NIL - a non-factor for Iowa, or necessary for championships?

[DavidGraeberBullSheetJobs]

Honest question.

Xavier was asked whether NIL Had anything to do with his decision to turn down Ohio State, Notre Dame, and many others, and come to Iowa. He said it wasn’t a factor.

we are not talking about brown bags of money here, but actual marketing deals, so I’m curious why we don’t hear about much of this around here.

I took (or wasted) five minutes and skimmed a recent thread on CF lamenting the loss of arguably the best commit they had, a RB from Florida, since I’ve seen it referenced here on this board many times recently that cyclone fans keep blaming their recruiting losses and decommits on NIL, and complaining that they have the “worst booster support in the B12”. Or hinting that Iowa boosters have been throwing money around as if bags o cash mean anything anymore when NIL makes lucrative marketing deals transparent and very public.

clearly Iowa is now recruiting against the top programs in the country, and winning some
Major battles for 22, 23, and likely the 24 classes, and clearly those top programs have significant NIL resources. But they seem to be choosing Iowa because of “family atmosphere“, and “doing something that’s never been done before” here (Xavier’s words referencing his and his friends’ goals for a Natty.

what is everyone’s impression about NIL and its role (or lack thereof)?

and can anyone - even the Bamas and Georgias and OSUs of the world - win a national championship without pouring NIL money into the effort?

 

[Aleister_Crowley]

Ultimately I think NIL is necessary and it's going to help schools like Iowa with passionate fan bases and no pro teams in the state. Suddenly 5 star guys might start looking at schools like Iowa and think "I could go to Ohio State and be another in a long line of blue chip recruits, or I could go to Iowa and be the man from day 1 with a nice NIL deal".

 

[ichawk24]

NIL will be everywhere, meaning it won't change the rankings of the schools. Iowa will remain about the 18th most important and most successful program in the country, same as the last 20 years.

 

[Section25]

NIL has little to do with a very high percentage of football players. The players that are good enough to get NIL deals also won't place a high emphasis on them as they are looking to improve draft status and not worrying about a little extra cash. I just don't think it will prove to be all that with football. National championships are not won with
6 or 7 players. You better have 35 consistent players to make all three phases work to get a national title. The NIL won't make or break Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, USC etc, but it might help a Wisconsin get that really good QB or an Arkansas get a couple of high need players. Time will tell.

 

[littlez]

NIL has little to do with a very high percentage of football players. The players that are good enough to get NIL deals also won't place a high emphasis on them as they are looking to improve draft status and not worrying about a little extra cash. I just don't think it will prove to be all that with football. National championships are not won with
6 or 7 players. You better have 35 consistent players to make all three phases work to get a national title. The NIL won't make or break Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, USC etc, but it might help a Wisconsin get that really good QB or an Arkansas get a couple of high need players. Time will tell.

While I would agree w/this would we not have the same opportunity as Arkansas or Wisconsin or even Minnesota to use the NIL as them? Right now it has had very very little impact on recruiting that I have seen.

 

[Section25]

While I would agree w/this would we not have the same opportunity as Arkansas or Wisconsin or even Minnesota to use the NIL as them? Right now it has had very very little impact on recruiting that I have seen.

Yes, I would put Iowa in that category, but don't know that we have big money doing NIL deals. I do know Wisconsin and Arkansas do and they are big businesses not looking for commercials or low grade ads. Both businesses I am aware of are doing more creative NIL deals.

 

[IsaacHarrison]

The blue bloods will beat Iowa out on a recruit 9 out of 10 times, regardless. Add in NIL and I think that goes to favor a team like Iowa for the big fish small pond aspect.

 

[Section25]

The blue bloods will beat Iowa out on a recruit 9 out of 10 times, regardless. Add in NIL and I think that goes to favor a team like Iowa for the big fish small pond aspect.

Agree somewhat, but does Iowa have an NIL partner throwing out 25000 to the big fish in their small pond?

