between Heels4Life, Old Well Management, and Carolina NIL? A: Heels4Life was the original donor-funded NIL collective. Old Well Management is the new umbrella entity that absorbed Heels4Life and the Secondary Break Club in 2025-26. Carolina NIL is the public-facing brand for the consolidated entity.

Q: Why does UNC women's basketball only get $250K in direct rev-share? A: UNC's internal allocation reflects the revenue-generation profile of each sport. Football drives the budget at $13M, men's basketball at $7M, and women's basketball receives $250K — below the national WBB average of $1.8M, but supplemented by Carolina NIL collective dollars.

Q: Is UNC's WBB NIL strategy competitive with Notre Dame or South Carolina? A: Not at the top end. Notre Dame and South Carolina spend multiples of UNC's direct rev-share pool. UNC competes on infrastructure, alumni network, and Jordan Brand affiliation rather than raw dollars.

Q: Could Title IX force UNC to pay women's basketball more? A: Yes — and Old Well Management is positioned for it. A federal ruling against the 75%-football rev-share model would force schools to rebalance distributions, potentially doubling UNC's WBB direct allocation in 2027-28.

Bottom Line

UNC women's basketball in 2026-27 runs a blended NIL model — a $250K direct rev-share floor, a consolidated Old Well Management / Carolina NIL collective for booster-funded brand deals, and a third-party brand pipeline anchored by the Jordan Brand affiliation.

The strategy is retention-first, infrastructure-led, and Sweet 16 proven — not a top-dollar bidding-war model. Watch the Title IX legal track and ACC media-rights resolution as the two factors that could reshape the pool size heading into 2027-28.

Sources

Keep reading

### Direct Answer

**North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball** runs its **2026-27 NIL strategy** through the new **Carolina NIL** umbrella — the **Old Well Management** entity that absorbed **Heels4Life** and the **Secondary Break Club** in 2026 — paired with the school's roughly **$250,000 direct revenue-sharing pool** carved out specifically for women's basketball inside UNC's **$20.5 million House-settlement cap**. Head coach **Courtney Banghart** is using a **retention-first** model: keep returners like **Reniya Kelly**, **Ciera Toomey**, and **Indya Nivar** paid through brand-deal contracts while spending direct rev-share dollars on top-50 freshman **Noelle Bofia** and high-ceiling portal additions. The result is a **Sweet 16-caliber roster** funded by a blended model that leans on brand storytelling, not bidding wars.

## 1. The Money Stack Behind Carolina Women's Hoops In 2027

UNC's women's basketball NIL strategy in 2026-27 is not one bucket — it is **three stacked pools** that the staff and Old Well Management coordinate every month.

### 1.1 Direct Revenue Share — The $250K Floor

Under the **House v. NCAA settlement** that took effect **July 1, 2025**, UNC opted in for the full **$20.5 million** athlete revenue-sharing cap. The publicly reported internal split allocates **$13 million to football**, **$7 million to men's basketball**, and **$250,000 each to baseball and women's basketball**. That **$250K** is the **guaranteed floor** that Banghart can distribute to her 14-player roster — roughly **$17,800 per scholarship player** if split evenly, or front-loaded toward two or three priority players.

### 1.2 Carolina NIL Collective — The Brand-Deal Engine

**Old Well Management**, launched in 2025 and rebranded under the **Carolina NIL** umbrella in early 2026, consolidated **Heels4Life**, the **Secondary Break Club**, and the **Rams Club** marketing arm into one entity. For women's basketball, Old Well sources **booster-funded appearance fees**, **autograph signings**, and **social-media activations** that historically pushed individual WBB earnings into the **$25K-$75K range** for starters and **$100K+** for stars.

### 1.3 Third-Party Marketplace Deals

On top of school and collective dollars, players sign **direct brand contracts** through agencies and platforms like **Opendorse**, **INFLCR**, and **MOGL**. National brands — **Nike** (UNC is a Jordan Brand school), **Dr Pepper**, **Powerade**, **State Farm**, **Buick** — all run WBB-specific NIL programs that UNC starters routinely qualify for.

