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Kentucky center: multi-million deal to return next season

I was one that didn't think that NIL would create million dollar paydays for athletes - boy was I wrong.

I'm trying to understand the "payors" in this new world. I am wondering how much money I would have to have to spend 6 or 7 figures on an athlete to play for my favorite school.

I've met a lot of very wealthy people in Iowa as a CPA - people that could "afford" to do something big - but no one that has the wealth AND the crazy passion for Iowa sports to write a huge check just so the team can win a few more games. IMO, for this to work in Iowa, it's going to take a well organized fund raising machine to to establish a fund for these NIL deals, but then who decides how it will be used? A committee??

And how much of the money that is raised will simply be diverted from the current donation flow to the U?

It is what it is (a term I hate). We'll see.
You run it like a collective ownership of a professional sports franchise.....
 
Besides the sky falling, what is your point? Facts. Give me 5 names of players that we’ve lost to other schools in FB or BB because they said they went there because of NIL. We just landed the best player in the state of Iowa in many years in FB. We did it so far without NIzl to my knowledge. Now there might be something moving forward, I have no idea. Caitlin Clark could have gone anywhere in the country, literally anywhere and she chose Iowa. Why?

Just to be clear, you don't think the amount of money some schools can offer will make any difference in recruiting? I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone come out and say they chose one school over another because they paid them more. Heck we rarely ever hear that in free agency in any professional sport.
 
Just to be clear, you don't think the amount of money some schools can offer will make any difference in recruiting? I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone come out and say they chose one school over another because they paid them more. Heck we rarely ever hear that in free agency in any professional sport.
For some kids yes. Point being the majority of kids w/their hands out we aren't recruiting anyway, are we? If a kid is a top 200 player overall in the country in FB (3 star, soft 4 star maybe) is there really a big incentive from Joe Blow alumni to offer him some kind of NIL deal? We go after guys that want to put in the work, we always have and always will as long as the current staff is here. And not only FB. Coach Cal has gotten the top recruiting class or top 5 class for as long as he's been at Kentucky. He's got 1 championship I believe. Before NIL he was getting anyone he wanted, along w/Duke. What's changed? The top 5 guy was still going to Kentucky. Now some dumb ass car dealer is going to give him a car for a year, or 2 years or whatever. What's the return on investment? I'm not sure there is any. Again, I'll go back to X from SE Polk. Could have gone anywhere in the country, including the OSU who has given out more NIL money than any school out there. He chose Iowa. Says something about his character to me.
 
I wonder about people that are willing to pay extremely large sums of money to get a player to play at their(?) school. Is it just a bunch of lame wannabees that can not get a real pro franchise of their own?
 
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NIL can even the playing field on recruiting, you just need to be willing to play that game. Case in point, Missouri and Kentucky ‘22 football recruiting classes. NIL money/promises were a big part of them getting the players they landed from the bog boys.
I can agree with you here on the football front. Iowa is setting up the FLIGHT program so they can manage this in an effective way. I still wonder what we could do with the I-80 Truckstop, Hy-Vee and other businesses in the state regarding NIL.
 
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For some kids yes. Point being the majority of kids w/their hands out we aren't recruiting anyway, are we?

Probably not, hopefully the coaches can find out which ones are just about the money.

If a kid is a top 200 player overall in the country in FB (3 star, soft 4 star maybe) is there really a big incentive from Joe Blow alumni to offer him some kind of NIL deal? We go after guys that want to put in the work, we always have and always will as long as the current staff is here. And not only FB. Coach Cal has gotten the top recruiting class or top 5 class for as long as he's been at Kentucky. He's got 1 championship I believe. Before NIL he was getting anyone he wanted, along w/Duke. What's changed? The top 5 guy was still going to Kentucky. Now some dumb ass car dealer is going to give him a car for a year, or 2 years or whatever. What's the return on investment? I'm not sure there is any.

The $EC has been buying players for a long time, it's now legal. I am going to be suspicious of any college coach who can seemingly get any recruit he wants.

Again, I'll go back to X from SE Polk. Could have gone anywhere in the country, including the OSU who has given out more NIL money than any school out there. He chose Iowa. Says something about his character to me.