 

[noStemsnoSTICKS]

It's hard to imagine NIL not being a factor in the future. All things being equal (facilities, weather, playing time, chicks), most 18 year olds are going to a market with a greater earning potential (larger corporate influence). It may not be a factor this year, it most definitely will be moving forward.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

It might help land a few kids, but I don't think it is going to change the overall competitive landscape at Iowa. A star player can get NIL money anywhere potentially, so even if a couple of boosters shower some kid with $, he will be able to do that at other places too.

Iowa has lots of generous boosters, but if you compare the booster list with the schools that get the 5 star guys, it's a drop in the bucket.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Agree somewhat, but does Iowa have an NIL partner throwing out 25000 to the big fish in their small pond?

Not that I know of yet. I believe Nebraska is openly talking about building up their NIL fund, but I could be wrong on that.

i don't know how much any of the Iowa players got this year. Seemed like many of them had merchandise deals. I suppose there is 1 somewhere who will hit on that, but for 99% of players they will quickly find out no one cares to have their merch. Fans are fans of teams, and the players on those teams. Where they could make $ is endorsements, and I just have no visibility into how that may have gone this year. I would think LInderbaum could pull in good $ from local advertising in Iowa.

What you are getting is at some sort of fund that's already set up to guarantee some level of $ for every player. I suppose just a matter of time before that comes about.

 

[ExcellentBread]

Not that I know of yet. I believe Nebraska is openly talking about building up their NIL fund, but I could be wrong on that.

i don't know how much any of the Iowa players got this year. Seemed like many of them had merchandise deals. I suppose there is 1 somewhere who will hit on that, but for 99% of players they will quickly find out no one cares to have their merch. Fans are fans of teams, and the players on those teams. Where they could make $ is endorsements, and I just have no visibility into how that may have gone this year. I would think LInderbaum could pull in good $ from local advertising in Iowa.

What you are getting is at some sort of fund that's already set up to guarantee some level of $ for every player. I suppose just a matter of time before that comes about.

Endorsements is my thought, too. But I don’t know who takes chances on letting high school stars endorse their business? I wouldn’t

The average business is probably giving 60-80k to advertise with Hawkeye sports. Not sure what ROI you get for throwing an extra 10k at that 5* o line recruit.

I think NIL actually hurts economically depressed, low education states like most of the SEC and teams that succeed despite having pro sports nearby. I don’t think the Midwest thrives on it but I do think giving legal ways to pay players will help level the playing field some.

I think places like Iowa, ISU and Nebraska will do better than most with this.

 

[WinOneThisCentury II]

Iowa needs to do what the SEC teams are doing. All their players have clothing lines, and instead of the boosters just giving them $1000, they are buying $3000 worth of their branded merchandise netting them the $1000. They then give away the merch. What used to be illegal, is now legal.

 

[hawkjt]

The big NIL deals I have read about are million dollar deals for QBs ( Mertz,Young,& OSU guys) were with national memorabilia companies ....these guys autograph stuff for fan bases large enough to pay them big bucks.

 

[Tfxchawk]

The nil stuff will be dead in five years in any sort of meaningful way. It will allow some kids to make some money without losing their eligibility and it will also mean some programs will openly pay recruits. It has happened in basketball already for years under the table so I doubt much changes in that sport now that it can be done in the open. Football won't have many opportunities where the roi is obvious. That kid that went to Ohio State is the standard rather than the exception. Bryce Young could make some money marketing himself as could other prime players that have proven themselves but they are going to do that anyway. The NFL doesn't have too many guys that make a lot of money on endorsement deals so why would college football?

 

[DavidGraeberBullSheetJobs]

Good points above. They are just too many options for marketing and social media for very many NIL deals at all to have any meaningful impact. Looks like as expected most of the athletes who have gotten big deals and have huge social media followings our influencers who happened to be extremely hot young women, like the twin volleyball players from wherever the hell they are. Yawn.

as far as I can see, what is going to keep programs competitive in this new environment are conferences, which is why Iowa is so well situated. B10 and SEC rule the college sports world going forward.

