Newsletter #154: NIL In, Coaching Legends Out? NIL Transforming the Coaching Landscape + ICYMI
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for student athletes, administrators, agents and other sport professionals.
Will NIL Changes Push Out the College Greats?
Last week, Baylor AD Rhoades came forward with a prediction- “I think we will have coaches, if things don’t correct themselves, in the future that are going to get out . . . it’s just not what anyone signed up for.” (link) Though a scary possibility for some of the college powerhouse teams like Georgia or Alabama, Rhoades’s comment is not baseless.
It is no secret that NIL has changed college sports in countless ways. While the opportunity for college athletes to make money is celebrated by coaches and players alike, this opportunity has created challenge upon challenge for college coaches—something that, as Rhoades said, no one signed up for.
One of these changes has been the swarm of players to the transfer portal. Currently, there are more than 1,300 men’s basketball players in the transfer portal, changing the game for college coaches. (link) As one ACC coach said, “With the ability to go into the portal and get an experienced college player, I’m less likely to wait for a high school player to develop.” A Big12 coach also commented on the effects of the transfer portal, stating that the team could not build anything stable due to a lack of retention. (link)
University of Georgia, back-to-back National Champion, Head Coach Kirby Smart further expressed the challenge that the transfer portal and NIL have posed for college football staff. According to Smart, the ability for players to explore and take advantage of options at other institutions has changed the dynamic between coaches and players. Now, much more energy must go towards trying to maintain your roster, rather than recruiting to it. (link) That said, when the energy does shift to recruiting, the conversation no longer revolves around how great of a player someone is, but rather if the player is first willing to put aside money to pursue something greater. Reflecting on his past rosters, Smart is skeptical that he will be able to find the same type of growth or hunger needed for a national championship team, as players will feel that they’ve already “made it.” (link)
Smart’s opinion is not an uncommon one. Several other prominent figures in college coaching have criticized the current NIL landscape, equating it to the wild west. Penn State HC James Franklin and Missouri HC Drinkwitz are just a few of many who have come forward highlighting the need for more regulations to make NIL work. (link)(link) Similarly, Alabama’s HC Nick Saban has been a trailblazer in the fight for change, highlighting that some states and schools are investing a lot more money than others which will create a real competitive disadvantage in the future. (link) UAB HC Trent Dilfer backed this point in a recent interview, explaining that he is not competing against schools like Tulane for retention, but rather the SEC schools who can offer a player $400,000 where he can only offer $50,000. (link)
The sentiment from college coaches is clear: although they might support the opportunity for their athletes to make money, the uncultivated nature of NIL has put a strain on recruiting, coaching, and team-building alike. Whether AD Rhoades’s prediction will ring true likely depends on how quickly positive regulatory changes can be made in NIL. Though college greats like Nick Saban have been the leaders for change, it is likely that some lower-tier coaches will get out first, due to the inequalities that NIL has brought into the recruiting space. Without the necessary regulatory changes to NIL, those “college greats” may ride out on the coattails of the others who could no longer compete with the NIL challenges.
Disparity of State Laws in the SEC
The most recent point of contention in the SEC is the disparity in state NIL laws.
Some of which, according to Sports Illustrated’s Dellenger, shield their universities from punishment from the NCAA or SEC.
As Mississippi State President Keenum explains, “What NIL has become is Universities going out through their foundations and collectives and raising dollars to give to athletes. They’re just paying them to come play . . .”
Though the most recent strife, it is also something that college coaches and Commissioner Sankey have warned about.
Commissioner Sankey, commenting on the recent strife says that this is “exactly what I warned about. Our states are making a mess of college athletics.”
These concerns are more far-reaching than just state tensions, however. UGA President Morehead worries that these direct payments will jeopardize student-athlete eligibility. As Morehead reasons, “If NIL payments come directly or indirectly from the institution, that sounds like an employment relationship.”
read more HERE
ICYMI Ticker
Construction on Nevada’s Lannes basketball building will begin in June and the Cashell Fieldhouse locker room project will finish this summer. a combined $7 million is still needed to complete the projects. (link)
New Orleans Athletics partnered with Influxer to provide Privateer student-athletes the opportunity to monetize through NIL. (link)
Influxer will also host a complete NIL merchandise store for the Privateer Student-athletes, featuring officially licensed apparel with their names and jersey numbers. (link)
In analyzing how athletes should navigate NIL, Altius Sports Partners Founder/CEO Casey Schwab describes a “three-mile trek.”
The first mile is the matchmaking process between student-athletes and businesses, the second mile is developing the campaign with the brand, and the third mile is educating the athletes. (link)