## 2. Roster-Level NIL Targets For 2026-27

The 2026-27 Tar Heels return **nine players** from the **Sweet 16** team and add **one top-50 recruit plus portal pieces**. Carolina NIL's job is to **stack deals around the production curve**.

### 2.1 The Retention Core

- **Reniya Kelly** (senior guard, 22 starts as a junior, **24-point career high vs. Miami**) — primary backcourt face, projected **$80K-$150K** combined rev-share + collective + brand package.
- **Ciera Toomey** (R-Jr. Forward, 5-star recruit out of high school, started **all 36 games**, **15-rebound career-high at Georgia Tech**) — frontcourt anchor, projected **$70K-$130K** package.
- **Indya Nivar** (returning wing, glue starter) — projected **$45K-$80K**.

### 2.2 The Freshman Bet

- **Noelle Bofia** — **ESPN No. 52 overall** in the Class of 2026, graduated early from Xavier Prep, practiced with UNC in Spring 2026. Carolina NIL is building her **introductory brand package** before tipoff: social channel launch, signature autograph card, a local Chapel Hill restaurant tie-in. Expected first-year compensation: **$50K-$90K**.

### 2.3 Portal Additions

Banghart added **multiple highly ranked portal players** for 2026-27. The standard portal-recruit package in **ACC women's basketball** in 2026 runs **$60K-$120K** for proven starters, and UNC is reportedly **at or above market** on its top adds.

## 3. The Carolina NIL Operating Model

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[UNC Athletics $20.5M Cap] --> B[$13M Football]
    A --> C[$7M Men's Basketball]
    A --> D[$250K Women's Basketball]
    A --> E[$250K Baseball + Olympic Sports]
    F[Old Well Management] --> G[Carolina NIL Collective]
    G --> H[Heels4Life Legacy Donors]
    G --> I[Secondary Break Club]
    G --> J[Rams Club Marketing]
    D --> K[14-Player WBB Roster]
    G --> K
    L[Third-Party Brands: Nike, Dr Pepper, State Farm] --> K
    K --> M[Sweet 16 Repeat Goal]
```

### 3.1 One Front Door, Three Funders

Every Tar Heel WBB player has **one point of contact** — an Old Well account manager — who **stacks** rev-share, collective dollars, and third-party deals into a single contract package per player. This avoids the **double-paying** and **gap coverage** problems that plagued the 2024-25 collective-only era.

### 3.2 Cap-Aware Rev-Share Distribution

Because women's basketball gets only **$250K** in direct rev-share at UNC, Banghart and the compliance office use a **3-tier model**: roughly **40%** to two or three priority retention players, **40%** spread across the next five rotation players, and **20%** held as a **mid-season retention reserve** for transfer-portal counter-offers in March.

### 3.3 Title IX Pressure Valve

Schools nationwide are bracing for **Title IX challenges** against rev-share splits that send **75%+ to football**. UNC's modest **$250K** WBB allocation is **legally vulnerable** if challenged, and Old Well Management is positioned to **shore up the gap** through collective dollars to keep total WBB compensation **proportionate**.

## 4. Where UNC WBB Fits In The National 2027 NIL Market

### 4.1 League Context

Women's basketball receives roughly **5%** of the typical school's rev-share cap nationally, with **$1.8 million** in average per-school WBB spending across the power conferences. UNC's **$250K** direct allocation is **below the national average** but **supplemented heavily** by Carolina NIL collective dollars and the strength of the **Jordan Brand affiliation**.

### 4.2 ACC Competitive Set

- **NC State** runs a comparable collective model through **OneCarolina** with a similar **$200K-$300K** rev-share floor for WBB.
- **Notre Dame** spends **above market** on WBB NIL given its **Hannah Hidalgo-led** national title chase, reportedly clearing **$1M+** in combined WBB compensation in 2025-26.
- **Duke** matches UNC roughly dollar-for-dollar on WBB rev-share but trails in collective fundraising.
- **Louisville** runs a **portal-aggressive** model funded by the **502Circle** collective.

### 4.3 National Top End

The On3 women's basketball NIL valuation leaderboard in 2026 is led by stars like **JuJu Watkins (USC)**, **Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame)**, and **Olivia Miles (TCU/Notre Dame)** at **$1M+ each**. UNC's top earners cluster in the **$80K-$150K** band — a deliberate **broad-based** strategy rather than a **superstar-concentrated** one.

## 5. The 2027 Playbook — What Carolina NIL Is Selling

