Ahead of the dawn of NIL, we all debated what it could all mean, and many argued various points about the presence of the bag game in that future era.
-Some proclaimed that NIL wouldn’t matter and that the bag game would rage on.
-Others said the bag game would disappear forever.
-Some of us discussed how dark markets function even when an open market is also present.
The latter is what has unfolded. Just like bootlegging moonshine still exists as a thing, the bag game is still around for purpose with those willing to be involved. It’s not prominent, but it can make an appearance if a player or family is connected to someone willing to take a bag in lieu of the right long term answer for the player. This could be a street agent or a trainer or, kind of unbelievably, a high school coach.
Many times in the past few years, the stickiness of that character in a recruitment has been melted away if the family can get back to a campus where the coaches can get real about the earning power through NIL and the player’s rights.