Per Isaiah Hole & Athletic: FB starter offered $1.75M to transfer from.UM
Hole quoting an Athletic article quoting an anonymous parent here, but this doesn't seem too far-fetched:
There is also an X rumor that Sabb got $2M to go to Bama.
It's amazing UM didn't lose more to the portal after Harbaugh left. This is also another data point that shows what kind of "NIL" game is needed to compete these days.
I'll let each of you decide if UM's program measures up.
One final point: Michigan won the 2023 football National Championship!
Sabb got 2 million and a starter offered 1.75 million. What a rip off!
One thing the ad needs to do if we want to keep up is they need to push donors to support nil instead of the ad coffers.
That’s not going to happen. You might as well ask Brian and Seth to ask us to support NIL instead of beveled guilt. Folks are running businesses. You’re asking them to give away their money so we can be happy watching Michigan win games. They’ll take the tax deduction for giving to the University. Just giving money away to buy wins? Doesn’t seem very sporty.
Putting the best product on the field is part of their business and that’s accomplished through nil. Sparkling facilities alone is not going to bring in fans and donors.
gene smith has been advocating for increased nil donations for a few years. Our guys need to keep up. Why do you think our nil has been getting bashed by our own guys and by recruits? Why are they better at it than we are?
Hey NCAA, assholes....yeah you....isn't this fucking tampering?
Yet you assholes are giving us shit about cheeseburgers and supposed sign stealing.
Maybe M doesn't have a fanbase that's willing to throw their wallets at winning football games to the extent that other programs do? seems like an organized effort to solicit NIL donations from former players now playing in the NFL might be a good idea, but beyond that, I'm not sure how M keeps up with the Joneses.
Are you tithing 10% of your gross income to NIL to help us keep up?
your post kind of underlines my point. and who said anything about 10%?
If people are asking how M can keep up with the more sophisticated/well-funded NIL programs around the country, one idea would be to tap a 'vast network' of former players who are all among the top 2% of income earners in the country.
I pay enough money to be able to attend and watch games, and I'm decidedly not in that top 2%.
The guy who started the $2 million rumor is taking the “$1.75 million for a starter,” rounding up to $2 million and assuming it’s Sabb despite Sabb not being a starter and the article noting it’s a current Michigan player.
Total BS that is now spreading like wildfire because… internet
I have a hard time believing anything that's reported these days, I just found it funny that sabb supposedly got 2 million and the Michigan starter got offered less.
I mean that’s fine and dandy but you know Texas or usc, etc. are still gonna go hard after grant and/or graham. It’s a wait and see approach we have to go by
Grant and Graham are more than likely staying at Michigan for one more year, then making millions after that. I would bet they are going to make a good chunk of money at Michigan this year to keep them staying, then off to the NFL where both will make millions each year for a long time. It's the underclassmen who are not eligible for the NFL Draft next year, or ones that need two more years of development that I would worry about.
Yeah, Graham, Grant and W Johnson are most likely all first round picks, Graham and Johnson possible top 10. With a good medical insurance policy, don’t think those 3 have to transfer, specifically in that their production or gameplay may actually dip going to a new team and system, potentially hurting their draft stock.
The concern is around the Sabb types, or impact rotational guys that aren’t quite starters but NFL talented who can transfer for
1) Get NIL cash
2) Get more playing time
3) improve their draft stock due to increased pt
Bad NIL will make it hard to build elite teams going forward, but even with good NIL, building elite deep teams will be nearly impossible. Without player contracts, depth and continuity will be a stretch for any program.
Is it just me or do players that transfer out tend to get injured at a higher clip?
I don't understand the downvotes here. Let's not turn this board into 11W. disagreeing with an observation or a take is not downvote worthy imo. Many of us don't like the reality 91wolverine is pointing out, but that doesn't make it less true.
the truth is that the modern era of the game now requires a staff to recruit new talent from high school and the portal, while also re-recruiting their own roster every year. it sucks, but that's one of the results of the portal and NIL being part of the landscape now.
I think it's the fact that 91 has a fixation on thinking that Graham and/or Grant are going to eventually leave for Texas that's giving the downvotes.
I believe it. Although if the $2 million for Sabb is accurate, how much did they offer Caleb Downs to stay and how much did OSU have to offer to get him to leave Alabama?
I don't believe the $2 million number for Sabb.
