Possible NIL Compromise

Submitted by thelomasbrowns on July 14th, 2022 at 9:32 AM

What's stopping us from opening up our internal NIL portal, Valiant Management services, etc. to players once they have committed? I'm assuming right now these all kick in after they enroll, but this seems like a potential compromise that would not violate the spirit of what we're trying to do. Am I missing something?    

Blue@LSU

July 14th, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^

I’ll slightly modify your recommendation. 

The board can creat a NIL jar (like a swear jar). Every time someone creates a thread about NIL, the put 100 of their own MGoPoints into the jar. These points are then distributed to recruits instead of money. What more could a recruit want? 

MGoPoints > $

NittanyFan

July 14th, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^

Go back in time, have Harbaugh not flirt with the Vikings, and see what U-M's recruiting class would look like in that alternate universe.

In statistical parlance, a test-and-control experiment.

I honestly believe Michigan's "terrible" (there's a reason for the air quotes, is it really that bad anyway?) recruiting class is being driven by that as much as anything NIL related.

RedRum

July 14th, 2022 at 9:39 AM ^

Well, define "us." The people whose jobs are at stake for an error are probably cautious. The people with money can sponser a player's NIL stuff.

I have the feeling that you and I aren't in this "us"

NonAlumFan

July 14th, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^

What's stopping us? Michigan law. High schoolers are not allowed to sign NIL deals in Michigan, and we're not going to back-door it like other universities.

ThadMattasagoblin

July 14th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^

Ok. If the state law is really what's stopping Michigan from having a recruiting class like Notre Dame or Ohio State then the AD should lobby the state to change the law. I'm sure that there would be bipartisan support to help our instate universities. People act like there are just all of these roadblocks when the real problem is the University of Michigan creating hoops to jump through.

UMForLife

July 14th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^

State law is not a roadblock if you want to do business the right way? I am confused why you acknowledge that as a problem, yet dismiss it as a mere UM problem. UM is just not going to go against that. Private parties can but UM will not. I don't know how easy it is to change that law given the political environment today. 

ThadMattasagoblin

July 14th, 2022 at 11:36 AM ^

The "right way" is giving athletes who have dedicated their whole lives to their sport a piece of the pie. It doesn't matter whether you are an incoming freshman or a senior. This idea that you have to earn that money and thus it should not be given to incoming players will hurt UM recruiting and hurts the incoming players by denying them NIL deals. Ann Arbor has a state rep and a state senator. Why hasn't Warde or Harbaugh reached out about the state law if it is hurting the university?

UMForLife

July 14th, 2022 at 11:59 AM ^

Wait a minute. Someone had the bright idea to create the law. Yet, Warde and Harbaugh has to find a way to change this law? What about all those advocates for students? What about the politicians themselves? I am not against students getting money, mind you. I am just saying that this seems like a piling on Warde and Harbaugh. This is not just a UM problem. All universities and high school students have this problem. 

mwolverine1

July 14th, 2022 at 9:53 AM ^

This is closer to what Miami is doing. The negotiation is done through back channels before the commitment and is more formalized post-commitment, to help dispel that the NIL was a recruiting inducement.

So no, we're not gonna do what you describe.

Blue Vet

July 14th, 2022 at 9:58 AM ^

"Nil" literally means "nothing," "non-existent." Same root for nihilistic.

The people who came up with Name, Image, Likeness (NIL)—instead of Likeness, Image, Name (LIN), for instance, or Name, Likeness, Image (NLI)—have no poetry in their soul.

Or else NIL is an enormous self-troll. 

Hab

July 14th, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^

So your proposal is to give high-value targets millions of dollars to do nothing more than say that they will come play ball here?  Nothing could possibly go wrong with that.  Nothing.

bronxblue

July 14th, 2022 at 11:43 AM ^

One of these days we're going to crack this NIL conundrum and it's going to be because of the diligent work of posters who posted stuff like "we should do something".

thelomasbrowns

July 14th, 2022 at 1:50 PM ^

Man you guys are brutal. The thought occurred to me when I was listening to the Roundtable, where they talk about NIL every week.  Sorry to distract from all of the mid-July sports news.

kejamder

July 14th, 2022 at 3:16 PM ^

I think the problem is that a lot of commenters have had this exact conversation before - see any of the dozens of previous boards posts about this or any of the threads attached to the Roundtable front-page posts. Think of all the comments as the equivalent of "asked and answered" objections.

And no, there's not a lot of other UM sports news, but nobody wants to reread and regurgitate the same thing over and over.