NIL Recruiting News Megathread

[BurntOrange&White 41842]

Why can't @immamac become Michael Dell's boyfriend and talk him into buying all the recruits!

[BornAndRaised 12869]

 

[skipmcgee 323]

Lamborghini for the tier 1 players and Maserati for the tier 2, I guess

[Funk Doctor Spock 13275]

4 hours ago, skipmcgee said:

Lamborghini for the tier 1 players and Maserati for the tier 2, I guess

Pretty dope Gibson signs with Maserati his first year, and Bond + Taaffee Lambos. When that burnt orange comes up every morning, it reminds Poverty programs like aggy that we run this shit now. But I bet their plauers are happy they at least get a John Deere tractor to stroll around in. 

[skipmcgee 323]

7 minutes ago, Funk Doctor Spock said:

Pretty dope Gibson signs with Maserati his first year, and Bond + Taaffee Lambos. When that burnt orange comes up every morning, it reminds Poverty programs like aggy that we run this shit now. But I bet their plauers are happy they at least get a John Deere tractor to stroll around in. 

Those tractors are shockingly expensive.  However, I hear that Old Sarge’s Used Car Emporium has some nice low mileage Geo Metros available for the team.

[Funk Doctor Spock 13275]

Just now, skipmcgee said:

Those tractors are shockingly expensive.  However, I hear that Old Sarge’s Used Car Emporium has some nice low mileage Geo Metros available for the team.

That is about as aggy of a name if there ever was one. Please tell me this is real 😂

[General Specific 3507]

That is about as aggy of a name if there ever was one. Please tell me this is real

[statsman 5691]

OU hired an ATT exec to work for the AD, wrt player compensation. Here is the letter:

Quote

Dear Sooner Family –

As you are well aware, college athletics has been in the midst of vast transformation in the past several years, most of which has centered around the professionalization of football. In the spirit of our 130-year tradition of excellence in OU Athletics, we will continue to be at the forefront of these changes, remaining innovative, nimble, and ready to leverage the opportunity offered by both our entry into the SEC and the current collegiate athletics landscape. Now, more than ever, we are focused on how we can adapt to the current environment in ways that enable us to win at the highest level in all our programs. As we continue to evaluate and plan, I’d like to take this moment to inform you on where we are currently and how we plan to meet this moment to best position OU’s championship-caliber athletics programs for success. 

Under the terms of the preliminary settlement for the House vs. NCAA class action lawsuit, we will be sharing revenue with many OU student-athletes. We are prepared to share the maximum allowable revenues with our athletes. Under the settlement, this means a baseline total of approximately $20.5 million in additional, annual costs for OU Athletics.

Notwithstanding these substantial new financial commitments to our student-athletes, OU Athletics remains steadfast in our commitment to all 21 of our sports and to proudly remain one of the few collegiate athletics programs that is economically self-sustaining, resulting in no student or public dollars contributing to the athletics enterprise. Our expectation, once the settlement is approved, is that we will be offering substantially more aid to our student-athletes because the proposed settlement would eliminate limits for athletics scholarships and instead set roster sizes for each sport. An additional impact of the settlement will be the contributions to funding the backpay financial damages required by the House settlement. I am confident we are ready to meet these challenges. 

Our move to the SEC lands us in undoubtedly the most competitive conference in college athletics – a platform we have sought for all our student-athletes and programs to shine, and for our university to tell its story on a broader stage. Membership in the SEC also puts us in a much stronger financial position. Part of our financial planning will redeploy select resources to meet new demands, and we also will continue to invest in models that harness the force of Sooner Athletics to drive greater revenues and keep us on our fixed course of fielding winning programs. We are actively pursuing financial strategies to underwrite the increased expenses, aggressively exploring all new revenue-generation opportunities, and continuing to build on the generosity of our passionate donors, supporters, and fans. 

