How UGA is handling NIL ...

[WhosYourDawggy]

I rarely post paywall stuff, but I thought this was good from one of the pay sites. I suspect a lot of coaches are here now. Think about Lanning who had a Insta pic where he jumped in a pool with a kid who then recommitted 17 days later. At some point, the good coaches and programs are going to say, enough:

WHAT IS GEORGIA SELLING?

Let’s start here. What is Georgia selling to all these guys as they make their way to Athens on official visits?

Even dating back to G-Day and Scavenger Hunt visits, the messaging has been quite clear.

If you want a short-term NIL bag, Georgia is not the place for you. That’s not me saying that, that’s what Kirby Smart and the Bulldog coaches are saying.

From talking to some folks this spring, I think Smart has reached his wit’s end with all the NIL games. Not to say he’s not going to pay guys what they’re worth, because he is. But I think he’s had it with the games and demands from incoming freshmen. We saw hints of that this spring in all his “fire, passion, and energy” comments and we’re seeing it now too.

Georgia’s pitch to pretty much every position has become straightforward. They want prospects to come to Athens, be developed, and then go to the NFL and get your cash that way. The video of draft picks that the Bulldogs show on the scoreboard on Friday night is several minutes long, hammering home all the proof these prospects need.

I think now though, Smart has reached the point where that is more of a take it or leave it offer. If prospects don’t see the long-term vision Georgia has laid out, then Smart is fine turning his attention to prospects that do.

That pitch will hit with some kids. It won’t with others. But I believe Georgia is now at the point where they’re putting even more of an emphasis on landing those prospects who see the development and the draft as their path to, as Jireh Edwards put it last time I talked to him, “generational wealth.”

 

[cwerph]

There are places where this works. Ohio State's first comment to kids is, "Ohio State isn't for everyone." They've missed on several 5* OT's for this very reason. They pay kids a reasonable amount up front because they have to. Kids who stay and develop into starters get paid, but OSU doesn't put the cart before the horse.

I imagine that Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Texas, etc. take similar approaches with few exceptions.

Then, you have places where they buy entire classes because they can't get kids to play there any other way, and it seldom works. I won't throw any stones, but there are quite a few examples.

 

[NinerSpartan]

Georgia is selling the only thing Athens, GA can sell: Crack cocaine.

and it's a big hit. It has taken the Dawgs to the mountain top.

 

[cwerph]

Georgia is selling the only thing Athens, GA can sell: Crack cocaine.

and it's a big hit. It has taken the Dawgs to the mountain top.

That, and high-speed driving courses.

 

[fordman84]

That, and high-speed driving courses.

Is it true all incoming freshmen get a "Tuna, no crust" tattoo on their first day of camp?

 

[Wild Turkey]

Right now it’s the wild Wild West and I’d say at least 70% if not 80% of players are taking the best deal on the table or getting their preferred school to match.

The other 20% to 30% is a mix of kids that grew up wanting to play for a party program, want to be close to home, truly looking for the best fit and development opportunity or are driven by the challenge to play at the highest level they possibly can get a spot in.

We are at the point that once you get past 5 and 4 stars high school kids are struggling to find spots because teams are hitting the portal to fill needs and players already in college are looking to move up and collect bigger checks.

It’s worse in basketball where the norm now is to only sign 1 or 2 high school players and fill rosters strictly out of the portal.

Until things change we live in a world where college athletics is just one big auction house with players putting themselves on the block like prize cattle.

 

[Wild Turkey]

BTW Kirby can claim whatever he wants but he is paying the 5 stars to take visits and he is participating in bidding wars period. They all are.

 

[Deep Creek]

Then, you have places where they buy entire classes because they can't get kids to play there any other way, and it seldom works. I won't throw any stones, but there are quite a few examples.

Yep. If a school ain’t one of the biggies and don’t have a chance at grabbing the top talent out if high school with just name and reputation, they have to try something else. And some efforts have blown up in their faces.

 

[TaikoTiger]

Welcome to the club Kirby

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

BTW Kirby can claim whatever he wants but he is paying the 5 stars to take visits and he is participating in bidding wars period. They all are.

No one said he wasn't. Clearly, the excerpt said he is paying the kids. Look, this isn't a "UGA isn't paying players" post. We are all-in on RevShare and NIL. If it is norm to pay 5* to visit, we are paying 5* to visit. We are probably top 5 or 6 on pay-for-play NIL. This is more of a "how it's used" and a look inside the strategy of how one program is handling this. I can tell you 100% we are targeting players closer to home, especially in-state kids. And he has made it clear publically that he is looking more for culture and kids that want NIL to be for that not to be the total driving factor. We've had more players drafted in the past 5 years, so he has the ability to show them that if they buy in and are good, they can make a ton in the NFL.

 

[Thiefery]

No one said he wasn't. Clearly, the excerpt said he is paying the kids. Look, this isn't a "UGA isn't paying players" post. We are all-in on RevShare and NIL. If it is norm to pay 5* to visit, we are paying 5* to visit. We are probably top 5 or 6 on pay-for-play NIL. This is more of a "how it's used" and a look inside the strategy of how one program is handling this. I can tell you 100% we are targeting players closer to home, especially in-state kids. And he has made it clear publically that he is looking more for culture and kids that want NIL to be for that not to be the total driving factor. We've had more players drafted in the past 5 years, so he has the ability to show them that if they buy in and are good, they can make a ton in the NFL.

thank goodness my school doesn't have to stoop to paying for visits

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

Right now it’s the wild Wild West and I’d say at least 70% if not 80% of players are taking the best deal on the table or getting their preferred school to match.

