The B10's Weaponization of clean cash is shifting power dynamics from south to north

[Deep Creek]

I definitely agree NIL has leveled the playing field, talent is chasing the money as much as they are chasing the ring (and under the table money). All the top NIL schools right now have been paying players under the table, but now that the numbers are in the open that has created an arms-race.

I'm not so sure it will. At least not completely.

I went to the monthly meeting our Merrill Lynch group has. I sat with three old Sooners. Two of the three were saying they can't see them returning to their former glory because "they just don't have the money A&M and Texas do"! The third guy still thinks OU can because they "aren't that far behind" the others.

We'll see how all this plays out.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

The big state schools have plenty of cash. I wouldn't worry about that much.

You're right about other smaller schools that have boosters that desperately want to compete (SMU is a good example). They can pool together funds to compete with the big boys. But, they need the infrastructure in place to succeed. They can spend all the money in the world on good players, but if the coach, scheme, facilities, etc., are sub par, they won't win anything consistently.


Aggie certainly has the cash

But do they?

Like, if billionaires start getting behind schools do teams have a chance to compete with NIL contracts against billionaires?

 

[fishinabarrel]

Probably has less to do with "wealthy fanbases" and more to do with "wealthy, hungry, rabid fanbases". I'd put USC in this category. They have plenty of wealthy alum, but do they have wealthy alum that are obsessed? not so sure.

Yeah, every large fan base has wealthy patrons. Yes there are some with super wealthy but those guys are not going to continually just hand out checks to the football program. To the university? Yes, but not specifically to football.

 

[fishinabarrel]

But do they?

Like, if billionaires start getting behind schools do teams have a chance to compete with NIL contracts against billionaires?

I know you really want this to happen bc scUM has a couple of them, but these guys aren't going to do that year after year

 

[fordman84]

But do they?

Like, if billionaires start getting behind schools do teams have a chance to compete with NIL contracts against billionaires?

as soon as billionaires see little return on investment, billionaires will regulate themselves.

 

[Thiefery]

my ou amigos.. might be time to see if you can go to the BiG so you can get in on some of that money...

 

[fordman84]

I know you really want this to happen bc scUM has a couple of them, but these guys aren't going to do that year after year

People who get ultra-wealthy didn't do so by throwing good money at bad products.

 

[Thiefery]

as soon as billionaires see little return on investment, billionaires will regulate themselves.

most like their names on buildings.. think they will get tired of donating for roster additions/retention

 

[Tharvot]

You can spend all the money in the world but that doesn't mean it's going to work all the time, when it comes to trying to buy a championship. The players who are only out there looking for the biggest bag a lot of the time end up being locker room cancers and pain in the asses. I think you have to find a nice balance in use of the portal and unloading a ton of NIL. Writing a check to everyone who will say yes is not a long term strategy.

Miami is one to watch as well. Lots of money and hungry to get back to the glory days.

Step 1 is the NIL money going to bring in a coach. Not easy to do...Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, etc don't exactly pop up all the time. But we saw UNC do this with BB. But it's not just one coach, you need a full stable. Ohio State for example has Chip Kelly as their OC and Jim Knowles in the booth as DC. Notre Dame has a stable of excellent coaches too.

With the coach(es) in place to cultivate the program, then you shift to recruiting to bring in the quality players. But coaches and program first, then you can pretty rapidly rebuild the talent on the field.

 

[osubuckeye89]

People who get ultra-wealthy didn't do so by throwing good money at bad products.

This is what some fans don't understand. If someone who doesn't ever give to your program otherwise writes a blank check for a player for you, you better hope it works the 1st time or it's likely not happening again. These people definitely are going to want good ROI.

 

[fordman84]

most like their names on buildings.. think they will get tired of donating for roster additions/retention

yeah and schools will run out of things to put names on just to get those big checks.

 

[fordman84]

Step 1 is the NIL money going to bring in a coach. Not easy to do...Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, etc don't exactly pop up all the time. But we saw UNC do this with BB. But it's not just one coach, you need a full stable. Ohio State for example has Chip Kelly as their OC and Jim Knowles in the booth as DC. Notre Dame has a stable of excellent coaches too.

