NIL has impact on early signing
Recruiting becoming more unpredictable because of its presence
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 in the hopes of convincing 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 [have] 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 24 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 five-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 an 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 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.”