It is window dressing that I would bet people on the inside see as straining out gnats but swallowing camels. I would be shocked if they are laying off anyone who has a salary that would actually move the needle. Either that or the AD has become so bloated that these are obvious lay offs and there will be no negative impacts. My guess is they are being liberal with the definition of "senior staff" too.
If you look at the titles of the individuals who have been confirmed to be laid off, then it’s clear that this did in fact include senior staff.
So far, we know the following were laid off:
- Exec Deputy AD & COO
- Deputy AD/External Relations & Business Development
- Assoc. AD/Branding, Creative & Communication
- Deputy AD
- Assistant AD/NIL
- Director/Football Technology
For context, at UK, the salary for the Deputy AD is $275K. Then you have benefits and employer share of payroll taxes on top of that, so these weren’t simply lower cost roles that were cut.
@JHB4UK is correct in his understanding of what’s happening here. This isn’t about NIL, it’s about preparing for a future when the schools will be paying athletes directly.
There are ongoing legal battles that may result in schools paying athletes, plus the state of California has been working on a bill that would require schools to share revenue with student athletes. Keep in mind that the reason NIL exists today is because California passed a state law banning NIL restrictions and then other states quickly followed suit.
It seems A&M is just trying to get ahead of things and realign their cost structure to a future where they may be paying athletes directly.