The most successful major college athletics programs will be dynamic and innovative and draw from resources outside of those traditionally accessed in amateur athletics. To that end, we are engaging long-time OU friend and supporter, Randall Stephenson, to help counsel and guide our efforts. Randall, a proud OU alumnus, has proven the ability to navigate major industries through significant disruption, like college athletics faces now. He served as chairman and CEO of AT&T from 2007-2020 and led the Fortune Five company through tectonic changes in multiple sectors. He also led and oversaw many new approaches to sports programming, media rights, and sponsorships. Under his leadership, AT&T and its subsidiaries, working with its media partners, changed how America engaged with many of the world’s premier sports brands, including pioneering programming such as the NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV, the NFL Red Zone, NBA on TNT, MLB Playoffs, and NCAA March Madness on Turner networks. With Randall’s direction, AT&T executed sponsorships of some of America’s most iconic events, venues, and athletes, including The College Football Playoff, AT&T Stadium, Jordan Spieth, and Tiger Woods.

In addition to his time at AT&T, Randall brings much knowledge in sports policy and business, having served on the policy board for the PGA Tour from 2012-2023 during a time of considerable change surrounding men’s professional golf, where he focused significantly on the operational challenges of the tour and helped make significant professional, complex executive decisions. He also served as the 37th President of the Boy Scouts of America from 2016-2018.

Randall, who has refused compensation, will serve as Executive Advisor to the President and the Athletics Director, working closely with President Harroz, Coach Venables, the athletics department, and me. He will help guide us into restructuring our budget for this new world of college sports and into developing a football structure with elements similar to professional sports teams. This includes building out a more expansive General Manager function and developing a dynamic model that will allow OU Football to become a national gold-standard around talent acquisition, portal management, and player development. College athletics remains unique, but adaptations that draw upon the professional model are necessary to compete at the highest level. As part of Randall’s work, he also will make recommendations for funding player compensation and offer insights into pioneering governance models and athletics structures that will set up OU Athletics for success far into the future.

If finalized this spring, the House settlement will not solve the complexities of the current open transfer portal system or other open legal questions related to college athletics. For now, these are challenges that still require solving. However, we are constantly mindful of our role as stewards of a significant and distinct piece of the Oklahoman and American culture of college athletics. Change is constant, and we will always rise to meet new challenges so that we sustain our championship excellence. We are steadfast in our dedication to our student-athletes, our commitment to providing them with a life-changing first-class education, our promise to maintain the tradition of exciting and competitive athletics found at OU, and our role in molding young adults into amazing human beings who proudly take us with them in their new ventures. 

Thank you, as always, for your support of our programs and student-athletes. We could not do what we do without your continued investment in us. You help us create Sooner Magic every day.

Boomer!

Reading between the lines, it sounds like the House settlement raises the NIL floor for FBS schools, as they can now use AD revenue (up to $20.5 M) for player compensation. I don’t k ow that it does a thing to limit the (outside of AD revenue) NIL ceiling. 

[immamac 44312]

4 minutes ago, statsman said:

OU hired an ATT exec to work for the AD, wrt player compensation. Here is the letter:

Reading between the lines, it sounds like the House settlement raises the NIL floor for FBS schools, as they can now use AD revenue (up to $20.5 M) for player compensation. I don’t k ow that it does a thing to limit the (outside of AD revenue) NIL ceiling. 

There is no limits on earning in the United States for individuals. 

There's no league salary cap on endorsement deals in any professional sport or otherwise. 

There is no ceiling. 

[SydneyCarton 49475]

23 minutes ago, statsman said:

OU hired an ATT exec to work for the AD, wrt player compensation. Here is the letter:

Reading between the lines, it sounds like the House settlement raises the NIL floor for FBS schools, as they can now use AD revenue (up to $20.5 M) for player compensation. I don’t k ow that it does a thing to limit the (outside of AD revenue) NIL ceiling. 

 

17 minutes ago, immamac said:

There is no limits on earning in the United States for individuals. 

There's no league salary cap on endorsement deals in any professional sport or otherwise. 

There is no ceiling. 

And furthermmore OU is going to struggle to find an extra 20.5 million in their AD budget to pay football players. Their situation is unchanged. 

[closetojumping 65379]

2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

And furthermmore OU is going to struggle to find an extra 20.5 million in their AD budget to pay football players. Their situation is unchanged. 

Furtherfurthermore, the $20.5M, I believe, is to be spread across all sports and will Title IX fangs and claws attached to it. 

[markstanco 12785]

Georgia’s D line was expensive this cycle. Very impressive.

[SydneyCarton 49475]

Not really the day for it, but it's fresh in my mind so I'll post it now. This is the perfect example of Austin being perfectly primed for Athlete NIL dollars. 