Absolutely, and there will be exceptions. I do hope Xavier is able to make some money using his name and likeness, I'm not against it at all, being able to become a millionaire is what's over the top IMO. Going to college is supposed to help the kid with the next step in his/her life, not BE the step. I'd rather see our athletes be able to make money with their name instead of flipping burgers in the off season to make extra money.
 
So maybe I missed this in another thread and if so I apologize. The new 5 or 6 thousand dollars a year that the players are allowed to get for good grades I see Iowa has said they will be in on, which is great as we always have a pretty high grade point for the most part. Now I don't think that has anything to do w/NIL but that is a very big positive in my opinion. I also saw that only like some 20 something of the current 130 or so teams playing D1 FB have said they will do it, which surprises me. That is a major plus for the Hawks in my opinion.
 
So maybe I missed this in another thread and if so I apologize. The new 5 or 6 thousand dollars a year that the players are allowed to get for good grades I see Iowa has said they will be in on, which is great as we always have a pretty high grade point for the most part. Now I don't think that has anything to do w/NIL but that is a very big positive in my opinion. I also saw that only like some 20 something of the current 130 or so teams playing D1 FB have said they will do it, which surprises me. That is a major plus for the Hawks in my opinion.

and now we'll see more UNC issues where someone else is doing the students work so they can stay eligible AND get some bonus cash.

at least now those doing the work for the players have some leverage on increasing their take ;)
 
As of the article posted in the OP, he hadn't decided on what he would do ...and there was no NIL deal actually signed (only one "multi-million" opportunity that his agent mentioned was on the table).

Any updates since then?

I'd imagine he'll still go thru a pre-draft camp in order to get feedback on his potential draft status?

If he comes back and gets this kind of money, good for him.

There are always outliers. Kentucky basketball, SEC football, among others will always have insane wealthy boosters willing to throw over-the-top $$ at a kid because they can.

I don't see how this particular NIL situation effects Iowa and how they will approach current players and recruits. Iowa will NEVER throw million$ at anyone ...and Iowa historically doesn't recruit/sign that type of player any way. It isn't going to start doing so with or without the NIL factor.
You're probably right on all accounts, but Iowa still has to compete in the same basketball atmosphere as the Kentuckys of the world and this just makes the gap much wider.
 
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You're probably right on all accounts, but Iowa still has to compete in the same basketball atmosphere as the Kentuckys of the world and this just makes the gap much wider.
Kentucky just lost to St Peters this year, the least funded school in the entire NCAA tournament. A school so poor they couldn't afford to send their cheerleaders to the 2nd round of the tournament. So for years we complained about schools cheating under the table and now we're complaining about them doing it in the open. Is what it is. We can and will still compete.
 
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It's great how you people can't make a logical argument, so instead resort to racism, the thing you spout off most about. You're just proving our point for us.
448x249px-LL-3dd0d362_what-do-you-mean-you-people-tropic-thunder-movie-1309633407.jpg
 
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I was one that didn't think that NIL would create million dollar paydays for athletes - boy was I wrong.

I'm trying to understand the "payors" in this new world. I am wondering how much money I would have to have to spend 6 or 7 figures on an athlete to play for my favorite school.

I've met a lot of very wealthy people in Iowa as a CPA - people that could "afford" to do something big - but no one that has the wealth AND the crazy passion for Iowa sports to write a huge check just so the team can win a few more games. IMO, for this to work in Iowa, it's going to take a well organized fund raising machine to to establish a fund for these NIL deals, but then who decides how it will be used? A committee??

And how much of the money that is raised will simply be diverted from the current donation flow to the U?

It is what it is (a term I hate). We'll see.
Whats happening right now was the reason it was always against the rules.

I honestly don't understand how people didn't understand this was going to happen.

And its going to be more and more lucrative once larger businesses get into it.

The inevitable conclusion is the end of college sports as we know it.
 
Whats happening right now was the reason it was always against the rules.

I honestly don't understand how people didn't understand this was going to happen.

And its going to be more and more lucrative once larger businesses get into it.

The inevitable conclusion is the end of college sports as we know it.
I guess we will see.
 