The other 20% to 30% is a mix of kids that grew up wanting to play for a party program, want to be close to home, truly looking for the best fit and development opportunity or are driven by the challenge to play at the highest level they possibly can get a spot in.

We are at the point that once you get past 5 and 4 stars high school kids are struggling to find spots because teams are hitting the portal to fill needs and players already in college are looking to move up and collect bigger checks.

It’s worse in basketball where the norm now is to only sign 1 or 2 high school players and fill rosters strictly out of the portal.

Until things change we live in a world where college athletics is just one big auction house with players putting themselves on the block like prize cattle.

I think your numbers are way off - once you get out of the top X players, whatever X is, they are glad to get whatever they get. I guess there is a RevShare/NIL scale for players outside of X. I mean, the 1000th player in the country isn't demanding a certain amount of money. He's just glad to get a scholarship.

Let's look at numbers:

136 teams x 25 high school players each—3,400 high school players. I'm guessing 90% of them take what they can get. So that puts X at about 340 players who can make demands.

Now, those are the players who can be difference makers, and they will likely get spread out more. There was a time when Bama, UGA, and OSU basically took in 50% of the top 100. They can't afford that anymore.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

Yep. If a school ain’t one of the biggies and don’t have a chance at grabbing the top talent out if high school with just name and reputation, they have to try something else. And some efforts have blown up in their faces.

Yeah, UF, Miami, Louisville, ATM, UTjr are the ones that come to mind. UF has the pending lawsuit, we are all still laughing at ATM, and Miami keeps throwing out the money and ending up 10th-ish in the rankings. UTjr just paid a QB about 5 million and he left after 2 years. Ouch.

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

Welcome to the club Kirby

View attachment 137266

Not even close.

That said, his idea of telling a recruit they can't take visits after committing is starting to catch on. But, it's all related to money. These top players - Cantwell, Curtis, Bowman, are signing contracts and part of it, as I understand, is that they are stopping additional visits, etc. Basically, the schools aren't going to commit to that amount of money and let them walk away on the eve of NSD.

 

[Deep Creek]

Yeah, UF, Miami, Louisville, ATM, UTjr are the ones that come to mind. UF has the pending lawsuit, we are all still laughing at ATM, and Miami keeps throwing out the money and ending up 10th-ish in the rankings. UTjr just paid a QB about 5 million and he left after 2 years. Ouch.

Except for Louisville, the rest shouldn’t have to resort to chunking money to a grand level. Yeah, they have to be “in the game” but it isn’t like they are a NC State or Kansas State.

 

[TaikoTiger]

Not even close.

They have more in common than you want to believe

First Kirby wants to steal Dabo's Little Ole Georgia "Nobody believed. Nobody gave us a chance" saga
And now taking notes word for word on how to deal with today's NIL

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

They have more in common than you want to believe

First Kirby wants to steal Dabo's Little Ole Georgia "Nobody believed. Nobody gave us a chance" saga
And now taking notes word for word on how to deal with today's NIL

I am not a Dabo-hater - he's a cornball and all, and the awe schucks thing is cringe, but he came on UGASports.com with Coach Donnan and it was a great interview. And, I think he is a good coach, obviously.

All coaches do the "everyone doubts us" routine. Goodness, Vince Dooley was a pro at it in the 70s and 80s.

There is nothing similar to what Smart is doing and Dabo is doing. Dabo killed his program for a decade by not being willing to take transfers, not letting players visit other schools, and not being willing to process players, etc. Smart has done all that and more. All Smart is doing is saying, we will pay you, but we won't be getting into a bidding situation and if all you are looking for is NIL we aren't for you. It's the same approach all the top programs are starting to use because they can.

 

[NewPhoneWhoDis]

Personally -- I think the top recruits are the one's getting crazy dollar figures thrown at them, especially if you play a premium position. I'd say the 5 star recruits and maybe another 20 or so after them.

I think the guys in the top 100ish are getting nice offers, but nothing crazy, but the parity comes in, when a school who wouldn't have a shot at the kid offers him more than anyone else. Schools like Tennessee and Miami have been doing this alot with recruits.

There are pro's and con's of the NIL. The top teams are still going to be the top teams. They just need to come up with some sort of rules of guidelines for teams to follow and they need to do the same for the transfer portal, so kids aren't going to 4 diffferent schools in 4 years.

 

[TaikoTiger]

I am not a Dabo-hater - he's a cornball and all, and the awe schucks thing is cringe, but he came on UGASports.com with Coach Donnan and it was a great interview. And, I think he is a good coach, obviously.

All coaches do the "everyone doubts us" routine. Goodness, Vince Dooley was a pro at it in the 70s and 80s.

There is nothing similar to what Smart is doing and Dabo is doing. Dabo killed his program for a decade by not being willing to take transfers, not letting players visit other schools, and not being willing to process players, etc. Smart has done all that and more. All Smart is doing is saying, we will pay you, but we won't be getting into a bidding situation and if all you are looking for is NIL we aren't for you. It's the same approach all the top programs are starting to use because they can.

Killing the program by winning two national titles, things could be a lot worst
But I'm glad Kirby is able to follow in his footsteps and do the same

 

[WhosYourDawggy]

Killing the program by winning two national titles, things could be a lot worst
But I'm glad Kirby is able to follow in his footsteps and do the same

You can put your head in the sand all you want, but it's been seven years. Clemson's failure to compete has been a self-inflicted wound. He got stubborn and didn't change until he was forced to. Everyone knows this. It's not some secret.

Look at your losses each year since the NC:

2018 - 0 NC
1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4

That's a trend that is directly related to the fact that he wouldn't play the NIL/transfer portal game that you have to play today. Just spitting facts here. You should be glad that he's coming around to the way the great coaches, like Smart, are doing it.