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2024/11/23/dicks-sporting-goods-stores-texas-holiday-decorating-competition-quinn-ewers-ut-football/76498603007/

I've been hearing radio ads about it in the morning. Dick's Sporting goods takes an athlete from every major market to decorate a Dick's Sporting good's store. Houston gets Simone Biles, Dallas gets Dak Prescott, San Antonio gets Chris Paul...and Austin gets, Quinn Ewers. One of these things is not like the fucking others, and in the best possible fucking way for Texas. Somewhere upthread or in another thread, we saw screenshots of aggies complaining about Austin, and saying they should tap into the Houston market more for coprorate NIL dollars. Good motherfucking luck. They're shooting for NFL players, MLB players and then below that there's homegrown stars like Biles, and then after THAT they can get in line with UH basketball players.

A number of us have been pointing this out for years, and some folks get it, but it's still nice to see it perfectly illustrate in a statewide promotional campaign that is getting massive amount of dollars spending promoting it. 

But I mean, college station still probably has a Play It Again Sports, or something. 

[tejas60 3556]

*Hibbett's Sports

[Texas Wahoo 3631]

States fighting back against limiting collectives and boosters. 
 

 

[Duane Moore 5743]

Mazel Tov!

 

[BurntOrange&White 41842]

He posted a tweet asking for a financial lawyer and this was a reply to a comment

 

 

 

 

[tx 3 putt 78668]

 

[Post Oak 20555]

1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

Piss off

[Ricky's one-hitter 9622]

 

 

[SydneyCarton 49475]

9 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

 

 

Wait till they see 2024. 

[Bodacious Bevo 3691]

I’m surprised to see TOF uses opendorse. And to the tune of $622K. My understanding is that their value-add is access to athletes for people that want to do NIL deals. Am I wrong on that?

[SydneyCarton 49475]

Just now, Bodacious Bevo said:

I’m surprised to see TOF uses opendorse. And to the tune of $622K. My understanding is that their value-add is access to athletes for people that want to do NIL deals. Am I wrong on that?

I didn't know we still use it either, but at the end of the day, it's a convenient scheduling/tracking/management tool for players fulfilling their obligations. 

[immamac 44312]

3 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

I’m surprised to see TOF uses opendorse. And to the tune of $622K. My understanding is that their value-add is access to athletes for people that want to do NIL deals. Am I wrong on that?

I tried to build it in house, but stupid is as stupid does. 

[Ricky's one-hitter 9622]

2 minutes ago, immamac said:

I tried to build it in house, but stupid is as stupid does. 

I was apart of a team that pitched the AD on some custom software work, including a version of this, in 2021. We got the impression that they are firmly entrenched on the buy side of the build v buy debate

[Bodacious Bevo 3691]

6 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I didn't know we still use it either, but at the end of the day, it's a convenient scheduling/tracking/management tool for players fulfilling their obligations. 

That makes sense. I guess they wouldn’t have access to the university’s contract management system. Hadn’t put it all together in my mind. 

[immamac 44312]

14 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

I was apart of a team that pitched the AD on some custom software work, including a version of this, in 2021. We got the impression that they are firmly entrenched on the buy side of the build v buy debate

The AD just wants to use something correct. Texas one fund is not the AD and needlessly spent million+ on bad software that doesn't do shit for them instead of building it in house, because rich people don't give a fuck about money. 

[immamac 44312]

Also they now have their dealflow sourced by said shitty software to package up as nil performance data etc. Its beyond fucking stupid that we didn't build it in house. 

[SydneyCarton 49475]

I knew when I read "opendorse fees" that immamac was gonna be hella fucking triggered. Again. 

[Huckleberry 34578]

4 hours ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

I was apart of a team...

You read too many recruit tweets. 

[satyanash 15548]

(Brad Crawford) College football NIL collective leaders for 2025: NCAA estimates nation's top-25 spenders

Quote

Who are college football's NIL collective leaders for the 2025 season? According to updated NCAA estimates, the nation's best at fundraising and donor contributions is significantly changing with surprising results. A wealth of resources strengthen college football teams in the game's new era of NIL and expected record-setting revenue figures within the SEC and Big Ten are a shot in the arm to teams consistently in the playoff conversation. Even UNC's new hire of former NFL coach Bill Belichick is heavy on the NIL side as the Tar Heels have agreed to substantially enhance that area of the football program.

