Four star WR getting $250K per year. And so on. Worded carefully to avoid blatantly buying players for Enormous U – but buying players nonetheless. Stewart Mandel reviewed actual NIL deals.
Paywall
I think the market will “rationalize” for football over the course of the next few years as the buyers get more experience with the hazards of paying big bucks to young guys who may or may not produce on the field. Paying a back up receiver $250k a year in NIL money will leave a sour taste in the mouth of even the most ardent booster.
Smart buyers will probably try to build in “option years” into NIL deals, and/or get creative about escalators in the deals (bonus money if buyer exercises right to use NIL the week before and after or the day of a conference championship game or a bowl game, week of the NFL draft, bonus money for any new commercial ads created after regular season ends for a few examples).
@nlrbuzzard I agree with your assessment. How this affects the locker room is another factor. It’s a potential minefield for coaches having kids beating out other with big NIL deals. Gonna be interesting.
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I agree. The market will self correct. If the guesses that the $8 million QB is the kid who committed to Tennessee are correct, and he stinks or gets benched, some people are gonna be really upset.
It’s just like an endorsement for a pro athlete. If Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes started playing terribly they wouldn’t keep the State Farm gig.
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But they had to produce BEFORE they got that money. The NIL deals are often speculative.
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why do we never hear who these players are???
Also true. Although there have been some deals that weren’t. Michael Jordan signed his big Nike deal before he ever went through a Bulls practice. Same with Tiger Woods out of Stanford.
Is there a Razorback collective? If so where do I sign up?
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What’s not being said is that the people handing out the NIL money to these young men are probably the same people that were giving others money under the table for years.
So now these boosters get to give this money out legally and write it off as advertising. The Texas A$M NIL money is nothing new…its just legal now.
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Hang tight. It is coming. Something will be announced in the not too distant future. Thanks
So has anyone actually seen one of these NIL contracts. To interpret the language in same, assuming they may have performance or even popularity clauses.
The Athletic has seen and reviewed some of the deals.
It would be interesting, I agree. Remove the names and dollar figures and see what else is in there.
Smart business people will have exit clauses. But I imagine some of these folks are “star struck” and will not be as careful. It’s going to be interesting to see some of the potential issues.
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