You're amazing. You can tell the color of someone's skin by reading text. Must be posting from your yacht.............FI.
This is such a strange exchange, lol … he assumes you’re old and White for not liking NIL, so you assume … he has a yacht?

And I assume you’re both dudes?!?!
 
Wait, why should he not be able to profit off himself while he's in college? You don't seriously believe in the 1950s version of amateur sports, right? Lol.
Definitely gonna be the Wild West for a while.
If the schools have zero to do with an athlete capitalizing on their ability to make an income, I’m all for it and who wouldn’t be?
On the flip, when the NIL income is being made and if the college is used as a catalyst for that said income, the player should have to pay royalties on any profiteering off owned logos or likeness as well.
The question I have as a fan is what happens when NIL donors start back door influencing lineups?
When big donors that have or do annually donate to institutions also get into the NIL game and use their donation money to the Institution as a sort of leverage to ‘influence’ say the athletic departments or coaches to play certain players, a form of tampering that definitely occur at those big wig dinners none of us will ever attend, is when things will get interesting.
Ex. If say a person that owns 20 car dealerships annually donates big cash to an athletic department also decides to invest NIL money into convincing a QB to attend their favorite college.
As part of that agreement or investment, the player just needs to agree to swing by a few of the dealerships now and again for some pics and a couple autographs. No big deal.
Then let’s say that player just doesn’t quite live up to expectations and is not delivering the W’s everyone hoped. The coaches then decided the backup gives the team a better chance to win and that 5 star is benched.
Anyone here that actually believes that car dealership big donor guy won’t have any influence in whispering to their trusty AD buddies that next years donation could teeter on if the coaches play or don’t play ‘their guy’ is extremely naive
Ya know kind of a real quid pro quo type deal.
C’mon maaan, as fans, do we want the best players on the field or the most expensive? ;)
 
Definitely gonna be the Wild West for a while.
If the schools have zero to do with an athlete capitalizing on their ability to make an income, I’m all for it and who wouldn’t be?
On the flip, when the NIL income is being made and if the college is used as a catalyst for that said income, the player should have to pay royalties on any profiteering off owned logos or likeness as well.
The question I have as a fan is what happens when NIL donors start back door influencing lineups?
When big donors that have or do annually donate to institutions also get into the NIL game and use their donation money to the Institution as a sort of leverage to ‘influence’ say the athletic departments or coaches to play certain players, a form of tampering that definitely occur at those big wig dinners none of us will ever attend, is when things will get interesting.
Ex. If say a person that owns 20 car dealerships annually donates big cash to an athletic department also decides to invest NIL money into convincing a QB to attend their favorite college.
As part of that agreement or investment, the player just needs to agree to swing by a few of the dealerships now and again for some pics and a couple autographs. No big deal.
Then let’s say that player just doesn’t quite live up to expectations and is not delivering the W’s everyone hoped. The coaches then decided the backup gives the team a better chance to win and that 5 star is benched.
Anyone here that actually believes that car dealership big donor guy won’t have any influence in whispering to their trusty AD buddies that next years donation could teeter on if the coaches play or don’t play ‘their guy’ is extremely naive
Ya know kind of a real quid pro quo type deal.
C’mon maaan, as fans, do we want the best players on the field or the most expensive? ;)
You don't think that hasn't been going on forever in the South? Obviously certain coaches like Saban can go tell those guys to F off and he's going to play who he's going to play. Pretty sure Kirk would do the same w/as long as he's been here. Big boosters have been trying to make themselves important as long as I've been alive. Under the table or above the table what does it matter? Boosters help get coaches fired all the time. Been happening forever.
 
Just to be clear, you don't think the amount of money some schools can offer will make any difference in recruiting? I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone come out and say they chose one school over another because they paid them more. Heck we rarely ever hear that in free agency in any professional sport.
Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Money talks in this world whether anyone comes right out and says it or not. The reason I loved college basketball was the illusion of all teams playing by the same rules. Obviously some, and it's usually the ones at the top of the heap, decided they were above having to play by NCAA regulations, and when they were caught, the sanctioning body didn't seem to have the stomach actually enforce their own rules against the bluebloods. Now, those same schools can make their own rules and thumb their noses at the NCAA and the rest of us, who actually believe in the concept of amateur athletics, will just slide down the totem pole until college basketball is just like football, with only a small handful of teams actually contending for the championship every year.
 
