Thread by @JordanAckerMI

So even though I’m technically still “on vacation” I want to add some thoughts on #NIL, the future, and where it’s going. Ride with me for this quick thread.

First, let’s lay out what’s happening. There’s two restrictions that some schools have to live under: first title IX, which (I’m being basic here) requires equal funding for mens and womens NIL. Meaning, hire an NIL coordinator for both, they better be doing both genders.

The second is using it as a recruiting device. This ties into the first, but let’s be clear, it’s against NCAA rules, some state laws, but neither have proven to be enforceable in any way.

The first one is resolvable, and with the right guidance, any school should handle well. The second, and more difficult issue, is using NIL collectives to recruit kids straight out of high school.

You see two things: first, schools that have been in this world for a long time transitioning well, some schools continuing to watch and see, and others invent them out of whole cloth.

Just my prediction here: using NIL as a recruiting incentive will be nearly impossible for most schools to keep up. Why? Worst ROI of any NIL scheme, by far.

I do think they are going to make some schools very successful in the NIL business, in the short term.

However, eventually donors tire of giving money “for nothing” and we will see the pot of NIL money isn’t unlimited. The biggest bang for the buck is and will be rising stars and developed talent. There’s no such thing as a sure thing in football or any other ncaa sport…

But the furthest thing from a sure thing is a high school kid (in the aggregate). The schools that will be most successful *in the long term* from NIL are the ones who successfully build collectives that fund rising stars and above.

Eventually, student athletes and prospects will see the same. Will some NIL collectives be very successful and throw lots of money at HS athletes? Yes. But their hit rate will be lower and they will waste a ton of money on guys that wash out.