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Show me the money: Rev share now central to every Purdue recruiting pitch

On3 imageby: Tom Dienhart9 hours agoTomDienhart1

Academics? Scheme? Weight room? Those all matter to varying degrees to recruits. But one thing they all wanna see: Money.

“I will tell you, from a head coaching standpoint, it is not ‘I wonder if the conversation is going to be brought up about rev share,’ ” said Purdue coach Barry Odom. “It’s every single conversation.”

It’s blunt. It’s to the point. It’s the way of the college football world in 2025. And Purdue swears its wallet is as fat as any school’s.

“We have everything that we need in order to compete with the best of the best,” said G.M. Brandon Lee. “Not only in our conference, but across the country, as well.”

But, for Purdue, a player can’t be all about showing him the money.

“If that’s the only thing that a prospect is worried about, Purdue’s not the right fit for them, OK” said Odom. “It’s not how we’re structuring the program. That’s certainly part of it, and a big part of it.”

Still, cash often is the conversation starter.

“Most times, you can’t even start recruiting the kid until you give an offer to them from a rev share perspective, and talk through our resources in a way that we’ll support them throughout their NIL experience,” said Lee. “So, every conversation, whether it’s a high school kid, they’re class of 2026, ’27, some even ’28 and then obviously in the transfer portal, as well, every single conversation starts with an offer.”

No doubt, Purdue’s fat stack helped line up the group of 21 players who signed with Purdue today as part of the 2026 recruiting class. It’s a collection of players that Rivals/On3 rank No. 14 in the Big Ten.

The highlights of the class are two Signing Days flips: DB Jett Goldsberry from Ole Miss and DL Josiah Hope from Louisville. Hope is the highest rated signee, while Goldsberry–the son of former Purdue FB Jon Goldsberry–is No. 2.

“He’s explosive, is a special player,” Odom said of Goldsberry. “And for us to be able to keep him in state and be part of who we are going forward. We’re excited about the versatility he has, the playmaking skills he has, and the way he plays the game.”

Hope was committed to Purdue before flipping to U of L. The Boiler staff stayed on him.

“I think at the end of the day, that helped us, because we stayed true to everything that we talked about …,” said Odom, who noted 17 of the 21 signees will arrive early.

Odom and Co., now must focus on roster retention, as well as the portal.

“We can’t reach out to those guys yet, because January 2 is when the portal officially opens,” said Odom. “So, again, there will be so many things and moving parts here, later this afternoon, tomorrow, the next three weeks, whatever that looks like, we will be very, very aggressive at every position on trying to find a way to build the roster to help us win in 2026.”

And when it comes to building that roster coming off a 2-10 (0-9 Big Ten) season, Odom reiterates that he’s equipped with the resources he needs.

“We’ll be as competitive as anyone,” he said. “But if you’re just chasing money, if you’re just chasing what that looks like, you’re going to live a life full of unhappiness, and you’ll never be developed the way that you should.

“You’ll never reach the opportunities that exist through the process of working to be your best in every area and then the gratification of winning games together with a group of guys that are like-minded. There’s no feeling like it.”

More: Purdue football National Signing Day tracker | GoldandBlack.com video: Purdue coach Barry Odom on 2026 recruiting class | Purdue flips DL Josiah Hope from Louisville | 2026 tight end Dream Rashad flips from Purdue to North Carolina | Purdue flips four-star safety Jett Goldsberry from Ole Miss | Takeaways from Purdue’s National Signing Day

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