For this NCAA study, any figures associated with NIL and booster support are estimated based on sources and assumptions regarding data since all collectives are privately-controlled and not forced to reveal dollar figures. According to the NCAA’s methodology for these numbers, “our estimates are not what specific collectives receive in contributions. Instead, we are providing what we believe to be a reasonable estimate of funding a collective(s) supporting the school might be expected to generate in funding, given the school’s historic level of support from boosters. Here are the nation's top-25 college football programs with the best NIL situations, according to estimated NCAA data:

1. Texas Longhorns ($22.2M)

Always one of the nation's top revenue producers, there's not a program in college football who prints money at the rate of Texas. And after reaching the SEC Championship Game along with a  return trip to the playoff this fall, that stronghold is expanding. This roster is one of the nation's highest-paid through NIL with backup quarterback Arch Manning making more despite minimal snaps than most Power Four starters.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes ($20.2M)

Ohio State is believed to have distributed the highest amount of NIL earnings to its players in the country this past year. That comes as little surprise with the Buckeyes roster loaded with elite talent ahead of next week's first-round playoff game against Tennessee. Many star players chose to return in 2024 instead of declaring for the NFL Draft, and the team also secured several top transfers last cycle at a substantial cost. First-year athletic director Ross Bjork said that "around $20 million" was allocated from collectives and brand affiliates to football players in the past year, according to a report from Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

3. LSU Tigers ($20.1M)

LSU's donor contingent is a collective effort. Even third-year coach Brian Kelly is in on the giving. His recent pledge of $1 million to the construction of an improved training room for athletes was a program record for a sitting coach. The Tiger Athletic Foundation is one of the most respected in the SEC. LSU's overall giving from 2005-22 was fourth-best in the SEC, per estimates. Kelly recently alluded to NIL being a primary factor in recruiting in today's current climate.

4. Georgia Bulldogs ($18.3M)

No program in college football spends more money on football recruiting than the Bulldogs and they earned a handsome return on investment. Athletic department expenses surpass revenue at most schools and according to USA Today, the average salary for a college football head coach pre-pandemic in 2019 was $3.5 million per season. Thanks to unrivaled success and consecutive national championships, Georgia's Kirby Smart makes nearly four times that number as one of college football's elite coaches. The Bulldogs' brand, in 2024, has never been more recognizable and Georgia is once again in the playoff with a chance to win a national championship.

5. Texas A&M Aggies ($17.2M)

The 12th Man Foundation generates gobs of money annually via donations. They are raising funds for the $120 million Centennial Campaign, which involves the construction of a new 140-yard indoor football practice facility, an indoor track and an updated academic and nutrition center for athletes. Texas A&M has been at the forefront of college football's new NIL era and in 2022, signed the highest-rated football recruiting class in history. Former Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork said last spring that Texas A&M athletes have signed NIL deals worth approximately $10 million. That number is now dwarfed by a $20 million estimation at his new school, Ohio State.

6. Michigan Wolverines ($16.3M)

Michigan is a major player in college football's NIL game after re-signing several of its top players ahead of the 2023 season prior to last fall's 15-0 run to a national championship. And as the headliner of the 2025 recruiting cycle, top-ranked quarterback Bryce Underwood is coming to Ann Arbor with a sizable NIL deal, choosing the Wolverines over LSU's offer. Via The Michigan Insider, though details are undisclosed, Michigan NIL collective Champions Circle more or less confirmed that Underwood's pledge was at least somewhat financially supported, as it released a statement after Underwood's commitment on its "Those Who Stay (Home)" fundraising campaign.

7. Alabama Crimson Tide ($15.9M)

Nick Saban denies NIL changes across college football being the reason for his retirement in January, but it was certainly part of it with the playing field being leveled somewhat in recruiting. Alabama freshman five-star wideout Ryan Williams is expected to be one of the highest-paid players at his position nationally in 2025 given what he accomplished for the Crimson Tide this season. And last recruiting cycle, Alabama lost safety Caleb Downs and freshman quarterback Julian Sayin to Ohio State due largely to NIL factors.

