Right. I just had a fam member recruited to a major D1 for soccer and there's not even a full scholly, let alone up front payment. They get guidance in pursuing true NIL opportunites.Soccer recruits top 25 classes, but NIL for soccer (aside from maybe UNC, FSU, and UCLA) is zilch. So it’s easier. Angel Reese is literally bragging about her NIL, which I think increases expectations (reasonable or not) from high schoolers in particular.
So you can't discount NIL as a basketball recruiting problem by saying the others are recruiting successfully. They are playing on vastly different playing fields.
But as always, it won't stop the truth haters from saying it.