I heard an interesting piece of scuttlebutt in a phone conversation. Affiliated media outlets "SlicedBread" and "OU Insider" have or will publicly announce that they have details on the NIL values pledged by Texas A&M boosters to the 2022 recruiting class totaling near $30 million. All above board and legal in today's CFB world.
How much does a #1 recruiting class cost?
- Thread starter Scottsdale.Sooner
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I have argued with Aggie on Orangebloods telling them they were paying kids to come to A&M because that’s the only way they would be out recruiting Bama and even OU. I can’t tell you how many tried to convince me that I was wrong and that kids are wanting to come to A&M because of the facilities and the culture Jimbo is building.
So you finish 8-5, have never won your conference or played in the CCG, haven’t won a Championship in a century but kids are beating down your door to play for your football team! LOL. Sure, makes sense, only to Aggie.
So you finish 8-5, have never won your conference or played in the CCG, haven’t won a Championship in a century but kids are beating down your door to play for your football team! LOL. Sure, makes sense, only to Aggie.
Five big money donors created an LLC and cashed up the coffers to about $18 million. They created some bogus line of business to be promoted by college athletes. Bingo! Instant NIL feeder for A&M. O-Linemen getting $100,000.
I've heard these are tied to a length of service or number of years. Do you know if this is correct?
I was told that NIL money is divided into years to keep these "dedicated" commits from taking the money a running after one year. Does this mean $25k a year for O-Linemen? I have no specific details concerning terms and conditions.
Taking the money and running is what most of these kids are gonna do. Most of these prima donnas didn't go to college to play school.
This is spot on. When you are being compensated, there is going to be an expectation by the fans. I’m not a big fan of booing but in hindsight the fans booing Rattler/Riley pretty much ripped the scab off of a festering issue that was going on and made Riley act.
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Excellent point. My overwhelming feeling of the year was that the offense was anemic. This was so confusing to me when I see in retrospect that we averaged 180 yds rushing per game, but I carry this gut feeling that our rushing attack was absent. Then I remember a lot of yards were just bail outs by CW. A truly great offense doesn't need bail outs. Mike Vick, Kyler Murray, Baker, and many others didn't excel in the NFL due to their feet. That's not what makes an offense great. It works in college and mistakenly makes a college coach look like an offensive genius. Great offenses thrive without improvisation. The necessity of that angle hangs heavy on Riley's skills as an OC in my mind.
Heard they are paying linemen $50K guaranteed. That's just the tip of this NIL iceberg. My Question is this Butch. Can Oklahoma compete financially with A&M or Tx or USC and many other team's out there?
Short answer from me is yes. There are too many good players to pay them all. Coaching is the most important factor. There are thousands and thousands of superb athletes that can make up a competitive team. Nobody can pay them all and form a monopoly on players. Right now, it's just going to take time for boosters to realize they're wasting their money on pipe dreams.
Yeah, stats of all American players and their recruiting ranks trend towards high school evaluations, but there are a ton of late bloomers and mis evaluated high school kids that are game changers.
So many 3 star kids end up all Americans. There aren't enough five star kids that are legit to fulfill every big program roster.
My boss is an aTm grad. I don't want to reveal much more than that, but I mentioned to him about the NIL deals they are proposing based on Scottsdale's info, and this was his response... verbatim...
"Don't worry, nobody can do less with more than A&M.
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"Don't worry, nobody can do less with more than A&M.
"For me until they show that they deserve the money and I mean on the field then they shouldn't get squat. Set up NIL pay outs like this, catches in a game, yds, tackles, sacks, td's etc get some money, the more you contribute the more you get, win a Conference Title, Natty, All American, Academic All American, Heisman or other hardware then get more money. These guys getting boatloads of money before they play a down or win anything is just ridiculous.
Teach them a valuable life lesson like the rest of us already know, we have to earn our paychecks.
Teach them a valuable life lesson like the rest of us already know, we have to earn our paychecks.
Oh and if they want to act like heathens during a game or off the field then they should be fined. If they want to make it the Jr. NFL then lets incorporate it all. And if you have made a single dime off of NIL while being a part of a Team and made money because you are part of that team and their Trademark then no Opting Out of Bowl Games. If you choose to Opt Out then get fined.
I wonder just how much the parents are pushing the kids to go for the money thinking it benifits them also.
In the past I wasn’t much for roster size limits but now that NIL is here I’m glad for it
I don’t agree with anything having to do with NIL. This is already a disaster. If you are going to get paid to play football, then you can pay for your scholarship. If you accept a scholarship that should be plenty of compensation. All this is going to do is create even more kids with that ignorant entitled attitude. If they get free money, they won’t be responsible and live up to their potential. Why should they? They are getting paid for doing nothing.
If I was in charge of this, I would…
1. If you enter the transfer portal you will be allowed to play immediately providing you are academically eligible.
2. If you transfer with a NIL deal, you sit out the following season.
3. If you accept any NIL deal, you forfeit your scholarship being paid for……you pay for it yourself, all of it upfront with no refund if you leave the program.
Call me a hard *** if you will, but I’m sick of these dam kids being coddled to the point of making them worthless as human beings.
The old saying “Money is the root of all evil” is being proven to its deepest depths. I personally want no part of it.
If I was in charge of this, I would…
1. If you enter the transfer portal you will be allowed to play immediately providing you are academically eligible.
2. If you transfer with a NIL deal, you sit out the following season.
3. If you accept any NIL deal, you forfeit your scholarship being paid for……you pay for it yourself, all of it upfront with no refund if you leave the program.