A kid who is a big-time star can come to Iowa and be a bigger star individually at Iowa than at an Ohio state or Alabama, providing more NIL opportunities if they exist. But whatever bidding war that the Alabamas of the world could win, they already were doing with bags of cash anyway, so I’m not sure NIL is really going to change anything. At least for programs like Iowa.

But for programs like Iowa State, which is losing out on huge conference revenue as the conference downsizes in quality and expands in number, it is doubly bad: much less resources from boosters to compete with NIL for the blue chip recruits, as well as much less resources from conference allocations.

the haves just keep growing: see Iowas recruiting of late.

the have nots have fire sales: see the mass defections from Cyclone football. Jaw dropping how many players have jumped ship, from
Former commits to players slated to start next year. Impossible to recover from that. Dead man walking situation.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

I’m surprised how many of the posts so far in this thread don’t expect this will be a big deal. It’s maybe not there yet but I think it’s going to eventually be hugely important. Think about the millions and millions of dollars sloshing around in college football as teams try to gain a competitive edge. Before this schools were hitting up boosters for millions to indirectly buy players by enticing them with fancy facilities. Now that can go directly to players instead.

For everyone that doesn’t think NIL is important, would you have also thought it was unimportant that Iowa had the worst facilities in the P5 as long as we still had the “family atmosphere and ability to develop 3 stars into NFL players?”

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Also, I wouldn’t expect recruits to actually come out and say they chose a school just because of money because it doesn’t sound good. It’s like in a job interview when they ask me why I want the job I talk about how great the company is and the long-term career trajectory and a bunch of other nonsense but really I’m just trying to get more money and as long as all of the non-money stuff is roughly the same then I’m going whenever I get paid the most.

 

[notlongago]

Honest question.

Xavier was asked whether NIL Had anything to do with his decision to turn down Ohio State, Notre Dame, and many others, and come to Iowa. He said it wasn’t a factor.

we are not talking about brown bags of money here, but actual marketing deals, so I’m curious why we don’t hear about much of this around here.

I took (or wasted) five minutes and skimmed a recent thread on CF lamenting the loss of arguably the best commit they had, a RB from Florida, since I’ve seen it referenced here on this board many times recently that cyclone fans keep blaming their recruiting losses and decommits on NIL, and complaining that they have the “worst booster support in the B12”. Or hinting that Iowa boosters have been throwing money around as if bags o cash mean anything anymore when NIL makes lucrative marketing deals transparent and very public.

clearly Iowa is now recruiting against the top programs in the country, and winning some
Major battles for 22, 23, and likely the 24 classes, and clearly those top programs have significant NIL resources. But they seem to be choosing Iowa because of “family atmosphere“, and “doing something that’s never been done before” here (Xavier’s words referencing his and his friends’ goals for a Natty.

what is everyone’s impression about NIL and its role (or lack thereof)?

and can anyone - even the Bamas and Georgias and OSUs of the world - win a national championship without pouring NIL money into the effort?

Don't assume Iowa doesn't have significant NIL opportunities as well. Not having a pro team means premier college athletes get treated like the pinnacle.

 

[ichawk24]

I’m surprised how many of the posts so far in this thread don’t expect this will be a big deal. It’s maybe not there yet but I think it’s going to eventually be hugely important. Think about the millions and millions of dollars sloshing around in college football as teams try to gain a competitive edge. Before this schools were hitting up boosters for millions to indirectly buy players by enticing them with fancy facilities. Now that can go directly to players instead.

For everyone that doesn’t think NIL is important, would you have also thought it was unimportant that Iowa had the worst facilities in the P5 as long as we still had the “family atmosphere and ability to develop 3 stars into NFL players?”

We aren't saying its not important, but its not going to change which schools are on top. Alabama, OSU, etc., will still be on top. The blue bloods will remain the blue bloods.

Iowa will remain in the #18 range.

Iowa State will remain in the #40 range.

Some recruits will pick a place due to NIL. Some schools may slightly rise in rankings. Some may fall. But the sport from a airplane view will be about the same.

Players will have more money in their pockets, which is good.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

We aren't saying its not important, but its not going to change which schools are on top. Alabama, OSU, etc., will still be on top. The blue bloods will remain the blue bloods.