Cover 3 had a podcast addressing the rumor that OSU spent $13 million on their transfer class. They went player by player and estimated the "high end" of what they imagine they got in NIL. They could barely get to $5 million total.
Downs was the highest at $2 million. He has a chance to be the best the best college safety in a decade + two years before he's eligible for the NFL.
I love comments like this that state we definitely do/don't know what players are getting in NIL offers and how they are more/less than we think as if we can actually verify any of this and all these numbers aren't hearsay.
I don't know either way, but I would not be shocked to see multi-million dollar offers being passed around like hotcakes for a lot of high-level players.
I agree that no one knows the exact NIL figures - at least publicly.
A couple of years ago, Ryan Day said he needed an additional $13M to keep that squad together.
The Buckeyes spending $12M on their transfers / portal this off season is plausible.
I’d read the total NIL in Columbus was near $35M. And, this would not surprise me.
Will O$U be the best team money can buy? It may be - Georgia, Texas, A&M, and Bama have been spending a bit too.
My comment was based on the discussion on the podcast by Bud Elliott who is one of college football and recruitings most plugged in reporters / personalities. He didn't know for certain the details of those player's deals, but he laid out his reasoning for using $2 million as the high end for Downs.
It's reasonable to deduce Sabb ain't getting the same as Downs.
The episode was from January 24 and titled "Myth Busters! How much are teams spending in the portal?" It touches on a lot of details behind how NIL works. If you're interested in learning more, it's worth a listen.
If the $13 million on transfers is true, then OSU has to be north of $20 for their entire roster. The begging Ryan Day did two years ago for $13 million exceeded his expectations by a large amount, while Michigan hasn't reached any of their NIL fund goals that were suppose to be "Game Changers".
If one of our big 3 on defense was worth $1.75M why can you not believe Downs was $2.5M - he is probably the best safety in the country as a true freshman and unlike our Big 3 cannot go to the NFL after next season.
This whole thing is so sleazy. I’m for players getting paid but there must be a set of rules governing how this works. And a real and enforceable mechanism for holding everyone accountable.
All of this depresses me. Money…money…money. Maybe I should just declare our National Championship as the apex of my Michigan football fandom and ride off into the sunset with a smile on my face. But then I suffer (sometimes) from the curse of self awareness and realize I’m addicted with no 12 step program in sight.
This is where I'm at.
1. I understand and support the idea of NIL.
2. NIL/portal is eroding my college football fandom.
3. I predict 2023-2024 will be the peak of my college football fandom/emotional spending.
There’s just a lot of grey area and enforcement is difficult. It’s not really the NCAA’s fault that NIL is out of control.
For starters, the NCAA didn’t want this at all but was overruled by the courts. This led to NIL being implemented without proper guidelines being set. What rules the NCAA has been able to put into place, are damn near impossible to enforce. No pay for play, money can’t come from the school, no tampering. Proving any of that beyond hearsay is pretty difficult. Add I grey areas where there are collectives associated with the school but not the school itself so is that technically against the rules? And then, what becomes the punishment if it is? Then of course they try to punish a school for violating one of those rules and the courts come down again and say they can’t enforce the NIL rules. The NCAA is a useless organization that really has no power to begin with, and they’re just getting hammered by the courts over this issue.
NIL in the pro sports sense is pretty simple. Athletes are signing endorsement deals with athletic apparel companies, fast food chains, insurance and car companies in addition to their salary. Fans aren’t donating to the Los Angeles Lakers collective to pay the players. In an ideal world, I think that’s what the NCAA would like to see (since they’re forced to allow NIL). Players can sign endorsement deals, but we’re not doing this school collective stuff and the endorsements can’t come from people affiliated with the university or boosters. If Nike or Subway want to endorse a star player or whatever, cool. But maybe the alum in the next town over that owns a dealership shouldn’t be giving out $75,000 trucks to players and recruits.
Make them employees, set a max salary, and (if the courts allow) set some guidelines and restrictions on the source of NIL funding. But the path they’re on right now is a total mess and it really is ruining what we’ve come to love about college sports. As much as the players deserve a piece of the pie, this is anarchy.
The thing is, though, that none of this is new other than it being openly "legal." Compensation without regulation or guidelines has been happening since the 1900s. Now that it can happen out in the open under the guise of NIL hasn't changed anything other than the fact programs are getting much more aggressive about it, probably spending a bunch more, and players can transfer freely now, which just exacerbates the issue even further.
