$13 million for a 4 star… I think it says a lot about Napier.
Napier or Florida ain’t paying him. It seems to be a disconnect between UF’s collective(s) and the recruiting department.
As for the wider NIL debate, the idea that money will ruin the sport may have a little validity but in my view is mostly archaic thinking. The transfer portal is doing as much to that end as anything.
We simply couldn’t continue the wink wink under the table payments of a few grand. At least this way it’s somewhat transparent. These kids have the opportunity to make a little something, or a lot in some cases, to help their families rather than a bunch of suits getting rich on their hard work (regardless of what’s put into the classroom being a college athlete is hard work), and then lecturing them on how lucky they are to be getting free education. Yuck.
I also believe NIL contains a sort of cycle of self-motivators. The more you stand out on the field, the more you work to be an impact player, the higher your earning potential becomes. I don’t necessarily buy the argument that teams can buy championships, or at least that they can any easier than before. Didn’t we just watch TCU play for a natty?
The collectives are a good way to get this done, and auspiciously for us Tennessee has been a pioneer school in this arena. The NIL era and Josh Heupel both arriving at the same time has been a perfect storm for us and our success.
This way, those that want to contribute to Spyre and the like can, and those that don’t can sit back and pine for the good old days. Is it fair to hard working students in their respective fields of study? Maybe not. But these athletes are uniquely gifted. Something like 80,000 kids play NCAA football, and a fraction of that Division 1. Isn’t this the free market finally rewarding rare ability? Vestiges of unfortunate times are finally being corrected within the game. Hate to take it there but it needed to be said. NIL might not be the most efficient way to do it, a better way may come along soon. But for now I don’t mind it. And lucky for us Tennessee got out in front in a big way.