As the calendar closes in on the early signing period starting Dec. 21, high school recruits and players in the transfer portal quickly declare their intentions. But that pledge is only worth the space it takes up on social media.
“Verbal commitments don’t mean anything anymore,” said Carl Reed, college football analyst for 247Sports. “A verbal commitment in this day and age has zero value, and the only thing that matters is: Did you make it to the end and did you get the kid signed?”
It’s been a long-standing tradition leading up to signing days that recruits would change their minds. Programs have become relentless in pursuing some players, sometimes reaching out at the very last minute, hoping to convince them to reconsider.
The introduction of name, image and likeness legislation in 2021 has led to the creation of school-centric collectives, which are working harder than ever to convince players to choose their program. That includes providing lucrative moneymaking opportunities that sometimes can run into the six figures.
“What NIL has done is made the players and the families look at money at least equally, if not more so than the football and academic situation,” said Reed. “Before, it was, ‘Did you like the coach? Did you like the school? Did they have a good major?’ But now, with NIL, we’ve got to talk about the money.
“That’s the biggest change and you see kids who like a school and an academic fit or even a football fit, but if you have $100,000 less than somebody they like a little bit less, those guys are taking the money.”
There are 20 states with NIL laws on the books that allow high school athletes to profit from NIL, and there are 24 states that also have signed into law NIL legislation at the college level. In some states, those laws can be less restrictive than others, allowing schools to promote collectives while others — including Florida — cannot.
Peter Schoenthal is the founder of Athliance, which works with universities on compliance issues centered around NIL. He sees the pitfalls surrounding collectives and their involvement in the recruiting process.
“It’s clear that collectives and opportunities and promises are playing a huge role in the recruitment of athletes, whether high school athletes or athletes in the transfer portal,” said Schoenthal. “The problem is that it’s very clear per the NCAA guidance and most state laws that boosters, individual donors, booster collectives and even universities can’t be in the business of promising deals. That is an inducement.
“Do I think every Power Five school, whether it’s a booster collective, donor or even coach, has broken a rule along the way? Absolutely.”
The introduction of NIL has changed how some recruits are viewed in the public eye.
Jaden Rashada, a 5-star quarterback out of Pittsburg (Calif.) High, made news when he verbally committed to the University of Miami on June 26. According to multiple reports, Rashada had a NIL agreement with Hurricanes mega-booster John Ruiz for $9.5 million, spurning an $11 million offer from the Gator Collective. Ruiz and the Gator Collective deny the reports.
Rashada eventually flipped his commitment from Miami to Florida on Nov. 10, but whether NIL was a factor or it was the Hurricanes’ struggles on the field remains to be seen.
Schoenthal believes reports of potential NIL deals such as the one about Texas A&M having a $30 million NIL fund are misleading to players and recruits.
“There’s so much chatter out there and rumors about these deals,” he said. “Athletes think there’s so much out there, but not at their university because of what they’re actually seeing that they think the grass is greener. But that’s not the case. I can’t tell you how many deals athletes have been promised that had fallen through or how many times athletes have made an inference and it was wrong.”
Wild speculation surrounding these multimillion-dollar NIL opportunities can entice recruits to sign with a school only to find out those deals don’t exist. Or even worse, when older players see reports of big deals that incoming freshmen are receiving, it can cause strife in the locker room and lead to players transferring in search of better opportunities.
“It’s the Wild West,” Schoenthal said. “It is a mess.”
The NCAA clarified its position on NIL in October, allowing universities more freedom to promote collectives and NIL opportunities as long as they don’t negotiate with an athlete on behalf of a collective.
That has opened the door for athletic departments to publicly ask fans to donate. While schools are still prohibited from using these opportunities to entice high school recruits, it’s clear that this is another level of the college athletics arms race.
The University of Florida recently reached out to its fan base, asking it to get more involved in supporting their athletes through NIL.
“The new era of college athletics has arrived,” UF athletics director Scott Stricklin said in a video directed to donors. “Florida Athletics is one of the top programs in the nation and that is in part because of your continued support. Name, image and likeness have come along and created new and exciting ways for our Gators athletes to have some unbelievable opportunities and you, Gator Nation, play an important role in this.
Stricklin mentions how fans and donors can support athletes through the Gator Collective, purchase player gear through Fanatics, or offer financial opportunities through INFLCR which is a software company specializing in sports-focused social media centered around NIL.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