Call me a hard *** if you will, but I’m sick of these dam kids being coddled to the point of making them worthless as human beings.
The old saying “Money is the root of all evil” is being proven to its deepest depths. I personally want no part of it.
The short answer is yes, OU can keep up with these other schools if the OU Big Money Boys united. Houston alone has a plethora of OU alum in high places. It is a matter of uniting them to the cause. It when happen, but the question is when.
Great post.
And having common sense....as well as a love of college football....does not make you a hard ***.
listening to the Ikard and Lehman podcast this morning, Ikard said his sources had told him that Georgia threw out an offer to Caleb and I thought he alluded to it being in the $1 mil. Dollar range and that Georgia was told it simply wasn’t enough, speculating Caleb’s dad is being the helicopter parent involved. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if it was USC in the end but we’ll see.
He went on to say that there is a group of OU alums, donors, former players etc putting sizable NIL funds together for this NIL future of CFB
He went on to say that there is a group of OU alums, donors, former players etc putting sizable NIL funds together for this NIL future of CFB
Give me the kids that know that hard work and dedication will help you get where you need and want to go. There has to be a good amount of parents with kids that aren’t all about the money. OU should stay out of this NIL and make a stand on core values and a free scholarship being enough to an 18 year old kid. Kids need to earn their place, and adults shouldn’t be handing it to them. That is what is wrong with the world today……and the NIL is just feeding them more of the ********.
This is exactly what Quin Ewers from Southlake Carroll high school did. First, he bailed on his high school teammates and enrolled early at Ohio State. Probably cost them a state championship. Then, he was given NIL for $3M + a new $70K truck. Then, he bailed on Ohio State and transferred to Texas where I am sure he is getting another wad of cash. Without ever playing a down of CFB. Absolute craziness!Taking the money and running is what most of these kids are gonna do. Most of these prima donnas didn't go to college to play school.
Your position is admirable but clueless to the trends of youth today. Hell, their parents are the youth of yesterday. Rather than stay out of the NIL, OU alum and donors need to jump in with both feet landing big.
I agree, unfortunately. However, we don't have to like it. I think the question for the fan base is which is worse; paying players who in turn have no true obligation vs. losing? It is quite a dilemma.
I would add some of these kids having access to large sums of money can be a dangerous thing. Are Schools now going to have to hire people that can teach these guys how to handle it, like the NFL had to do to keep them from going broke.
When they piss it all away they will want more.
When they piss it all away they will want more.
The short answer is YES. The college football landscape is evolving on many fronts before our eyes. Ignoring it and giving it less attention than it deserves at this point will only put OU farther behind the 8-ball. I fully agree with the general disdain for the complexion of the future of college football but it is what it is. Some form of control(s) will eventually make its way into this system because I think it will get wildly out of control. We must roll with the punches at this point. BTW Anyone without experience gaining access to large sums of money is dangerous. Losing the sense of value for anything is dangerous. I.E. Henry Ruggles LV Raiders.
Scottsdale, what’s your understanding with regard to NIL money being tied to an inducement for the athlete to attend a particular school. If legal, I see no problem for OU, but if not, how do OU donors contributing to an NIL feel about giving a kid money and he decides to attend Texas, for example? How do the OU donors protect their investment?
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First, the process that I am seeing now is fully legal for what I know of the NIL judgments. The donors or clients in this case, must have a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) like a registered Limited Liability Company (LLC) that investment money must pass thru. Private individuals or Good Ole Boys Club crosses the legal lines This LLC must have a have goods or services that may be marketed or advanced by the athlete/promoter thru endorsements or commercial advertising. The depth of this last statement is largely unregulated so there is no defined minimum amount of effort required by the athlete. The athletes should have agents the same as NFL, NBA, etc. Contracts will be fully negotiated with relatively rigid terms and conditions with regards to breaking the contract. Legal action to include the promoter and their agents will be strong deterrents. I assume the legal action would be to recover all or the pro-rata portion is the promoter decides to jump ship before the contract is fulfilled. I can see a fire storm of legal action in the next few years. This is where the schools/Athletic Depts will have leverage in attempting to maintain some (a small portion) of control. It's going to interesting. The innocent college athlete no longer exist.
BTW: If there are legal issues with tying money to a particular school then I assume this can be washed over by the fact that the Client is third party and has no legal representation of the school. I cannot say whether spelling out the school to be attended would cross the line but I'm certain a room full of lawyers will be a way to tie it down.
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Thank you. So you’re saying the donors can take back the NIL if the athlete switches from OU to another school to protect their investment, right. And that wouldn’t be a NCAA violation because there was no requirement for the athlete to go to OU. I appreciate your input.
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What I'm saying is the donors would include terms and conditions to recover their investment money in the event of a breach of contract, i.e. transferring to another school. We can assume there would be very clear wording and signed acknowledgement by the athlete that he fully understands the terms and conditions. Since OU is not a party to the NIL I would believe the donors could stipulate that all terms and conditions apply to attending OU.
So there is a stipulation in the NIL that the athlete would have to attend OU to get the NIL benefit and that’s not a NCAA violation. Great. Thank you, Scottsdale. I appreciate the clarification. Boomer!
Keep in mind that this is based on my understanding of the NIL judgment and the many discussions I have had on the subject in the last few months. I can honestly say I saw this coming long ago.
High schoolers (mostly foreign/international) were being paid as track and field stars for many years but their amateur status was protected by controls to insure all proceeds went towards expenses.