Iowa will remain in the #18 range.

Iowa State will remain in the #40 range.

Some recruits will pick a place due to NIL. Some schools may slightly rise in rankings. Some may fall. But the sport from a airplane view will be about the same.

Players will have more money in their pockets, which is good.

Yeah, that I agree with. And once Iowa can use its TV money to pay players I think we will rise a bit. We are firmly in the top 20 in terms of revenue as a program but we rarely sign top 20 recruiting classes. Once we can use that money directly on players instead of indirectly on facilities and coaching salaries I think we could do a little better recruiting wise.

 

[DavidGraeberBullSheetJobs]

Don't assume Iowa doesn't have significant NIL opportunities as well. Not having a pro team means premier college athletes get treated like the pinnacle.

You’re right. There are very wealthy Hawkeyes all over the country. Iowa can compete at a very high level on NIL, just not as high as say OSU, since they, among other things, are the only game in a boring town, but that town has 3 million people, and they have something like three times the alumni as iowa, since they have something like 80k students including satellite campuses.

 

[IsaacHarrison]

One thing to consider with NIL is that some of the schools in big cities may struggle. Seems odd but companies in big cities tend not to get too involved in college sports like smaller college town companies. Also, there are usually pro sports that they will spend their money on. For example, here in PHX I never see players from ASU talked about on TV but the cardinals are always on advertisements. Its not too often I meet die hard ASU fans. big cities tend to have more transplant fans too.

 

[bozotheclown]

I’m surprised how many of the posts so far in this thread don’t expect this will be a big deal. It’s maybe not there yet but I think it’s going to eventually be hugely important. Think about the millions and millions of dollars sloshing around in college football as teams try to gain a competitive edge. Before this schools were hitting up boosters for millions to indirectly buy players by enticing them with fancy facilities. Now that can go directly to players instead.

For everyone that doesn’t think NIL is important, would you have also thought it was unimportant that Iowa had the worst facilities in the P5 as long as we still had the “family atmosphere and ability to develop 3 stars into NFL players?”

Agree. People are saying it goes to kids with wide social media presence and to some extent that may be true. But what if you have a really wealthy booster who could give a rats A$$ about the kids media presence. He or she just wants his school to have the best damn football team in the nation. I am not going to say i know the details but wasn't there some word about Texas paying offensive linemen 50 K? That is a game changer I think, nothing against them but nobody probably wants to see them in a pair of tight shorts. But if that booster wants his team to have a good O-line that kind of money makes a difference. Again i don't know what rules govern NIL but doesn't seem like there is a lot to prevent boosters going directly to the players with cash. Yeah I am not ignorant that money has gone to players in the past, but no need to sneak around anymore.

 

[bozotheclown]

Agree. People are saying it goes to kids with wide social media presence and to some extent that may be true. But what if you have a really wealthy booster who could give a rats A$$ about the kids media presence. He or she just wants his school to have the best damn football team in the nation. I am not going to say i know the details but wasn't there some word about Texas paying offensive linemen 50 K? That is a game changer I think, nothing against them but nobody probably wants to see them in a pair of tight shorts. But if that booster wants his team to have a good O-line that kind of money makes a difference. Again i don't know what rules govern NIL but doesn't seem like there is a lot to prevent boosters going directly to the players with cash. Yeah I am not ignorant that money has gone to players in the past, but no need to sneak around anymore.

here it is 50 K annually to every O-line men, I respect what KF has done with O-line development over the years but if you are recruiting against Texas for a O-line recruit, you don't think this makes a difference.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Every Texas Longhorns offensive lineman on scholarship will get $50,000 annually for use of their name, image and likeness to support charitable causes, a new nonprofit entity announced Monday.

 

[nbanflfactory]

Iowa needs to do what the SEC teams are doing. All their players have clothing lines, and instead of the boosters just giving them $1000, they are buying $3000 worth of their branded merchandise netting them the $1000. They then give away the merch. What used to be illegal, is now legal.

