During Big 12 College Football Media Days, Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy made a shocking remark about the consequences that Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon will face following a DUI and arrest last week in Oklahoma.
The consequence: nothing.
Given Gordon’s accolades and his being one of the most known players in the Big 12, he became the topic of conversation around the Oklahoma State program. Coach Mike Gundy shared the following remarks:
“Because of collectives, these guys that are playing college football are employees, whether you like it or not…There’s large sums of money involved. That’s the way it’s gonna be going forward.
“I made a decision. I felt like he really understood how serious this was. Just like bringing him out here (to Big 12 media days), he needed to come out here and face the music. There’s no reason to put him in hiding.”
Do Coaches Have Control of Their Programs?
While Gundy’s other comments garnered much more attention (e.g., admitting he has drunk and driven 1,000 times), what should be discussed is how coaches no longer seem to be able to control punishment and suspensions on a team.
Gundy is right; because of NIL and collectives, coaches can’t suspend a player for a game or two anymore. If they do, they will have to deal with the NIL and collectives who are paying millions of dollars to these players to play, and ultimately win. This is new to sports because players are paid through the league in other sports and then do NIL on the side. The NIL isn’t necessarily dependent on performance; it is often a result of past performance. Otherwise, Peyton Manning would never be in another commercial.
For example, Steph Curry appears in many commercials, but his value to a company doesn’t go down if he starts to play poorly or gets suspended. His NIL is based on what he has already done on the court.
In the case of Ollie Gordon, his NIL deals are given not based on what he has done but rather on what donors are hoping he will do this upcoming season. This puts universities and coaches in a spot we’ve never seen at any level of sports.
Admin’s Son Comparision
The closest comparison that I can think of with the power that NIL has over players is those high school players who happen to be the principal or school administrator’s son or daughter. If you played high school sports, you probably could think of an athlete who seemed to get unwarranted playing time or a preferred position because one of the parents was a school board member or the school principal.
The coach feels an obligation to play them because if they don’t, it will make their “bosses” mad, which could lead to a firing the second things don’t go well. The administrator or principal may say “Don’t play them if they don’t deserve it.” but it doesn’t change the fact that coaches still feel obligated to give them preferential treatment.
That is what is happening with Mike Gundy. If Gundy were to suspend Gordon and then Gordon were to go on and not win the Doak Walker Award again, donors could point the finger at Gundy and blame him. Many of the big NIL donors are the same donors who help pay for Gundy’s contract.
You can see how this is all connected now.
What’s Next?
Ollie Gordon is the first big example of a huge player making a mistake and the coach having no control over the consequences. At the end of the day, NIL sponsors don’t care about suspending a player; they want the team to win. Sponsors, for the most part, particularly from collectives, are somewhat anonymous.
Other big-time players may see this and start to believe that they can start to get away with breaking team rules or even getting in trouble with the law and not face an on-the-field consequence. Compare it to the big-time NFL players who skip mandatory practices because they know at the end of the day, they’ll get a slap on the wrist and still start when the season comes around. Remember, these are primarily 18-22 year olds who like to push the limits.
If there was ever more evidence for college football to get more organized and have a commissioner who could lay out rules for the entire league, it is now.
