Michigan Regent “It’s time to embrace NIL.”
August 4th, 2022 at 10:16 PM ^
“Quite simply, the long-term nature of trusteeship requires thinking about what happens three to five years from now if we don’t embrace NIL: a talent exodus in the student athlete and coaching ranks, winning less, less creativity in branding, and alumni/student/fan disinterest.”
August 4th, 2022 at 10:31 PM ^
Boom. The distant sound of money cannons beginning to rumble.
August 4th, 2022 at 10:51 PM ^
And much faster than usual.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:17 PM ^
Lets show Alabama what a real money cannon is.
Respectfully, I don’t think Bama’s money cannon has been that huge - and, that may be why Saban’s irritated by it. Yes, Bama is encouraging their boosters to contribute to NIL, but - my view is that their money cannon “isn’t the biggest”.
Now, when you look at the wider landscape - there are schools / Collectives / Boosters who have, or are, bringing out the “heavy artillery”. Texas A&M, Miami, the Bucks, Oregon, USC, ND, and Texas all have their engines going.
it seems that Michigan wants to “do things right” - and that includes avoiding the “pay for play” which (technically, at least for now) is against the NIL rules.
IF Michigan can not only structure, but deliver - in the near term - like the next six months, or ideally prior to the next Signing Day - solid NIL deals to their players, then the “transformational” approach may have more weight and visibility.
So, the Administration - both Athletic and Academic - realize something needs to be done, and relatively soon, but wants to “develop it with the long time standards and approach which reflect the values and character of the University.”
August 5th, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
Nah, Bama's cannon is HUGE. His comments about AT&M are more just trying to push the boosters to make sure the cannon stays in focus.
August 5th, 2022 at 11:46 AM ^
bux, I agree that many Bama boosters would “sign any deal with the Devil” for the success they’ve had on the gridiron. And, I’m quite sure that “those who have significant disposable assets” - are contributing to their Collective.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
tony kornheiser likes to tell a story. tony is a pretty bright, funny guy...in his field. one night he was at dinner in new york, and happened to share a table with billy crystal. tony was holding forth, making people laugh, as he presumably does, and for a while he thought he could hang. but at a certain point crystal seemed to think "oh, yah? ya think you got it, funny man? watch this," and immediately absolutely killed the entire table. as kornheiser tells the story, it really showed him the difference between a funny guy and an actual, you know, comedian.
the point - alabama may, to this point, have had a nice little grift going. the alabama car dealers and fast food guys and tattoo parlors were useful when most schools weren't willing to let their boosters run wild. but if you put them up against truly rich people that particular advantage no longer exists. once oil guys and mortgage bank CEOs and software billionaires enter the game, cletus the pig farmer doesn't move the needle much.
none of this has anything to do with michigan, by the way - but the "bama's money cannon is HUGE" comment is rapidly becoming an artifact of an earlier time.
Bama is outside the top 10 in money raised by NIL foundations.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
I hope you were hearing cannons instead of the distant "harrumph-ing" by the pearl clutchers sitting on their fainting couches worrying about amateur sports. Come on people, LFG with this!
August 5th, 2022 at 12:03 PM ^
Well the fear the money cannon would disappear if they don't is what it sounded like to me. Disinterest is putting it mildly. The fact that it was stated means it had to be brought up to the regents. If we don't act, players will leave and the ability to land players is already a factor. We have seen recruits comments, we have watched our staff kill it on the recruiting trail only to see recruits going elsewhere!
NIL affect.
Last year, Texas A&M, took the #1 DT and several others Michigan and other schools were in on. Michigan leading completely and one visit to A&M and it changed with word later coming out what he was offered.
ND this year, come on, ND #3 in recruiting after hiring a first time head coach that never himself built and ran a top level defense as a DC? Marcus Freeman comes in and they are killing it? Taking 5* and 4* recruits from schools that have far better coaching acumen. Including the grandson of a legendary coach? Whose best line was I didn't want to be in Ann Arbor and wanted to get away out of state to a school 7 miles across the border? Stop it, it was NIL and that word was out after 1 visit to ND. Tommy Rees the great qb developer? Yeah... NIL has an impact and the sooner the University and Regents embrace it and remove restrictions the sooner we can get back to top level recruiting and get to winning again!
August 4th, 2022 at 10:37 PM ^
I think it moved
August 4th, 2022 at 11:29 PM ^
Your pee pee?