Pay em the 3k to show up at your kids birthday party and now they get 3x as much. Cut the Chinese clothes out the picture

 

[IsaacHarrison]

Any school can pretty much pay the players by telling their normal advertisers/donors to pay the players and in return they put advertising in the stadium, suites, courtside seats etc. for free or minimal cost.

 

[nbanflfactory]

here it is 50 K annually to every O-line men, I respect what KF has done with O-line development over the years but if you are recruiting against Texas for a O-line recruit, you don't think this makes a difference.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Every Texas Longhorns offensive lineman on scholarship will get $50,000 annually for use of their name, image and likeness to support charitable causes, a new nonprofit entity announced Monday.

Chump change vs nfl money. If I was a 5star no way I'd go to texas!!

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Chump change vs nfl money. If I was a 5star no way I'd go to texas!!

Sort of agree but career-ending injuries do happen and not 100% of stud recruits end up making it to the NFL so I still think it makes sense to make some money in college while you can. Texas OL now make a minimum of $150k per year so even if you’re only there 3 years that’s practically half a million bucks. And it’s not like Texas doesn’t also send kids to the NFL so I would hate to be in a recruiting battle with Texas right now for an OL. I wonder what Myslinski thinks of this as he was once committed to Texas before they changed coaches.

 

[IsaacHarrison]

Sort of agree but career-ending injuries do happen and not 100% of stud recruits end up making it to the NFL so I still think it makes sense to make some money in college while you can. Texas OL now make a minimum of $150k per year so even if you’re only there 3 years that’s practically half a million bucks. And it’s not like Texas doesn’t also send kids to the NFL so I would hate to be in a recruiting battle with Texas right now for an OL. I wonder what Myslinski thinks of this as he was once committed to Texas before they changed coaches.

View embedded media

This is just crazy. I think in 2-3 years this wont look anything like what the original intention was.

 

[DavidGraeberBullSheetJobs]

One thing to consider with NIL is that some of the schools in big cities may struggle. Seems odd but companies in big cities tend not to get too involved in college sports like smaller college town companies. Also, there are usually pro sports that they will spend their money on. For example, here in PHX I never see players from ASU talked about on TV but the cardinals are always on advertisements. Its not too often I meet die hard ASU fans. big cities tend to have more transplant fans too.

Yeah but as I said, Columbus Ohio is its own separate reality. All they have is the buckeyes and shopping malls. And actual zombies storming the statehouse.

Fury and despair: behind the viral image of Americans protesting against lockdown | Photography | The Guardian

Joshua Bickel set out to cover a demonstration in Ohio – and within hours, his photo of angry people pressed up against glass took on a life of its own<br>

amp.theguardian.com

 

[bozotheclown]

Chump change vs nfl money. If I was a 5star no way I'd go to texas!!

Maybe, and I am just guessing but how many offensive linemen does Iowa have on scholarship during at year, 15? seems probably close. How many does Iowa put in the NFL each year, 1? maybe 2, lets say 1 just to make the math easier, may be more but it certainly isn't 5. Yes they have a good record of development, but in terms of facilities Texas is better, if the kid is interested in an education I'd say both are good. I don't know the exact details, but sounds like scholarship linemen, not starters, so if you redshirt as many O-line do that could be 5 years at 50K - quarter million. If you are truly elite and put in the work, maybe you have a better chance at the NFL thru Iowa but is it huge difference. I'm thinking I take the quarter million and then start my NFL career and upgrade my stuff. I think the businesses money directly to NIL, like a car dealership won't likely continue to be large because kids get hurt, may be an ass, or just a bust so you get burnt and you backoff. But the Texas "Horns with a Heart" BS could be huge factor depending on your Boosters. Sounds to me like they are getting 50K to agree to allow there NIL to used in charitable 'endeavors'. So could be anything and is obviously a way to legally funnel booster funds to college players. I think this is where the real disparity will be, Iowa certainly would have better booster funding than ISU, but not close to Texas and some of the other schools i don't think. And when boosters find out they can do it legally, places like Texas with a large number of wealthy donors will buy themselves the best players. They just need to find a decent coach LOL

 

[nbanflfactory]

Maybe, and I am just guessing but how many offensive linemen does Iowa have on scholarship during at year, 15? seems probably close. How many does Iowa put in the NFL each year, 1? maybe 2, lets say 1 just to make the math easier, may be more but it certainly isn't 5.