8. Florida Gators ($15.8M)

University of Florida graduate Gary Condron, CEO and founder of The Conlan Company (construction firm), is said to be the largest donor in Florida athletic department history. A 2021 release revealed that Condron had given more than $22.5 million to the Gators over the years and the football program's indoor practice facility bears his name. Condron played baseball for the Gators. In 2018, he served as honorary head coach at Florida for the spring football game. Like other high-end boosters nationally, when Condron speaks at Florida, people listen.

9. Clemson Tigers ($15.2M)

Dabo Swinney hasn't utilized the transfer portal during his tenure at Clemson, but that figures to change in the coming years. Clemson's NIL situation is expected to rocket upward in 2025, he says, with most of the school's funds being earmarked toward football. With two national championships over the last decade, it's easy to see why football wins at Clemson. "Ain't nobody gonna have more money than Clemson. Nobody. For the first time ever," Swinney said in November, via Clemson247.

10. Oklahoma Sooners ($14.8M)

The Sooners, like the Texas Longhorns, received a considerable bump during the 2024-25 fiscal year as SEC members, thanks to sharing sizable revenue distribution with the rest of the conference. We suspect that's going to mean more donations from top givers, too. It'll be interesting to see if the Sooners can continue to recruit at an elite level under Brent Venables and be an annual conference championship contender in the expanded SEC considering the wealth of talent on the schedule has increased exponentially.

Note that Oregon is all the way down at #19 with $10.6 million.

Quote

We're going to put this bluntly. Oregon's estimated numbers are far lower than what industry insiders have reported on the Ducks. Nike founder Phil Knight is a primary reason the Ducks have one of the nicest football facilities in the country and are lapping the competition in NIL resources. Knight, a university alumnus, has given more than $1 billion back to Oregon over the past two decades. In 2016, Knight donated $500 million to the university's science program exclusively. He helped bankroll several state-of-the-art construction projects within athletics and is believed to be the single-most influential donor across college athletics.

 

[SydneyCarton 49475]

26 minutes ago, satyanash said:

(Brad Crawford) College football NIL collective leaders for 2025: NCAA estimates nation's top-25 spenders

Note that Oregon is all the way down at #19 with $10.6 million.

 

LSU 3, ATM 5, and Michigan 6. Oklahoma at 10. GTFO

[closetojumping 65379]

1 hour ago, satyanash said:

(Brad Crawford) College football NIL collective leaders for 2025: NCAA estimates nation's top-25 spenders

Note that Oregon is all the way down at #19 with $10.6 million.

 

This whole thing was made up. It’s not credible and not close to what’s going on for multiple schools listed. 

[Tex-19 3013]

Some mainstream reporters are saying UNC is upping their NIL commitment to $20 mil (from like 4) as part of the Belichick hire. Seems significant..

[SydneyCarton 49475]

14 minutes ago, Tex-19 said:

Some mainstream reporters are saying UNC is upping their NIL commitment to $20 mil (from like 4) as part of the Belichick hire. Seems significant..

If true, it's going to become apparent sooner rather than later. The real question to ask might be, even if it's true, if NC has built the proper kind of infrastructure to immediately handle that kind of thing. 

Edited December 12 by SydneyCarton

[Funk Doctor Spock 13275]

This is going to be glorious seeing how much of a curmudgeon Belichick is and won't tolerate kids and their NIL shit. This will go down like Pripyat. 

[satyanash 15548]

 

[statsman 5691]

I have a guilty pleasure- I go to Sooner Scoop and read the Sooner fans’ laments:

”NIL has ruined college football” (actually, it has only been bad for programs that used to spend under the table and can’t afford the price of poker now that it’s legal)

”This can’t go on! Something will have to be done e!” (It can go on, and something’ doesn’t have to be done)

It is all driven by a sense that the universe shares the Okies’ angst, that OU being a mid team is unbearable. (It doesn’t)

It gets pointed out, when they call for a salary cap, that collective bargaining would have to happen first. The Sooner advocates respond, “Great! Bring on collective bargaining!”

It occurs to me that it is more likely that new associations of like minded schools would form first, to voluntarily manage the system. An example would be the Ivy League. They do not provide athletic scholarships (I know they have a lot of work-arounds, but they do not adhere to NCAA rules and regulations on athletic scholarships), and it is voluntary. (Presumably, they could be NIL monsters, but they choose not to be). 
 