```mermaid
graph LR
    A[Recruit Prospect] --> B[Coach Pitch]
    B --> C[Old Well Brand Audit]
    C --> D[Custom NIL Package]
    D --> E[Rev-Share Offer]
    D --> F[Collective Floor Guarantee]
    D --> G[Brand-Deal Pipeline]
    E --> H[Signed LOI / Portal Entry]
    F --> H
    G --> H
    H --> I[Monthly Activation Calendar]
    I --> J[Social Content + Appearances]
    J --> K[Renewal at Year-End]
```

### 5.1 The Pitch Is Infrastructure, Not Top-Dollar

Banghart and Old Well sell **infrastructure**: a full-time NIL manager, monthly content calendars, **financial-literacy programming** built into the player-development plan, and a **brand-building** runway aimed at the **post-college WNBA pipeline**. The pitch is **"we will build your brand"**, not **"we will outbid Notre Dame"**.

### 5.2 Tar Heel Alumni Network Activation

UNC leans on its **alumni base** — **Michael Jordan**, **Marion Jones**, **Hubert Davis**, **Roy Williams** — to drive **Carolina NIL** appearances and **Jordan Brand** signature merchandise opportunities exclusive to Tar Heels.

### 5.3 Sweet 16 To Final Four Storyline

The **two consecutive Sweet 16 runs** are the **anchor sales proposition** for the 2026-27 season. Every NIL pitch leads with **postseason exposure** — first-weekend NCAA Tournament games carry **ESPN linear-TV** valuations of **$15K-$40K per appearance** in incremental social and search lift for the players involved.

## 6. Risks To The Strategy

### 6.1 ACC Realignment And Media-Rights Volatility

The **ACC media-rights dispute** with **Florida State** and **Clemson** is unresolved. A revised distribution formula could reduce UNC's projected rev-share ceiling in 2027-28, which would **compress** Banghart's already-tight WBB pool.

### 6.2 Collective Donor Fatigue

**Heels4Life** donors funded the early NIL era heavily. The consolidation into **Old Well Management** is partly designed to **simplify** the donor ask — but **booster fatigue** is a known risk across the SEC and ACC in 2026, and UNC is not immune.

### 6.3 Portal Counter-Offers

The **mid-season transfer portal** opens in March, and **Notre Dame**, **South Carolina**, **UConn**, **LSU**, and **Texas** routinely throw **$200K-$500K** counter-offers at Tar Heel starters. UNC's **20% retention reserve** is the primary defense, but it can be overwhelmed by a true superstar bidding war.

## 7. The Forward Calendar — What To Watch In 2027

### 7.1 Bofia's Debut Brand Launch

Old Well Management is expected to roll out **Noelle Bofia's** signature NIL package in **August 2026**, likely featuring a **Jordan Brand** youth-camp tie-in and a **Chapel Hill restaurant** ambassadorship — the standard UNC freshman template.

### 7.2 Kelly's Senior-Year Maximization

**Reniya Kelly's** senior year is her **peak earnings window** before the WNBA Draft. Expect Carolina NIL to push her into **regional auto-dealer**, **bank**, and **insurance** brand deals on top of national activations.

### 7.3 The First Title IX Test Case

Legal observers expect the **first major Title IX challenge** to House-settlement rev-share splits to land in **federal court** during 2026-27. UNC is not the named defendant, but a ruling against the **75%-to-football** model would force a **mid-year reallocation** that could **double** WBB's direct rev-share pool.

## FAQ

**Q: How much money does a typical UNC women's basketball starter make in NIL in 2026-27?**
A: A returning starter like **Reniya Kelly** or **Ciera Toomey** is projected to clear **$80K-$150K** in combined rev-share, collective, and third-party brand income.

