Jim Harbaugh has served his three-game suspension and now is back to being the full-time coach at the University of Michigan. In a press conference discussing the win over Ohio State, Harbaugh made it clear he is willing to take less money if it means players get paid more.
Jim Harbaugh: "For the players to be compensated, I'm using my voice. And yeah, I would take less money for the players to have a share. And I would hope other coaches would use their voice to express the same thing."
— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) November 26, 2023
Jim Harbaugh Wants His Players To Profit
Harbaugh wants to make sure that the players are getting a piece of the pie even if it means him taking less.
“As I’ve said, there’s a lot of people profiting. Coaches are profiting millions, and I’ve had people tell me, ‘Don’t say anything about that, that’ll take away money for the coaches.’ What I’ve been able to do is donate money back to the athletic department, which I did in 2021. But yeah, I would, for the players to be to be compensated. I’m using my voice and I would take less money for the players to have a share.”
The NIL landscape has changed college football. Programs have to be able to attract players with money as well as program prestige and the coach. Harbaugh recognizes that and is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
A New Landscape
Whether you like it or not, this is the college football landscape. Programs that do not have a robust NIL structure in place will fall behind. Deion Sanders spoke after his team’s last game and requested more money from donors. Why? Because Colorado doesn’t get better unless the money stays strong. In order for Michigan to stay on top, they need to make sure their NIL offerings are some of the best in college football.
Jim Harbaugh may or may not be at Michigan next year. The pending NCAA investigation makes the future murky but it seems clear that both Jim Harbaugh and the university want everything to stay the same. Harbaugh has brought this team back to prominence and the school would like to keep it that way.