Anyway, it seems more likely, to me, that new conference associations would form, based on NIL willingness (a top league with no cap, lower leagues with voluntary caps) than for the NCAA or CFA to institute caps. 

[Magus Ossis 2997]

Even if there were collective bargaining, it might be quite difficult to force athletes playing for schools in right-to-work states like Texas to surrender their NIL opportunities.

[Texas Wahoo 3631]

 

 

[HenryJames 67322]

Mike Norvell restructures contract, contributes millions to FSU athletics

[Dbeasy 15561]

On 12/10/2024 at 2:49 PM, immamac said:

Also they now have their dealflow sourced by said shitty software to package up as nil performance data etc. Its beyond fucking stupid that we didn't build it in house. 

 

On 12/10/2024 at 3:01 PM, SydneyCarton said:

I knew when I read "opendorse fees" that immamac was gonna be hella fucking triggered. Again. 

We talked about this two years ago. If a product like that became “the” marketplace for nil deals, over time the schools and players and marketers would get shit on by the software company, just like Uber, Ticketmaster, and every other monopoly / oligopoly marketplace. Not saying this will happen because their product isn’t great, but schools, marketers, and athletes need to think hard about how they are going to connect. 

[Js1 87174]

36 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Mike Norvell restructures contract, contributes millions to FSU athletics

This seems to be the new "we can't afford to fire you, so we are restructuring your contract to re-allocate some of your salary to NIL instead" for coaches not meeting expectations.  BK, Gundy, Norvell 

[statsman 5691]

Years ago, a co-worker with a son playing football for a FCS school told me that college football was a very low paying full time job for players, with the only thing making it worth the effort being the prospect of getting on the field and playing. 
 
It seems clear, now, that it is a real job for FBS players, with real pay. I think that is why we see so many more players enrolling early, in the spring- the paychecks don’t start until they’re on the team. They are like all of us, wanting to start work right after graduation, because we don’t get paid until we do. 
 
Similarly, wrt the portal. When any of us seek a new job, we wait to give notice until the new one is officially offered. We ask our new employer to allow us to start after we have given notice. This is all in order to keep the checks continuous. Why is the first portal so popular, even with guys on teams where the season isn’t over yet? Because they don’t want to risk spending the spring without a job any more than you do. They want to nail that down. 
 
 

[Yesh 961]

I think with Brian Kelly his matching donation was going to go into the general Athletic Department fund, not the collective, because the school/coaches currently can't participate directly in NIL.

[satyanash 15548]

22 hours ago, Js1 said:

This seems to be the new "we can't afford to fire you, so we are restructuring your contract to re-allocate some of your salary to NIL instead" for coaches not meeting expectations.  BK, Gundy, Norvell 

At what point does this stop being a "penalty for putridness" and start becoming common practice?

Blake Toppmeyer: Mike Norvell, Mike Gundy lead college football coaches paying loser's tax amid NIL revolution

Quote

At Florida State, they’re calling the fundraising campaign a Vision of Excellence, but coach Mike Norvell’s $4.5 million contribution to the initiative comes off as a penalty for putridness. The college sports pay-for-play revolution entered new terrain this month. Norvell became the third known coach who underperformed this season and now will help bankroll the operation.

It started with Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy agreeing to reduced compensation to retain his job after the Cowboys flopped their way to a 3-9 record. The cost savings will be redistributed through the school to athletes, according to multiple reports.

Next, LSU’s Brian Kelly announced a campaign to match fans’ donations to the Tigers’ NIL collective, up to $1 million. Kelly failed to make the College Football Playoff in his first three seasons at LSU while ranking among the nation’s top-paid coaches. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from making direct NIL donations, but Kelly will use a workaround by funneling his donation through the Tiger Athletic Foundation, a booster group that financially supports LSU athletics.

So, yeah, same effect. “I needed to put my money where my mouth was and be a part of (funding a championship roster),” Kelly said. Used to be, a coach bankrolling his roster amounted to a major NCAA rules violation. Now, a coach can declare his payments on the up and up as part of a fundraising campaign. The optics are a bit odd, although not entirely unexpected. It’s more evidence of scales of power and wealth shifting within a landscape in which athletes are compensated.

