Glimpse behind the NIL curtain: Columbus reporter states Ohio priced out of unnamed 5-star to Georgia

So Georgia is offering $500K per year plus 1.4 million signing bonus.  Is anyone else astounded.  To gift an unproven 17-18 year old child speaks volumes to the values of our universities and society.  I know I’m out of step and dear old alma mater needs to keep up but this is ridiculous.  Football is becoming far more important than the academic goals for which the colleges/universities were founded.  Why should I gift my pittance to any institution that is willing to give millions to boys who, while talented, are merely playing a game.

this part of NIL is going to wreck a number of kids.  

Michigan is doing it the right way at least in this regard. 

Michigan money cannon!!! I was told nobody  can compete with it 

I just don't see how Harbaugh being the competitor that he is, being Ok with losing at anything that includes losing recruits to NIL.  He can talk about transformational over transactional, but even kids who want a transformational experience would be stupid to turn down a $1mil+ signing bonus.  I don't see how we don't start playing the game otherwise in the long run we are going to fall way behind.  I am not saying we have to go all in on every 5 star, but we need to win the recruitments of the kids the program identifies for their culture and in some cases, that is going to cost money. There is just no way around it.  

The only alternative would be to promise players through the portal, but we have seen how difficult it is with UM's admissions. At least with high school recruits, once they qualify to get in, it is mostly completely in the hands of the coaching staff.

This shit is out of control 

Wherever you are, and however much you pay, you still have to have a winning team culture. 

Teams that build through payment will end up like Texas A&M.

Teams that build through culture will end up like Michigan.

Culture is first. Money is needed, but it doesn't have to be the end-all be-all.

Was there any comment or discussion about what the Buckeyes collectives spent / raised for NIL last year - or, what they think will be needed for the 2023 season?

Serious question-who do these kids work for?  The universities are not paying them.  A prudent university would walk away from this whole thing

We can afford those numbers.

No kid coming out of high school is worth that kind of money directly out of said school.

If anything this shows just how irresponsible this whole NIL shitshow is.

How long can schools keep offering up 1.8 million to players plus another 800 a year without getting a financial return? Most people don't become rich or stay rich by throwing away money. At some point, these kind of sums have to dry up. 

Without reading the article I likely have some fun scoop on this. Damon Wilson goes to my kid’s highschool down here in Florida. He’s a 5 star stud and down to OSU and Georgia. 

He was an OSU lean (was at the Game) and recently Georgia took the lead and the increased amount were the murmurs.   

My son yesterday said “dad, Damon was wearing a Michigan sweatshirt today.”

I said “he’s going to Georgia.”

A long term question for ADs and university presidents to think about is that, will college sport fans start losing interests if their college teams become groups of one-year mercenaries. There are always high quality true pro sports around the corner that has certain structure baked in to insure roster stability and competitiveness.  

That said. Even if they see the danger of college sports losing its identity and appeal, they may not necessarily have a solution and come into an agreement to reverse the course. To me, the mission of colleges and universities is education and research, sports has always be part of it and can be a huge plus, but the commercial side of it is not a necessity and could be distractions as has happened in certain big ten schools. 

If limits aren’t placed on this, it’s going to destroy college football.

Well obviously an 18 year old kid can't squeak by on a measly $500,000 per year and *had* to go to Georgia where the $800,000 plus $1,800,000 signing bonus will keep him in Ramen and Ferraris.

College football, and amateur athletics in general, are rapidly circling the drain.

On the other hand Ohio State flipped this QB from Washington: 

https://www.si.com/college/ohiostate/football/ohio-state-football-recruiting-2023-washington-quarterback-commit-lincoln-kienholz-flips-to-buckeyes

Makes you wonder what his price was.

All hail the transfer portal.

NIL was supposed to be Name, Image, Likeness, not salary negotiation.

This may well be happening but this is a Bucknuts reporter who is the type to carry a lot of water for OSU and might be running some interference for them simply being out-recruited by a team that is poised to stuff them into a bag and throw it in the river in the playoffs.  Again, this is a fanbase that hasn't had to endure anything approaching "struggles" for 20-ish years and has no ability to handle it.

At what point does the bubble burst? When do prices become so high, and boosters have gotten burned enough times by investing millions in kids who just don’t pan out, that even the top boosters at schools like A&M, Georgia, Bama, and Texas just say “fuck it, don’t care how good you might be, we’re not paying you that?”

Feels like this is slowly going to turn a lot of top players into mercenary gun for hires who will jump ship at the first sign of another school offering them more money, but I’m curious if the market for this will self correct in the long run when enough boosters decide they’ve gotten burned enough times by players they got no ROI from to where they just scale back what they’re willing to shell out.

If this new era costs OSU some recruits, I'm totally fine with that. They're doing quite well as it is. 

OSU recruits at an elite level and I was told that was only possible if you shell out huge NIL money.  Do you mean to say that you can recruit at an elite level without being the the highest bidder for recruits?  Because I’d be happy as hell if Michigans recruiting reached “only” OSU levels.  

God in heaven, those are some numbers. I really didn't expect it to be that high. 

All this shhh is crazy a this point but Ii I ran a program I'd divide NIL 25/75 - 25% for HS and 75% for portal.  Maye right now I'd be offering $7M if unknown dude 5* with no history is getting this.  Throw money at proven freshman (not many) and focus on sophomores. The best you get them for a year - you have a set price, you know their track record.  A lot less variability than HS seniors. 

Sadly if I am a top end 2nd year player, I am walking into the portal with a "buy me" sticker and setting my family up for life as I could be hurt any moment and be out of football.