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Sunday Edition

December 15, 2024

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Good morning. As I wrote last month, we saw a lot of exciting parity this college football season [[link removed]] that—fueled by NIL money, conference realignment, and the expansion to a 12-team College Football Playoff—gave us schools we aren’t used to seeing get this far like Indiana, SMU, and ASU. The NIL part of this, in particular, continues to fascinate me. And it appears to fascinate you, too. After I wrote last week [[link removed]] about the billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison giving millions to flip a top quarterback recruit from LSU to Michigan, readers had a lot to say. We’re devoting today’s issue to your responses.

You can always sound off by emailing me directly at [[email protected]] or replying to this email. You could end up in a future mailbag [[link removed]].

— Dan Roberts [[link removed]], FOS EIC

Reader Mailbag: Is the NIL Era Out of Control?

Junfu Han/Imagn Images

Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 college football prospect in the country, flipped his commitment [[link removed]] from LSU to his hometown Michigan last month. It was a major shake-up in the recruiting landscape—although not entirely surprising amid the free-for-all frenzy of the NIL (name, image, and likeness) dealmaking era.

The part that did raise eyebrows: Oracle founder Larry Ellison played a key role [[link removed]] in Underwood’s pivot, providing “invaluable guidance and financial resources.” The exact amount of the quarterback’s NIL deal—reportedly between $10 million and $12 million from the Michigan NIL collective Champions Circle—is not publicly confirmed, but Ellison likely gave a lion’s share of the money. And Ellison isn’t even an alum— his partner Jolin (aka Keren Zhu) [[link removed]] is.

What’s clear is that college football’s billionaire backer era has begun. The floodgates are open, and the very definition of NCAA recruitment is morphing into something different. As The New York Times asked in October [[link removed]], in a piece focused on Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado, “Does a multibillion-dollar sports enterprise attached to American universities make any sense?”

FOS readers had plenty of input on this divisive topic in response to last Sunday’s column [[link removed]]. The biggest question they probed: Is this a problem?

It’s a Problem

“This story should scare everyone in college athletics. There’s no question the transfer portal and the NIL have created a new era. This is clearly now a pay-for-play reality, regardless of the vehicle—NIL, House settlement, or otherwise. It is professional athletics, but without any form of regulation. The NCAA has become a fading, if wholly non-existent, voice in college sports and the vacuum left is being filled with collectives, billionaires, media contracts, the CFP and agents. My prediction for the next big wave in college football? Corruption.

“Oversight and regulation will have to come from somewhere. But I don’t expect Congress to act anytime soon and I don’t see any other body interested in the job. … Please keep reporting on these developments. College football is rapidly becoming something I no longer recognize, and that for me, is a loss.” —Rem Nivens

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“Makes me wonder how many stories are/will be out there about 18-year-olds and their families who don’t have the wherewithal to handle their NIL windfalls. I’m sure a whole subculture of unsavory characters is growing to ‘help’ with the issues all that money brings with it, with some ugly results. I’m sure there will be plenty of players/families surprised by their tax bills, too …” —Joe Lynch

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“Yes, it is troubling. There are impoverished kids who want to go to college but don’t get involved in the seeming scam of NIL to get a foot in the door.” —Barbara Shaidnagle

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“I feel that the influx of all this money is going to ruin CFB. There have to be some limits. Maybe limit the amount given and a portion goes to others on the team? Use the money for scholarships to all players. Delay portions of the payment until after graduation. There really needs to be some structure. Or just let them go pro straight from high school. Keep college as an amateur game. Additionally, there should be transfer limits. If you transfer via the portal, you are required to stay for two years unless the coach changes jobs.” —Tim Bernstein

Kirby Lee/Imagn Images This Is Fine

“NIL has just become a recruiting tool. A Michigan alum will always cheer for Michigan no matter if Ellison buys them a shiny new QB. NIL is great for the student (cough, cough) athlete. But no capitalist ever stood up a successful football minor league. The college brand is driving the dollars, not the athlete.” —Brian Sambirsky

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“I fully support college athletes shaking down the entire system for however much they can squeeze, and using their newfound leverage. As an alum of a hopelessly sports-irrelevant school, I have no dog in this fight except the interests of justice. These athletes were exploited for a century by a system that chewed them up, spat them out, and facilitated a microscopic minority to go on to riches in the pros. The hypocrisy of college sports is always what frosted me most about it. Everyone else could get paid handsomely, except the very people who put their bodies on the line. We’ve now replaced the previous era of shady dealings with above-the-table deals known to all, with budgets and price tags announced. So, no, I will shed no tears for that change—sunlight is a great disinfectant. This NIL system, kludged-together as it is, improves the overall morality of college sports, and lessens its propensity for corruption.” —Steve Estes

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“You’re shining a light on the bigger, better version of the thing SEC schools have been doing for decades under the table? Spare me. Now, because the real schools with real money are throwing their hat into the fray, it’s a problem? And what of the $20 million-plus roster Ohio State just put together all to go 10-2 and yet somehow still earn a CFP bid? Where was the outcry then? Shouldn’t that be mentioned here? The problem you’re alluding to is likely to end up with overseas money infiltrating a lesser program to compete with the big boys, like Manchester City has done in England. Then sure, you can make your claims. This isn’t that. Go Blue.” —Mike Salerno

If these letters have you churning, send along your own thoughts about this or anything else you see on FOS. My mailbox is always open at [[email protected]].

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Good Week / Bad Week Belichick’s Deal; YouTube TV Hikes

Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images

Good week for:

Bill Belichick ⬆ The sabbatical is over for the legendary NFL coach. The six-time Super Bowl–winning head coach is headed to the college ranks after signing on to lead UNC’s football program [[link removed]]. Belichick’s deal is reportedly worth $10 million per year for five years. Among the contract’s finer points [[link removed]] is the ability to earn up to an additional $3.5 million each year in performance incentives, plus a courtesy car and membership to the esteemed—and expensive—Chapel Hill Country Club.

BYU ⬆ AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1–ranked high school men’s basketball recruit in the class of 2025, announced Tuesday his commitment to the Cougars [[link removed]]. BYU beat out three other finalists: bluebloods UNC and Kansas, and Alabama, which made the Final Four last season. BYU’s NIL (name, image, and likeness) offer to Dybantsa is reportedly worth $7 million.

Bad week for:

Sports fans ⬇ YouTube TV announced it will increase its monthly subscription price [[link removed]] by $10 to $82.99. Once viewed as a cheaper alternative to cable, the service is now essentially at par with typical bundle prices. Considering many big games from leagues like the NFL and NBA are moving exclusively to other streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Peacock, sports fans need to shell out more money to access all the games.

49ers ⬇ San Francisco fell to the Rams on Thursday Night Football, its fourth loss in five games. Last year’s NFC champions are now 6–8 and are close to being officially eliminated from the playoff hunt. On top of the losses, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter before heading to the locker room in the fourth. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Campbell, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal in the offseason, “didn’t want to play today.”

The Sunday Read Is a Ref Betting Scandal Coming?

Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images

In a post–Jontay Porter world, where the NBA is doubling down on its embrace of betting, some industry insiders say people aren’t looking in the right place for the next shoe to drop. Many sports betting pros believe referees represent a bigger risk for illicit gambling on contests than players. Even as the sports betting industry has shifted toward legalization and increased regulation, FOS contributor Ben Dowsett [[link removed]] writes that the next Tim Donaghy scandal [[link removed]] isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

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