August 4th, 2022 at 11:56 PM ^
OK... you must have a toddler to come up with that statement. I wish I had recorded the things I said trying to get my son potty trained.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:05 AM ^
Toddler no Costanza Yes
I love the idea of revenue sharing (1) but how long will that take to implement, if it ever happens? And until then, how will Michigan be competitive in recruiting if it doesn't do "pay for play?" (2)
1. "In fact, the Michigan Regent suggested embracing revenue sharing as a future staple of a successful athletic department.
Today’s college sports are a billion-dollar business, with athletes sacrificing time and turning down quintessential college experiences to practice and perform well,” Acker wrote. “With all of the money in college athletics, it was and is simply unsustainable for student athletes not to profit from their talents and contributions."
2. "But the pay-for-play model, while giving schools a leg up in the short run, might not be the long-term play, Acker noted. The prospect of collectives and donors bundling money directly to student athletes has the potential for chaos, he noted, especially when many schools believe these dollars could go to development.
Frankly, this short-term thinking will cause schools’ athletic departments (and eventually their fundraising) to nosedive,” he said."
I hope revenue sharing is added soon, as in next recruiting cycle. But, and I hope I'm wrong, that doesn't seem like something that will happen quickly.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:11 AM ^
Good statement … except that he means “uninterest” and not “disinterest.”
August 5th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
This is spot on of course. Must be coupled with the university loosening transfer rules if we truly want to compete in the future at the highest level.
August 5th, 2022 at 11:12 AM ^
Yooper, if you’re suggesting the University modify its Academic standards for transferring credits, etc - in order to make it easier for undergraduate student athletes to receive more credit for their studies at less academically rigorous schools - well, I highly doubt that will happen.
The University values it’s Academic reputation - globally - too much.
August 4th, 2022 at 10:19 PM ^
This.
This is misleading.
The balance of power will not shift much, if at all.
The balance of power will shift massively if certain schools are essentially paying athletes huge salaries while others do things "the right way."
August 4th, 2022 at 10:20 PM ^
Does NIL like to be big spoon or little spoon? Please use protection.
August 4th, 2022 at 10:20 PM ^
It was time 1 year ago. Better late then never i suppose but the trajectory of recruiting in football still worries me. We need to correct this immediately.
Exactly. A strong NIL program isn’t a competitive advantage, it’s the price of admission. Any school without one won’t be relevant in 2-3 years.
August 4th, 2022 at 10:23 PM ^
Finally someone impactful speaks out honestly about it. This is not a Disney movie.
August 4th, 2022 at 10:30 PM ^
Fuck yeah! We’re back!
August 4th, 2022 at 10:45 PM ^
We're still in the early stages of getting the technique down...
August 4th, 2022 at 10:55 PM ^
Can UM directly pay athletes that get field playing time during live tv events for representing us? Like a per minute on live tv payout? I mean nobody is using their NIL more than the university. Wouldnt it be against the supreme courts stance if they (the NCAA) tried to block us from paying them for representing us on TV?
Give $10million a year to the football players on a per minute played basis? Pull it directly from football tv money so nobody has to cry foul.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:44 PM ^
Revenue sharing is not currently available to players. It's also the thing the AD's are terrified of because of the impact on non-revenue sports.
The dirty laundry in this is that the players are generating the millions that pay for everybody else (coaches, administrators, non-revenue athletes, etc.). Now they can get NIL money, but they are not sharing in the "real" revenue stream flowing into the athletic department. When they do (when, not if), the books are going to have to balance.
To add to that, most athletic departments LOSE money right now. Making a profit is very rare. Balancing those books when you’re adding an expense to a department that already operates at a loss is going to be pretty tricky.
If Kevin Warren and the B1G wants to really “lead” in the revenue sharing aspect - let them use the new media agreement, which we’ve all heard has significant dollars associated with it - and provide for revenue sharing, across the conference, for all student athletes.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
"and provide for revenue sharing, across the conference, for all student athletes."
On what sliding scale? Pay women's sports the same per athlete as men's even though they generate less interest and fewer watch? Pay Tennis athletes the same entry level as Basketball?
August 5th, 2022 at 10:51 AM ^
Hail, I didn’t say it would be an “easy” problem to solve. So, I cannot offer a “solution” at this moment. I do think, or hope, the B1G Leadership - starting with Kevin Warren - is thinking about this.
