And so it begins... NIL

[20eyes]

but I think this has a chance to amplify what is already there. Plus this will put some schools that are not blue bloods into an advantageous situation they were not in prior to the NIL. For example, Boston College resides in a metro area of 4.6 mil. Boston College really doesn't have that much of a following in that city. They don't have a rabid fan base like ISU, they only get about 40,000 per game. But the opportunities for NIL at BC dwarf Iowa State. So it's not the bluebloods that are already rich and will get richer that is the issue, well it is an issue, but the greater issue is now location will give some programs huge opportunities compared to others.

Is this because of a rich alumni base? As I stated up thread, programs are going to have to WANT to take advantage of NIL. The biggest "problem" I see with NIL is the rich donor base that is ALSO motivated to win...which we already have. It's Janny's point about how much richer the already rich can get...

I mean, Harvard could crush NIL if they wanted to do it. ISU is just going to have to hire better than the rich programs, same as ever.

 

[cycloneworld]

Brock teaming up with Raygun too. Good for him.

 

[CycloneErik]

Can we just go back to everyone but the players getting filthy rich from this multi-billion dollar industry, that’s the only pure way to do things.

Multi-billion dollar "non-profit" industry. Seems legit, so let's do it.

 

[Jer]

I think you are right on. We are already one of the cheapest donor groups in all of P5. For whatever reason ISU fans and alumni do not donate to athletics as much as other fan bases. That is just a fact.

This is why people underestimate the impact for ISU. When schools that didn’t have an advantage before now have one because of their booster generosity, local market opportunities, etc it doesn’t matter that we have a rabid fan base if they aren’t as financially set. They aren’t just now recruiting the top players over us but can have uncommitted benefits to offer over an ISU much further down the ranking list.

I get that this is good for the kids and good for places like CF that can do tie ins, but for recruiting it’s just yet another hurdle for us. While that doesn’t itself kneecap us, it is one more challenge we have to constantly compete against. If you don’t see that, you don’t know how hard Matt and team already have to work to fight uphill battles with even 1-2 star kids.

 

[cykadelic2]

I could see a scenario playing out where someone like Georges has a lot more NIL ability than a star player for a college team in a big market. That's assuming purity in the NIL deal where people are actually paid based on what their NIL is worth in their market, which I don't see playing out because I see the wealthy donors simply buying recruits and players to get them on their team vs paying them according to their true NIL worth.

Will be interesting for sure.

The only questionable NIL deal I've seen so far is the Miami FL deal for all of their schollie FB players. The only loophole that deal may have (for now) is that deal may not be considered a recruiting inducement since the deal was struck with existing, signed players. A promise of a similar deal for unsigned players would obviously be a recruiting inducement. But this deal still appears to violate FL law where each deal must be commensurate with market value and it is difficult to justify that each player's value is $6K/year or one promotional pic with all of the players in it is truly worth $540K.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

The only questionable NIL deal I've seen so far is the Miami FL deal for all of their schollie FB players. The only loophole that deal may have (for now) is that deal may not be considered a recruiting inducement since the deal was struck with existing, signed players. A promise of a similar deal for unsigned players would obviously be a recruiting inducement. But this deal still appears to violate FL law where each deal must be commensurate with market value and it is difficult to justify that each player's value is $6K/year or one promotional pic with all of the players in it is truly worth $540K.

Hercy Millers $2mil deal is as shady as they come.

 

[cykadelic2]

Hercy Millers $2mil deal is as shady as they come.

Not really, it is an individual based deal and valued due to Dad. I have no problem with it.

 

[isufbcurt]

Hercy Millers $2mil deal is as shady as they come.

That deal is based on who his dad is, not him or his talents lol

 

[RealisticCy]

That deal is based on who his dad is, not him or his talents lol

So the reverse of a school hiring a top recruits dad/brother/high school coach?

 

[Mr Janny]

Not really, it is an individual based deal and valued due to Dad. I have no problem with it.

