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Big Ten Variances in NIL

+8 HS
huffdaddy's picture
February 15, 2024 at 1:58pm
32 Comments

I thought this was interesting in gauging the marketplace - Bruce Feldman reported in The Athletic that UCLA had fallen way behind in the NIL race - "some schools" have a war chest "well into the 8 figures" and UCLA had less than 7 figures.

https://theathletic.com/5270200/2024/02/12/ucla-deshaun-foster-coach-hire/ ($$)

Then, on his podcast with Stewart Mandel, he said, "I was told there is one conference school at $20 million." Mandel asked if that means they literally are spending $20 million on the current roster + recruits and Feldman said yes. Feldman did not disclose the school but Mandel went on to talk about OSU and Oregon (the likely ones that might be at that level). 

Mandel said that he does not believe that schools will be able to raise that kind of money year after year - he said, basically, he could see boosters ponying up for one big push at a championship, but he is skeptical that they have the ability to keep raising that each year. (I would argue that Phil Knight absolutely can keep doing that if he wants to). 

So - the conference ranges from UCLA at sub-7 figures, where recruits would ask to talk about money, and the coaches would say: there isn't any. To some number of schools at 10mm+ per year. To at least one school at 20mm (which may be where OSU is). 

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