While NIL deals continue to take the college football world by storm, many remain skeptical of the true impact the deals can have.
In just a short period of time, four notable players have announced they would redshirt this season and then transfer out of the program. The most notable being former five-star recruit Bear Alexander, who signed with Georgia before transferring to USC. In order to qualify for a redshirt, players must play four or less games, making this week and next prime time for redshirts.
While much of the redshirt and transfer craze has involved playing time, a large portion of it is also due to the financial implications of playing college football. Some players do not have the same NFL hopes as other stars, and are simply looking to set themselves up for the future while they can.
However, other players feel they are worth a certain amount just to be on the field due to what they can offer a team. The clash of these two dynamics has led to an interesting issue, which many feel is only going to continue to become more of a problem.
What Has Gone Wrong With College Football NIL Deals Early On?
An NIL collective leader for the Big Ten Conference who chose to remain anonymous stated, “It is very rare that the collectives are making any decisions, it’s the coaching staff.” On3 reported Pete Nakos sat down with the collective leader to speak about the issues that the NIL deals have currently posed.
The leader stated, “The collectives are doing what they can,” in reference to the current issues of payments allegedly never being made.
In reference to who decides the payment amounts and how players have become disgruntled, the leader brings attention to the coaching staff.
Many college football coaches have a portion of the staff carved out for recruiting and now some have added a portion for NIL deals. In many cases, the head coach is the person deciding who should get paid what, along with what they are willing to pay for various positions and needs.
The leader states, “They’re [Collectives] overpaying in many instances because the coaching staffs are like, ‘We got to get this guy, and we don’t care what it costs us. It’s not our problem.’ It’s just a massively inefficient system.”
Often times, the coaches find players they feel would be game-changers, but rather than fighting through the recruiting process, some coaches are placing the work in the hands of the collectives. Coaches are not responsible for the valuation of recruits, but rather the collectives are. Yet, the coaches remain in charge of how much money is spent and who the money is spent on.
This odd dynamic has caused both players receiving limited NIL funds despite massive valuations, and players receiving far more than their valuation calls for.
The college football landscape continues to become altered due to NIL deals as college football coaches seem to mismanage funds. It is a back-and-forth issue as collectives blame college football coaches, and college football coaches blame collectives for misuse of funds.
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