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Definitely gonna be the Wild West for a while.
If the schools have zero to do with an athlete capitalizing on their ability to make an income, I’m all for it and who wouldn’t be?
On the flip, when the NIL income is being made and if the college is used as a catalyst for that said income, the player should have to pay royalties on any profiteering off owned logos or likeness as well.
The question I have as a fan is what happens when NIL donors start back door influencing lineups?
When big donors that have or do annually donate to institutions also get into the NIL game and use their donation money to the Institution as a sort of leverage to ‘influence’ say the athletic departments or coaches to play certain players, a form of tampering that definitely occur at those big wig dinners none of us will ever attend, is when things will get interesting.
Ex. If say a person that owns 20 car dealerships annually donates big cash to an athletic department also decides to invest NIL money into convincing a QB to attend their favorite college.
As part of that agreement or investment, the player just needs to agree to swing by a few of the dealerships now and again for some pics and a couple autographs. No big deal.
Then let’s say that player just doesn’t quite live up to expectations and is not delivering the W’s everyone hoped. The coaches then decided the backup gives the team a better chance to win and that 5 star is benched.
Anyone here that actually believes that car dealership big donor guy won’t have any influence in whispering to their trusty AD buddies that next years donation could teeter on if the coaches play or don’t play ‘their guy’ is extremely naive
Ya know kind of a real quid pro quo type deal.
C’mon maaan, as fans, do we want the best players on the field or the most expensive? ;)
The other part of this is there is a limited amount of money that dealership owner is willing to spend on athletics each year. Given it is a fixed amount I would imagine any money spent on NIL is money that is not going to be donated to the school. Long term this will hurt programs as the money is tied up in a couple of stars instead of being used on capital improvements, coaching salaries, etc. that will improve the overall team/school.
 
Just to be clear, you don't think the amount of money some schools can offer will make any difference in recruiting? I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone come out and say they chose one school over another because they paid them more. Heck we rarely ever hear that in free agency in any professional sport.
HUH? You don't think the majority of pro athletes make their decisions based on finances?
 
HUH? You don't think the majority of pro athletes make their decisions based on finances?
I believe he's saying they don't come out and admit that's why they signed. Most say they love the city, the team, etc. How many guys have you ever heard at a press conference say they signed for the money, even though the majority of them do?
 
I believe he's saying they don't come out and admit that's why they signed. Most say they love the city, the team, etc. How many guys have you ever heard at a press conference say they signed for the money, even though the majority of them do?
Gotcha
I wonder if some college kids will be signing an nda with their nil!
 
gee, who foresaw NIL being a shitshow because the NCAA has no idea what the hell they're doing?
 
Long term, a school like Iowa is going to have a pretty massive advantage in this space. The B1G is the richest conference and just the media payouts alone will be able to run the athletic department starting in ‘23. The real question here is whether the ossified leadership here will be aggressive in playing its hand with the advantages.

Schools can pretty much get as creative as they feel like because the NCAA knows that it can’t even enforce blatant pay for play without getting into, paying for, and losing a massive lawsuit. Iowa could be a title contender in short order if they want to innovate in this space.

They really don’t even have to get on the bad side of the NCAA or B1G to do well with it. You just have to get a trusted organization together with the big boosters, and find ways to funnel business support and small boosters into it. I think at a minimum, some school is going to throw out their seat donations in exchange for a NIL collective seat licensing for example. That would easily raise millions to pay players, and has proven sustainability.
 
Yes, that’s more than some first rounders will make next season. Kentucky will soon have a top 20 roster salary even for the NBA. Don’t forget Kentucky guard TyTy Washington got a free Porsche this season. How that is part of NIL is beyond me.
https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-...ltimillion-dollar-nil-deal-with-return-to-uk/
It’s now acting as a free and open market, meaning players are finally reaping the rewards of the value they bring to their institutions and the NCAA. BBN has a larger fan base than a handful of professional teams, pair that with some seriously wealthy alumni and it’s pretty easy to understand how they can pull this off.
 