BTN programming includes women’s sports - like tennis, field hockey, and volleyball. Title IX would, I assume, be a factor.
It may not be easy - but, it is worth exploring, IMO.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:02 PM ^
Let's do this. I will send in my piggy bank.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:09 PM ^
It's time for Michigan to start attacking NIL with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind
August 4th, 2022 at 11:22 PM ^
Let’s transact.
Let’s have transformational transactions
August 4th, 2022 at 11:35 PM ^
Hasn't Michigan already embraced Name Image Likeness? Or is he talking about paying $3-4 million to high school QB to attend his first college level practice in Ann Arbor? I think I'll start watching the NFL again where there is a system in place that tries to encourage parity.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:43 PM ^
I get where you're coming from and I was one of the people that expressed some warnings about NIL with no guardrails knowing that the current situation is what would come of it. Unfortunately, the market is the market and if other teams are doing it and Michigan doesn't then Michigan is at a competitive disadvantage.
The fact of the matter is that Michigan either has to make the decision to go all in on NIL and compete with the big boys or back off and be satisfied with second tier status. We're half pregnant with our current methodology and it isn't working.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:52 PM ^
So you'd prefer that Michigan gets trucked by schools who are paying QBs $3MM-$4MM to attend their first practice at a different university? It's not a dilemma about whether NIL should exist or not -- it exists now. The question is would you like Michigan to embrace the resources they have available to them, or would you rather them have no chance at being a regular national championship contender?
Or is he talking about paying $3-4 million to high school QB to attend his first college level practice in Ann Arbor? I think I'll start watching the NFL again...
You do realize that your favorite NFL team does this right? No drafted player attends an NFL practice until they sign a contact with millions guaranteed. Whatever though. Carry on...
Respectfully, how many media / product companies have NFL rookies advertising, under contract, for them - before they get to training camp?
The scholarship offer is the “signed contract” which you refer to, in my opinion. NIL is for promoting - any “off the field activities” for the player.
IMO, a line needs to be drawn - and, that line needs to be clear. Define what the University and the athletic scholarship are about (on one side), and the NIL deals on the other side. The line separating those two sides is very unclear, at certain schools, right now.
What you are proposing is what we need to get to. But most of the colleges are not following this and there is no Body that can govern this. NCAA is powerless and have no good track record. It may be up to SEC and B1G commissioners to do something. Until that happens, I am hoping we would play the game within State laws.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:05 AM ^
Life, I agree - no true governance or standards exist today. That’s causing a lot of frustration for many fans, me included. It’s one reason why Mark Emmert - and those in leadership at the NCAA for the last decade will “live in infamy” - for me.
Navigating these NIL waters is delicate, especially with the principles of excellence - academic and athletic - at Michigan. I’m pretty sure the last thing the Administration wants (again, both Academic and Athletic) is to deal with a lawsuit from an unhappy student athlete who reached an NIL deal with a Collective, but isn’t realizing “all the benefits expected”, or - is drawn into some legal / tax issues.
I’m “dyed in the wool” Maize & Blue, and guardedly optimistic / hopeful that what is offered via NIL, will draw prospective student athletes to Michigan.
Which is why I may as well just watch the NFL. The NFL has a draft and a salary cap to try to keep things competitive, but the college game is no longer interesting because the same 4 - 5 teams play for the championship every year. Texas A & M may be able to buy their way to the top, but Brigham Young (1984) will never happen again. I find that boring.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
Colt, fair points. I’m “old school”, and still value the tradition of college athletics. The NFL is the highest quality of football available. But, they operate with a relative “mercenary” structure as well. I prefer college sports over their professional alternatives.
What is the reason for many of the same college teams in the Playoff (again, a very fair point you raised)? First, talent - the recruiting by those teams has been exceptional. It’s no coincidence that the teams with the highest level of roster talent are consistently / usually in the hunt for the CFP. The other reason, again, IMO, is that the CFP selection process is still a beauty contest (to a degree) - and, the CFP does not place as high of a value on a conference championship as I do.
This goes back “a while”. The CFP, and BCS which preceded it, placed teams into the playoff who; 1) lost their conference champions game, 2) didn’t play in their CCG, or 3) were defeated during the conference season by another team in their division who actually won their division and conference.