Discussions about how much money affects recruiting crop up in this forum, and I know I've been a little confused about how things have changed. So, if anyone is interested, this thread is to discuss, cuss, and chew the cud on the topic. Maybe even beat a few dead horses.
Interestingly, Knox News has a big story on NIL today for those who have a subscription or want to pay a $1 for the article. There's also a story available from the same reporter that says it from KnoxNews at Yahoo Sports. Here's a paragraph that stood out to me from the latter:
$900,000 divided by 15 roster spots is $60,000 per year. Again, that's on top of a scholarship. Not that it will be divided evenly, but that's a starting point.
Opendorse has a report "NIL at Four" that pulls from all their data about NIL deals. (You have to give them email, etc. to download. I said I was media. Here's my publication site!) Lots of interesting stuff. I'll try to post some of it, but here's two things to start. One, what a crazy few years for athletic directors and coaches. Total money involved in NIL (not all of which gets to athletes) went from just over $900 million in 21-22 to $2.26 BILLION in 24-25 and an estimated $2.75 BILLION this year. That's there's some tumultuous change! Interesting point from this is that the role of collectives is shrinking rapidly: $1.3 billion in 24-25 to $227 million this year.
Finally, the NCAA has a dashboard where you can play around looking at NIL data by year, sport, position of the player, etc. For example:
For deals reported from July 1 of this year (after the House settlement went into effect), half of the 840 or so women basketball players in the P4 conferences have total NIL earnings of $3390 or less (the median). But the average is $20,724. Obviously, a few players with HUGE deals are pulling the average up. In fact, the site shows that only about 1% of players have total NIL compensation over $50,000 -- that would be about 8 players!
Finally, "social media influencers" rack up some big NIL dollars, and they aren't always the best athletes. For example, the Cavinder twins from Miami pulled in around $1.7 million based on their social media following:
And, one of the leading all-time NIL money earners is an LSU Gymnast:
So, as with so much of marketing and media, there's more than sports going on here.
And, one final point I saw in some of my reading (I think from Geno): What happens as this goes forward. UCLA has already committed to support of its women's team, and there's a lot of money floating around in LA businesses. Does it end up like baseball, where the Dodgers and Yankees are much better spots for a player, over and above salary, due to the "outside" endorsement deals?
Anyway, I find it all very interesting and, as I said, am just learning. Happy to be corrected if others see where I've misunderstood something, and would love to hear others thoughts and comments!
Interestingly, Knox News has a big story on NIL today for those who have a subscription or want to pay a $1 for the article. There's also a story available from the same reporter that says it from KnoxNews at Yahoo Sports. Here's a paragraph that stood out to me from the latter:
$900,000 divided by 15 roster spots is $60,000 per year. Again, that's on top of a scholarship. Not that it will be divided evenly, but that's a starting point.
Opendorse has a report "NIL at Four" that pulls from all their data about NIL deals. (You have to give them email, etc. to download. I said I was media. Here's my publication site!) Lots of interesting stuff. I'll try to post some of it, but here's two things to start. One, what a crazy few years for athletic directors and coaches. Total money involved in NIL (not all of which gets to athletes) went from just over $900 million in 21-22 to $2.26 BILLION in 24-25 and an estimated $2.75 BILLION this year. That's there's some tumultuous change! Interesting point from this is that the role of collectives is shrinking rapidly: $1.3 billion in 24-25 to $227 million this year.
Finally, the NCAA has a dashboard where you can play around looking at NIL data by year, sport, position of the player, etc. For example:
For deals reported from July 1 of this year (after the House settlement went into effect), half of the 840 or so women basketball players in the P4 conferences have total NIL earnings of $3390 or less (the median). But the average is $20,724. Obviously, a few players with HUGE deals are pulling the average up. In fact, the site shows that only about 1% of players have total NIL compensation over $50,000 -- that would be about 8 players!
Finally, "social media influencers" rack up some big NIL dollars, and they aren't always the best athletes. For example, the Cavinder twins from Miami pulled in around $1.7 million based on their social media following:
And, one of the leading all-time NIL money earners is an LSU Gymnast:
So, as with so much of marketing and media, there's more than sports going on here.
And, one final point I saw in some of my reading (I think from Geno): What happens as this goes forward. UCLA has already committed to support of its women's team, and there's a lot of money floating around in LA businesses. Does it end up like baseball, where the Dodgers and Yankees are much better spots for a player, over and above salary, due to the "outside" endorsement deals?
Anyway, I find it all very interesting and, as I said, am just learning. Happy to be corrected if others see where I've misunderstood something, and would love to hear others thoughts and comments!
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