Long term, a school like Iowa is going to have a pretty massive advantage in this space. The B1G is the richest conference and just the media payouts alone will be able to run the athletic department starting in ‘23. The real question here is whether the ossified leadership here will be aggressive in playing its hand with the advantages.

Schools can pretty much get as creative as they feel like because the NCAA knows that it can’t even enforce blatant pay for play without getting into, paying for, and losing a massive lawsuit. Iowa could be a title contender in short order if they want to innovate in this space.

They really don’t even have to get on the bad side of the NCAA or B1G to do well with it. You just have to get a trusted organization together with the big boosters, and find ways to funnel business support and small boosters into it. I think at a minimum, some school is going to throw out their seat donations in exchange for a NIL collective seat licensing for example. That would easily raise millions to pay players, and has proven sustainability.
The current rules prohibit the schools from being involved in NIL payouts so none of the Big bump in media revenues can be funneled to players.
Those funds support the entire athletic dept.
Eliminating non-revenue sports would open up title 9 can of worms.
Right now as I understand it players can receive 36k in monthly stipend plus the new 6k academic grants. ..between scholly room & board stipend and specialized training ECT they probably get north of 150k/yr to play...over 5 yrs. 750k...that is for scholly guys on the end of the bench. ...field hockey gals ECT..everybody.
Add up all scholly athletes the cost to the athletic dept is north of 100-125 million/yr.
A small percentage of athletic depths are self funded.
Iowa is lucky to be among them but their margin is thin.
X was doing autograph show appearances almost immediately after enrolling. It's a start.
 
The current rules prohibit the schools from being involved in NIL payouts so none of the Big bump in media revenues can be funneled to players.
Those funds support the entire athletic dept.
Eliminating non-revenue sports would open up title 9 can of worms.
Right now as I understand it players can receive 36k in monthly stipend plus the new 6k academic grants. ..between scholly room & board stipend and specialized training ECT they probably get north of 150k/yr to play...over 5 yrs. 750k...that is for scholly guys on the end of the bench. ...field hockey gals ECT..everybody.
Add up all scholly athletes the cost to the athletic dept is north of 100-125 million/yr.
A small percentage of athletic depths are self funded.
Iowa is lucky to be among them but their margin is thin.
X was doing autograph show appearances almost immediately after enrolling. It's a start.
I keep seeing these huge numbers thrown around and they just are not true. There are scholarship limits in every sport and not every field hockey player (or swimmer, or baseball player, etc.) is getting a full ride with stipend. Wrestling is limited to 9.9 scholarships as an example with a roster of 30+.

While I did not do the research to see what all of these limits are, for Iowa it is somewhere around 350 total scholarships. Using $50,000 as an average cost per scholarship (some are instate that bring down the cost considerably) that means the scholarship money is $17.5M a year nowhere near your $100M+ figure. Even if every scholarship comes with $36k in stipend and $6k in academic grants (which is doubtful) that only brings the cost to about $30M.
 
I keep seeing these huge numbers thrown around and they just are not true. There are scholarship limits in every sport and not every field hockey player (or swimmer, or baseball player, etc.) is getting a full ride with stipend. Wrestling is limited to 9.9 scholarships as an example with a roster of 30+.

While I did not do the research to see what all of these limits are, for Iowa it is somewhere around 350 total scholarships. Using $50,000 as an average cost per scholarship (some are instate that bring down the cost considerably) that means the scholarship money is $17.5M a year nowhere near your $100M+ figure. Even if every scholarship comes with $36k in stipend and $6k in academic grants (which is doubtful) that only brings the cost to about $30M.
I did overestimate the number of scholly s.
But we have seen the athletic dept income statements for years showing no more than 5% surplus revenues over expenses.
Many costs go into facilities..debt service , ECT.
In the end almost every Penney that comes in gets spent on athletic dept expenses.
Of course we are still recovering from the pandemic losses that required a giant loan to stay afloat.
Now if we get a 50 million bump/yr in media money maybe they finally show a big surplus...good.
 
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