Is Day's $13M NIL goal for OSU football attainable?
As an arms race COLUMBUS — around name, image and likeness has swept college football, Ohio State coach Ryan Day laid out an objective for his program.
Addressing about a hundred businesspeople at an event held on campus earlier this month, Day pointed to $13 million as the sum of money needed to keep the roster together.
If the Buckeyes players collectively accumulate eight figures through endorsement deals and other marketing opportunities each year, they will be more likely to remain in Columbus instead of transferring to other schools.
That was the case Day made to the audience at the Covelli Center.
In a particularly turbulent era for the sport with a surge in player movement due to the transfer portal combined with sudden money-making opportunities, roster retention has been a paramount concernforteams.
Day’s comments made instant headlines, a rare instance in which a coach had been outspoken about the dollar amount needed in NIL money to be raised for a program.
The estimate also set off a bit of curiosity among fans and observers about the likelihood of such an eye-popping total materializing. Is Day’s $13 million goal realistic?
“It just depends on how many people are willing to get involved and help athletes procure NIL deals,” said Peter Schoenthal, the chief executive of Athliance, an NIL management firm that works with schools and booster collectives. “And when I say NIL deals, I don’t mean we’re just paying athletes. I mean actual marketing dollars where they’re using their name, image and likeness to promote businesses and individuals.”
The past year has seen Ohio State’s football players take advantage of wide-ranging opportunities, receiving deals from clothing brands, car dealerships and food and beverage companies, among other businesses.
The Ohio State athletic department says that athletes across all of the 36 varsity sports have totaled nearly $3.5 million in NIL compensation since activities became permitted in the aftermath of NCAA rules changes that took effect in July, a combination of disclosed deals that rank the most among all universities. A bulk of the earnings have been among football players.
But it’s possible these are only the tip of the iceberg in a nascent market that appears on track for expansion as it moves beyond its inaugural year.
One of the biggest reasons is the emergence of collectives, groups of boosters that pool money to fund NIL deals for athletes at a specific school.
Two such collectives supporting Ohio State launched this spring. Known as THE Foundation and the Cohesion Foundation, they are set up to pay players for working with partner charitable organizations.
In recent months, the groups have been raising money, meeting with prospective supporters and soliciting donations on social media. THE Foundation is also organizing a fundraising event in August that will be headlined by Day.
Their efforts will have a big hand in the Buckeyes reaching their eight-figure goal.
Brian Schottenstein, a real estate executive and booster who founded THE Foundation alongside Cardale Jones, Ohio State’s former national championship-winning quarterback, believes the $13 million is within reason, pointing to the reception that has followed the non-profit’s launch in March and other factors.
“Just from seeing what we’re able to raise from different businesses for each athlete, and given the Columbus business community,” Schottenstein said, “I think that’s attainable to raise that amount.”
Neither foundation has announced its fundraising totals.
One advantage provided by school-specific collectives is they can capitalize on fervor among alumni and fans.
“If you’re a donor that doesn’t necessarily have a business, if you just donate based on your individual wealth that you have, a collective allows you to contribute those dollars,” said Luke Fedlam, the founder of Columbus-based Anomaly Sports Group, which provides NIL education for schools, including Ohio State. “And then they can distribute those dollars with various organizations that they’ve partnered with to be able to do name, image and likeness deals.”
The Buckeyes maintain a large donor base, one that annually gives tens of millions of dollars to the athletic department.
Donors provided as much as $48 million in the fiscal year covering 2020, according to the financial statement the department provided to the NCAA.
“When you think about a school like Ohio State, how many alumni are out there, how many donors are out there?” Schoenthal said. “When you start thinking about those numbers, I don’t think it’s a lofty goal.”
When Day spoke out about the $13 million goal, his public appeal also had an impact on fundraising.
Both THE Foundation and the Cohesion Foundation said they saw an increase in donations over the following weeks.
“It kind of created an awareness that we can’t be left behind,” Schottenstein said, “and this is the number we have to set our goal for. It’s nice to have a goal when you’re trying to raise money.”
Gary Marcinick, a former walk-on receiver for the Buckeyes and a wealth management executive who founded the Cohesion Foundation, listened to Day’s address at the recent event.
He felt it was an important message for the group in attendance to hear, especially as it adjusts to the new reality in college football.
NIL opportunities remain a consideration for players coming out of high school and for those considering transfer options.
“It’s good for him to have the courage to come out and share with people publicly the magnitude of the problem or challenge,” Marcinick said.
Marcinick added that a lot of avenues will be needed for Buckeyes players to amass $13 million in NIL deals.
Those involve businesses sponsoring athletes, including through a corporate ambassador program the school launched this month, or fans donating to collectives that set up potential agreements.
The lack of a mega-booster who could fund a bulk of the deals leaves Ohio State in need of broad support.
“Without a 40-year-old billionaire, it’s got to be maybe 25 different entities leaning in at a million or half a million dollars each,” Marcinick said. “So when you ask is this is this doable? I would say yes, it is doable. But it’s going to take a tremendous spirit of cooperation amongst the stakeholders, and truly the stakeholders of the success or failure of Ohio State football.”
Should the Buckeyes expect a hit to their depth chart if they fall short of the lofty NIL goal?
Schoenthal, the Athliance CEO, isn’t as concerned. He mentioned programs with Ohio State’s track record of producing NFL draft picks are going to retain much of their talent.
Endorsement earnings ultimately pale in comparison to the money that can be picked up through professional contracts.
“If you’re at Ohio State, and you’re a good player,” Schoenthal said, “and you’re either on the field or your next up, where are you going? Where are you leaving? These kids still really understand the end game, and that’s going to the NFL, reaching their goals, fulfilling on their dreams, taking care of their families. They get it.
“So I think his comments, for lack of a better term, are a little bit of pandering. But do I think that money is a realistic amount that could be raised among the Ohio State donor pool to do fair-market NIL value deals based on the reach Ohio State athletes have? Absolutely.”