With the coach(es) in place to cultivate the program, then you shift to recruiting to bring in the quality players. But coaches and program first, then you can pretty rapidly rebuild the talent on the field.

Well, you need to right big name coach. Just because they won a natty before doesn't mean they know how to run a program.

 

[Red_Alert]

You can spend all the money in the world but that doesn't mean it's going to work all the time, when it comes to trying to buy a championship. The players who are only out there looking for the biggest bag a lot of the time end up being locker room cancers and pain in the asses. I think you have to find a nice balance in use of the portal and unloading a ton of NIL. Writing a check to everyone who will say yes is not a long term strategy.

You also need a head coach that can put the pieces together and get players lined up right.

Every generation has 2-3 elite head coaches. With (GOAT) Saban out we are entering a new generation.

 

[fordman84]

This is what some fans don't understand. If someone who doesn't ever give to your program otherwise writes a blank check for a player for you, you better hope it works the 1st time or it's likely not happening again. These people definitely are going to want good ROI.

Granted there are some out there with "fuck you" money and are happy to write million dollar checks each year in order to get access to the team/locker room/ 50 yard line/ etc. But those are few and far between, and not enough to drive an entire NIL program.

 

[PeoplesChicken]

northwestern don't have wealthy fans that care about football.

They have very wealthy alumni

But that proves my point exactly. If it were simply about paying or paying more a program like Northwestern as an example would easily improve. But it's not a football school, and no one cares. The traditional powers? They are still the traditional powers. There is no leveling up

 

[Tharvot]

Well, you need to right big name coach. Just because they won a natty before doesn't mean they know how to run a program.

Exhibit A on "its not that easy"

 

[cwerph]

I didn't mean to infer "it's not fair to the SEC" just, IMO, the reason behind their stumbles as of late moreso than just "paying players"

scUM, Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, the Florida schools, ND et al have been paying players for years just like the SEC. You aren't going to convince me otherwise. You have to add something else into the equation.

As for ESPN railing against transfers, they can whine all they want should they choose, that box has been opened and it isn't closing. If anything, you might, MIGHT, see eventually some sort of limitations on additional transfers after the first.

How much was Ohio State paying players before NIL started? When did that start?

Just curious. It must have started with Urban Meyer because Terelle Pryor, #1 QB recruit in the country, was paid "so much" that he had to trade autographs and memorabilia for tattoos.

 

[Thiefery]

yeah and schools will run out of things to put names on just to get those big checks.

they will never run out of buildings, programs, fields, statues, etc for those big checks lol

maybe they should do naming rights for rosters?

"Welcome your 2026 fighting texas aggys powered by buccees!!!!"

 

[Tharvot]

How much was Ohio State paying players before NIL started? When did that start?

Just curious. It must have started with Urban Meyer because Terelle Pryor, #1 QB recruit in the country, was paid "so much" that he had to trade autographs and memorabilia for tattoos.

It's naïve to think big schools like Ohio State weren't paying for players in some way prior to NIL. I'm sure everyone was guilty of some rule breaking. I also think it's entirely possible the football crazy SEC fans could have been juicing it a bit more than other parts of the country.

In the end, I still say it was Saban being a generational coach, program builder, and recruiter. The rest of that conference changed and adapted quicker because they were forced to. Now that Saban is gone, the coaching talent is more dispersed, and the program funding is more even, its unlikely we will see a run from a single conference like that again until a new generational name comes in somewhere.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

No question the last couple years marked a shift north. And you could see that in the competitiveness of the SEC this year. Hell, even Notre Dame got in on the action. It's also no wonder Texas was able to get good very quickly in the NIL world and dominate the SEC in year 1.

When did that happen?

They didn't win the SEC. They played one SEC team that was ranked and lost to them twice. They beat 7 of the bottom 8 SEC teams. They were given the easiest schedule in the SEC.

Let's see how they "dominate" in 2026/2027 when they play OU, Bama, LSU, Ole Miss, Tenn, USCjr, Auburn, Missouri.

FWIW, I am not sure they ever see that schedule. The most Texas thing in the world will be when the SEC changes the schedule to a 1-7-7 format in 2026, and reshuffles and hopefully balances the schedules. There is no way to balance the schedules without letting TEX off the hook in those years.