Exactly. It's entirely subjective. That's why it's not possible to regulate these deals based on some arbitrary 'market value' rules. The cost of advertising in the Los Angeles area is going to be different than in Tuscaloosa. A "fair" endorsement deal for a shoe company probably pays a lot more than others industries, so do you take into account the type of business that's hiring the athlete when you determine what's 'fair?' There are any number of other nuances. So, the question becomes, how would you go about deciding what's fair market value and what's not? And even if you could, how do you go about enforcing it? Are you examining every deal? Who is responsible for doing that? Not to mention, the first time you decide that some athlete's endorsement deal breaks the rules, be prepared for an impending lawsuit.
It's a fool's errand. Fair value is what people are willing to pay. Leave it at that.

 

[RotatingColumn]

I see a lot of comments about larger markets having an advantage. I disagree. College athletes are only popular in places like Ames. They are our pro players. I think the state of Iowa is the perfect place to capitalize on NIL.

 

[isufbcurt]

I see a lot of comments about larger markets having an advantage. I disagree. College athletes are only popular in places like Ames. They are our pro players. I think the state of Iowa is the perfect place to capitalize on NIL.

Except we don't have boosters who are willing to shell out money.

 

[isutrevman]

This isn't "free market". This is open "bag men" throwing money at kids to tilt the competition. This is equivalent to removing the salary cap in the NFL. While there is a "worth" to several of these kids having their likeness used for advertising I don't believe any of them are worth $2,000,000 yet.

It is a free market. A salary cap is not a free market. I don't believe the NFL has a salary cap on players benefitting from their NIL.

It doesn't matter if you think a player is worth $2,000,000 or not. It someone pays them $2mill, the market has determined they are worth $2mill. That's what a free market is.

 

[isutrevman]

Well I've learned that our football program will just be composed of walk ons by August so this is our reality forever I guess.

Nope, Bama will be taking those as well.

 

[MustardTiger]

 

[CapnCy]

I saw the CycloneFanatic tie ins with Brock and Breece...which is cool. BUT, got me thinking....as a fan site/media member...will others follow suit? Could KXNO, WHO, Uncle Randy pay Brock for exclusive access?

Again, we are in the "wild west" phase and a lot will shake out over the next few months/year...i know for athletes the time is now to cash in, but will be interested to see if some of our other stars for FB wait it out a bit to get a bigger deal vs smaller deals.

I also wonder when we'll see Ames restaurants start getting some of our athletes...as you'd think many of them would be cool with some NIL in exchange for free food whenever, lol.

 

[CyGuy5]

Except we don't have boosters who are willing to shell out money.

I keep seeing this thrown around, and while I don’t doubt that Iowa State does not have the boosters a school like Oklahoma or Texas does, is it true that we really don’t have many donors willing to shell out big money? I’m not familiar with the donor makeup outside of Weatherwax for trying to fight Bill Self

 

[runningcyfan]

I see a lot of comments about larger markets having an advantage. I disagree. College athletes are only popular in places like Ames. They are our pro players. I think the state of Iowa is the perfect place to capitalize on NIL.

First pro team I have seen wanting to get into NIL.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...a-panthers-reveal-plan-get-involved-nil-deals

 

[zcecsch]

So wouldn't schools located in lower population states like Iowa be at a disadvantage because there is not as many businesses as the higher population areas? For example, if one school is close to 500 business and the other is close to 200 businesses it would seem there are more opportunities for kids to earn more money if they go to higher population areas. Nebraska is a lower population state, but their fan base will do whatever it takes to help the players with NIL. Plus, they do not have another school in state to compete with like we do.

I have seen a few other people that share this opinion, but I disagree with it. Bigger markets tend to have more sports teams to spread the potential marketing money between. Some company in the twin cities could choose between the Vikings, the twins, the Timberwolves, or the wild before touching uni of Minnesota athletics. For a place like Ames, there may not be nearly as many companies around, but they only have one sports team to use to advertise. I think this gives an advantage to places like nebraska or Boise State which is basically the only show in town.

 

[zcecsch]

As others have said in this thread, recruiting is already rather unbalanced. I am personally somewhat concerned that the unbalance will get even worse, but I think it is important that the players get some of the money that their work provides.

Football players are forced to play in college for three years before they can go to the NFL. A potential alternative to allowing college football players to profit off of NIL is to either allow college aged players to play in a developmental league where they are paid, or allow them to go to the NFL after three years.