Mike Norvell, Mike Gundy pony up after losing seasons

Since 2021, athletes can collect third-party deals to profit off their fame and abilities. Donors, businesses and fans foot this NIL bill. Schools were spared from paying athletes – but not for much longer. If a legal settlement gains final judicial approval in April, schools will begin coughing up millions annually for athletes via revenue-sharing.

Although revenue-sharing won’t be required, any school wishing to compete at the highest level will feel compelled to opt into a plan that permits schools to redirect more than $20 million annually in athletics revenue to players. How to cover these new costs? Here comes this fresh idea: A loser’s tax on coaches.

“I presented this to our administration in an effort to boost the support of our student-athletes,” Norvell said Monday in a university release announcing his payment to Vision for Excellence as part of a restructured contract, “while recognizing that the results and expectations need to be upheld to the highest level. I wanted to be proactive in my financial assistance through this time of transition as we all push forward to get back to the standard of Florida State football.”

Norvell won 13 games in 2023 and earned a raise. With a $10 million salary, he ranked among the nation’s top-paid coaches. That equated to $5 million per victory this season.

Pay-for-play revolution puts new scrutiny on coaches' salaries

Before NCAA rules permitted player compensation, athletics revenue had to go somewhere. Some of it funded Olympic sports, while other dollars poured into facilities upgrades that would make professional organizations blush. Also, coaching salaries ballooned. Some mediocre coaches now earn salaries topping $7 million, while championship coaches like Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($13.3 million) and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney ($11.1 million) earn eight figures.

Some schools already have shown more caution toward facilities projects, wanting to preserve precious dollars for players. Now, we’re seeing cases of money being clawed back from a few coaches. Nothing compels a coach to do this. Multi-year contracts protect their salaries. If an employer becomes unsatisfied with a coach’s performance, the school could fire the coach and pay the buyout.

Florida State, especially, backed itself into a corner. The Seminoles would have owed Norvell a buyout topping $63 million after this season, making a coaching change cost prohibitive. Gundy’s buyout topped $25 million. Either could have dug in his heels. Instead, they took a personal financial hit that favors their employer. Gundy and Norvell proved themselves winners before each experienced a career-worst season this year.

Their acceptance of a pay hit allows each school to recoup funds that might improve the program, without triggering a leadership change that could further set back the program. “Many coaches would rather get paid less and have money to pay players than lose their jobs because of a lack of talent,” sports attorney Mit Winter wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) in response to Norvell’s announcement.

Not every coach coming off a bad season would agree to this, but, to Winter’s point, Gundy and Norvell are hardly the only ones who would prefer job retention at a reduced salary while reloading at another shot at winning, rather than welcome a severance check and a vacation to Buyout Beach. In the long-term, perhaps more coaches’ salaries will be reduced and paired with additional performance bonuses for successful seasons, or buyouts could be curtailed to contain costs for firing a losing coach.

However, applying more financial caution toward coaching contracts could hurt a school’s hiring or retention efforts. At the very least, schools should show more caution before awarding senseless raises. Oklahoma gave Brent Venables a hefty raise and an extension before this season, even though Venables did not present as a flight risk after he’d gone 16-10 through two seasons. The Sooners went 6-6 this year, making the raise look especially foolish.

Just last year, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops grumbled that Wildcats fans needed to "pony up" more cash for athletes if they desired a better team. Stoops’ idea to throw more money at the problem holds merit, but he overlooked himself as potential source of funding. As the pay-for-play revolution wades into waist-deep waters, losing comes at a literal cost for coaches.

 

[SydneyCarton 49475]

I have to assume unless rule changes are made, any have program moving forward will include clauses for straight up money donations to NIL groups. Coach X makes 10 million a year plus 2 million in university charitable contributions, etc. 

 

The poors I guess it comes from the coach. But the haves…I assume it’s just going to be on top of the coaching salary. Ahem. 

[DigDug 1738]

Elko said his contribution would be in fudge.

[Lone Star Horn 2071]

1 hour ago, DigDug said:

Elko said his contribution would be in fudge.

As if he would give up his fudge, or any food for that matter.

[gernblansten 3259]

On 12/16/2024 at 9:30 AM, statsman said:

It seems clear, now, that it is a real job for FBS players, with real pay. I think that is why we see so many more players enrolling early, in the spring- the paychecks don’t start until they’re on the team. They are like all of us, wanting to start work right after graduation, because we don’t get paid until we do.