San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Notre Dame star says NIL deals hold sway
Isaiah Foskey looked good in the shiny, golden helmet. He also might not have worn it if he had made his college choice in the NIL era.
Before Foskey blossomed into an All-America defensive end at Notre Dame, he was a coveted Bay Area recruit. He grew up in Antioch and played at high school powerhouse De La Salle-Concord.
But recruits couldn’t profit from their name, image and likeness when Foskey completed his prep career in 2018. So it wasn’t a factor in his decision to join the Fighting Irish.
“I feel like I wouldn’t have gone to Notre Dame if there was NIL when I was coming into college,” Foskey said in a Chronicle interview. “It would have been pretty hard to go there, and stay there, given the amount of money other schools are throwing around.”
Foskey was referring to the emergence of collectives aligned (unofficially) with many high-profile Power 5 programs. Those collectives have turned NIL deals into an instrumental recruiting tool in the battle for top talent.
Notre Dame mostly has focused on landing deals for established players, Foskey said, and not recruits. The Irish are starting to adapt, but he recently spoke to one recruit who committed to Notre Dame despite a much larger NIL offer attached to another school.
“The price difference was so big, I wouldn’t know what to do,” Foskey said. “There’s so much pressure on the player and his family. … You can make NIL money when you’re at Notre Dame. You just have to work for it.”
Foskey made the most of his time in South Bend, Ind., on and off the field. He collected 26½ sacks in his career, including a team-high 11 as a junior in 2021 and another team-high 11 last season as a senior.
Foskey, a business-marketing major, also capitalized when NIL became permissible in July 2021, the summer before his junior season. He established his own brand, the IF Factor, and formed a marketing team to work for him. Foskey turned down some time-consuming partnerships but still found efficient ways to generate income.
He earned “significant money” during his final two years of college, mostly by selling his shirts and jerseys and from autograph signings. Foskey acknowledged the prestige of Notre Dame, one of college football’s most storied programs, added substantial value.
“I wasn’t really paying for anything, so I pocketed all the money from sales,” said Foskey, who has an NIL valuation of $819,000, according to On3.com. “I kept seeing my account grow and grow. … For me, it was perfect timing not having NIL going into college and then having it while I was there, amid the hype of playing at Notre Dame.
“I wish I had done more looking back, but I felt like it would have distracted me.”
Foskey completed his degree in December and temporarily lives near Dallas, preparing for next month’s NFL draft. He expects to be selected late in the first round or early in the second round, based on feedback he’s received from NFL officials.