Major college sports, especially football, have always been a pretty wild, wild west landscape. Now, it's just openly wild, wild west so programs and players are acting just a little more brazenly, especially since many are now able to hide behind the threat of legal action from their home state governments.
Your argument is why I think it’s crazy that any player who could reasonably expect to be drafted and play in the NFL would pass it up and return to college for the NIL income - no collectively bargained benefits, pension eligibility, or any other protections that we all get as employees.
The tampering is a joke.
NCAA needs enforceable contracts.
I'm coming around to the thought of a 2 year iron clad contract right out of HS. Unless coaching change. That requires the athlete to commit at least somewhat and not be a free agent immediately and let's them develop mentally and physically before a change. And it requires the school to not 'cut' people they don't want after just 12 months.
The 1 transfer rule I was fine with as well - but this annual transfer bullshit the courts did is pathetic. Every player being a free agency every second of their lives with hands from all across the country trying to pry them away is not even close to the NFL - it's way worse.
The tampering is a joke.
NCAA needs enforceable contracts.
I'm coming around to the thought of a 2 year iron clad contract right out of HS. Unless coaching change. That requires the athlete to commit at least somewhat and not be a free agent immediately and let's them develop mentally and physically before a change. And it requires the school to not 'cut' people they don't want after just 12 months.
The 1 transfer rule I was fine with as well - but this annual transfer bullshit the courts did is pathetic. Every player being a free agency every second of their lives with hands from all across the country trying to pry them away is not even close to the NFL - it's way worse.
If the currency were in Cheeseburgers, the NCAA would be all over it.
Precisely. Wanted players to get a piece of the pie isn't the same as allowing a totally unregulated, quasi-illegal shadow economy. There must be rules and transparency and governance -- same as in any professional sport. This is just ridiculous.
This is taxable, right ?
Hole is an a-hole, per anonymous sources.
Why would anyone at this point trust Hole’s reporting?
OSU "dossier", PI hiring, Catapult, Stalbomb, etc. He went radio silent on ALL of these claims. He's a joke. No more clicks from me.
Sam Webb is the only insider I trust.
Isn't being as asshole his whole shtick? That's nothing new.
Bama wants to regain the status as The Best Team Money Can Buy. How did that work out, OHowIHate Ohio State?
We don’t know yet. They went “all-in” this year, not last.
Now if you want to discuss Texas A & M I’ll listen.
I hear you..
it is just more in the public know, now. Surely you don’t think this is the first year that OSU has spent millions for players.
I do like the fact that more and more of the spending is out in the open.
The market will correct itself when these teams dont live up to hype. Already saw it with Texas A&M.
Money doesnt buy championships, the right coaches, the right players, and the right culture win championships.
This reminds me of a company in my industry that's come about in the last few years. It's a very expensive and costly business to enter and the guy that started it has money to throw around for sure. They've bought all kinds of brand new equipment, poached a bunch of people from other companies around the area throwing insane salary numbers at them, and yet the whole place is a monkey rodeo and most of these people dont stay more than 6 months.
Personally, I enjoyed how the last game against Bama and the last three against the Buckeyes turned out. So, I think those games worked out quite well.
Sam Webb seemed pretty confident when he said that Sabb didn't leave for money.
Meaning that money wasn't the primary reason he left - he certainly would be paid something to go though. If he was a likely starter here next year, he would probably have stayed for less (maybe no?) money.
I mean it makes sense theoretically. Michigan has at least 3 safeties who want and deserve playing time. Bama just had their star safety tampered and poached by OSU. Bama now has basically a guaranteed starter spot and Michigan and Washington are the only teams with their portals open. Sabb decided to go where he will be guaranteed starter. However, as Sam, Brian, and Seth were saying is it really better to spend your junior year on a brand new team, brand new scheme, and brand new coach? Probably not, but to Sabb he thought it was
You could say the same for Michigan. Every one of his coaches are brand new.
But not the scheme. The base defense will be much similar.
I mean if your goal is to make it to the NFL and get drafted in 2025, then yes, absolutely it’s better to play.
Take that for what it is worth however it was the Bama NIL collective which announced Sabb's transfer, not the athletic department.
NIL and big money is the future. We will see what UM does to combat this going forward.