How many high 4 and 5 star ol do we get? You think they're paying 6 figures a year to projects?

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

How many high 4 and 5 star ol do we get? You think they're paying 6 figures a year to projects?

I think there is going to be more money in NIL than people realize. I mean, whenever schools need to come up with millions to fire a coach there never seems to be a shortage of donor money for that. Right now MSU is using donor funds to pay their coach $10m a year. What if they paid him $5m instead and used the other $5m on players? That would get you 50 players at $100k a year. If I was an MSU fan I would rather the money get spent that way than trying to keep Tucker from leaving for another school.

 

[bozotheclown]

How many high 4 and 5 star ol do we get? You think they're paying 6 figures a year to projects?

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying here but its OK. I give Iowa credit for O-line development.

 

[nbanflfactory]

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying here but its OK. I give Iowa credit for O-line development.

I'm saying big time ol recruits like wirfs are much more likely to end up in the NFL and be more productive while at school.

Your comment about the ratio of iowa ol in the NFL is meaningless in a nil discussion...very few would get paid right out of hs.

 

[nbanflfactory]

I think there is going to be more money in NIL than people realize. I mean, whenever schools need to come up with millions to fire a coach there never seems to be a shortage of donor money for that. Right now MSU is using donor funds to pay their coach $10m a year. What if they paid him $5m instead and used the other $5m on players? That would get you 50 players at $100k a year. If I was an MSU fan I would rather the money get spent that way than trying to keep Tucker from leaving for another school.

I said that exact thing the day he got signed

 

[doughuddl2]

Honest question.

Xavier was asked whether NIL Had anything to do with his decision to turn down Ohio State, Notre Dame, and many others, and come to Iowa. He said it wasn’t a factor.

we are not talking about brown bags of money here, but actual marketing deals, so I’m curious why we don’t hear about much of this around here.

I took (or wasted) five minutes and skimmed a recent thread on CF lamenting the loss of arguably the best commit they had, a RB from Florida, since I’ve seen it referenced here on this board many times recently that cyclone fans keep blaming their recruiting losses and decommits on NIL, and complaining that they have the “worst booster support in the B12”. Or hinting that Iowa boosters have been throwing money around as if bags o cash mean anything anymore when NIL makes lucrative marketing deals transparent and very public.

clearly Iowa is now recruiting against the top programs in the country, and winning some
Major battles for 22, 23, and likely the 24 classes, and clearly those top programs have significant NIL resources. But they seem to be choosing Iowa because of “family atmosphere“, and “doing something that’s never been done before” here (Xavier’s words referencing his and his friends’ goals for a Natty.

what is everyone’s impression about NIL and its role (or lack thereof)?

and can anyone - even the Bamas and Georgias and OSUs of the world - win a national championship without pouring NIL money into the effort?

Barta has a NIL program setup to help the student athletes.

 

[bozotheclown]

I'm saying big time ol recruits like wirfs are much more likely to end up in the NFL and be more productive while at school.

Your comment about the ratio of iowa ol in the NFL is meaningless in a nil discussion...very few would get paid right out of hs.

they will if they go to Texas, good money.. I guess that is what i was getting at, go to texas and make good money even if NFL doesn't work out, if you are elite and driven you are also likely to go to the NFL, whether you attended Texas or Iowa, all i was getting at is I think 50K per year for an O-line recruit has to be enticing.

 

[nbanflfactory]

they will if they go to Texas, good money.. I guess that is what i was getting at, go to texas and make good money even if NFL doesn't work out, if you are elite and driven you are also likely to go to the NFL, whether you attended Texas or Iowa, all i was getting at is I think 50K per year for an O-line recruit has to be enticing.

I agree, some will definitely for the quick cash, I still think the best of the best will pick OSU bama etc over Texas.