**Q: What is the difference between Heels4Life, Old Well Management, and Carolina NIL?**
A: **Heels4Life** was the original donor-funded NIL collective. **Old Well Management** is the new umbrella entity that absorbed Heels4Life and the **Secondary Break Club** in 2025-26. **Carolina NIL** is the **public-facing brand** for the consolidated entity.

**Q: Why does UNC women's basketball only get $250K in direct rev-share?**
A: UNC's internal allocation reflects the **revenue-generation** profile of each sport. **Football** drives the budget at **$13M**, men's basketball at **$7M**, and women's basketball receives **$250K** — below the **national WBB average** of **$1.8M**, but supplemented by Carolina NIL collective dollars.

**Q: Is UNC's WBB NIL strategy competitive with Notre Dame or South Carolina?**
A: **Not at the top end.** Notre Dame and South Carolina spend **multiples** of UNC's direct rev-share pool. UNC competes on **infrastructure**, **alumni network**, and **Jordan Brand affiliation** rather than raw dollars.

**Q: Could Title IX force UNC to pay women's basketball more?**
A: **Yes — and Old Well Management is positioned for it.** A federal ruling against the 75%-football rev-share model would force schools to **rebalance** distributions, potentially **doubling** UNC's WBB direct allocation in 2027-28.

## Bottom Line

UNC women's basketball in 2026-27 runs a **blended NIL model** — a **$250K** direct rev-share floor, a consolidated **Old Well Management / Carolina NIL** collective for booster-funded brand deals, and a **third-party brand pipeline** anchored by the **Jordan Brand** affiliation. The strategy is **retention-first**, **infrastructure-led**, and **Sweet 16 proven** — not a top-dollar bidding-war model. Watch the **Title IX legal track** and **ACC media-rights resolution** as the two factors that could **reshape** the pool size heading into 2027-28.

## Sources

- [UNC Forming School-Wide NIL Collective; Heels4Life and Others Joining — Chapelboro.com](https://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-forming-school-wide-nil-collective-heels4life-and-others-joining)
- [UNC Launches All-Sports Collective 'Carolina NIL' — 247Sports](https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/article/unc-launches-all-sports-collective-carolina-nil-234352090/)
- [Women's Basketball Rolls Out 2026-27 Roster — University of North Carolina Athletics](https://goheels.com/news/2026/6/1/womens-basketball-womens-basketball-rolls-out-2026-27-roster)
- [Empowering Athletes, Enriching Lives — Old Well Management](https://oldwellmanagement.com/)
- [Study: Women's sports driving record NIL growth as rev-share era begins — On3](https://www.on3.com/nil/news/womens-sports-driving-record-nil-growth-rev-share-era-begins/)
- [College Women's Basketball NIL Valuations — On3](https://www.on3.com/nil/rankings/player/college/womens-basketball/)
- [House v. NCAA Settlement: A New Era for College Athletics — Greenspoon Marder](https://www.gmlaw.com/news/house-v-ncaa-settlement-a-new-era-for-college-athletics/)
- [House Settlement Approved: How to Prepare for Implementation by July 1, 2025 — Crowell & Moring](https://www.crowell.com/en/insights/client-alerts/house-settlement-approved-how-to-prepare-for-implementation-by-july-1-2025)
- [Loopholes have won the day: Cap? What cap? — WRAL](https://www.wral.com/news/local/college-sports-nil-revenue-sharing-cap-house-settlement-december-2025/)
- [The Wild West: Five years in, a look at NIL — UNC Media Hub](https://mediahub.unc.edu/the-wild-west-five-years-in-a-look-at-nil/)

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