NIL

The Music Never Stops

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In the game of musical chairs when the music stops there is always one chair too few.  In the college football coaching version where the music never stops there is always one chair too many.

When a school’s AD tosses a contestant out (coach) he opens his chair.

This year it started as it always does, with the first open chair.  That was USC.

Others followed.  Washington State.  LSU.  TCU.  Washington St.  Virginia Tech.  Washington.  Florida. Temple.  Connecticut.  Louisiana Tech.

A few filled quickly in season.  Many others remain open.

But a few things stand out to this year’s game within the game.  One, the team names on the chairs seem bigger and more plentiful than usual.  Two, the cost to throw a chair into the game got more expensive.  Three, some bigger coaching names suddenly have moved on from big-time, coveted programs to other big-time, coveted programs.

What’s driving all of this?  Remember the tried and true answer to most any question?  Money.

Conference realignment is here again, and the rich are getting richer.  It’s called capitalism even though some purists resist the conference changes that bring more pocket change.

Lincoln Riley got the keys to a Lincoln and then some so to speak.  USC is reported to be buying both his homes in Norman for $500,000 over asking, adding up to a $1 million bonus; buying a $6 million home for their new head coach in Los Angeles; and allowing unlimited use of the private jet 24/7 for him and his family.

Those are just the perks.  Toss in a roughly $10 million/year salary and it’s good work if you can get it.

We’ll soon know what LSU is going to pay Brian Kelly to leave the sacred grounds where Touchdown Jesus keeps his eyes on things.  Our guess is it more salary than Riley with fewer perks.

And the bands play on.  Now the Oklahoma and Notre Dame jobs are open.

Riley was sitting on the doorstep of the playoffs till Saturday came and went.  Kelly got closer because of the Saturday outcomes and might have gotten in depending on this Saturday’s outcomes.

Never mind that, mine gold.  You can’t spell team without me.

The purists also don’t like the recent NIL deal.  Your name, image, and likeness can pay you money while playing college sports these days if you “earn” it.  Coaches mentor kids don’t they?  What’s good for the goose……….

There seems to be no supply chain shortage of coaches.  The NCAA, like the Feds, is printing money.  And, wage inflation is rampant.  Do you think ticket prices might go up some?

In college coaching musical chairs, the music never stops.  And there seems to always be an open chair.

Who gets the last laugh all of the way to the bank? Nick Saban.  His Alabama contract calls for him to be perpetually the highest-paid coach in all the land.  He doesn’t have to leave to chase the gold, it chases him.

Besides, he’d never leave, would he?

“Coach, you’ve got the Notre Dame AD holding on line one.”

 

 

Poof!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Want to see a quick magic act?  Watch closely as three letters (NIL) will make four letters (NCAA) disappear.

Abracadabra alakazam!  And so it is, and so it will be.

Name, Image, and Likeness is a money-making opportunity for NCAA “student-athletes” that is monetizing rather quickly.  The possibilities are endless and the money plentiful.

For the NCAA, it’s too many holes in the dam to keep the water out.  So, early this week NCAA President Mark Emmert stated publicly that he thinks that the individual conferences should self-monitor the do’s and dont’s of the new frontier.

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban responded to an SEC media days question Wednesday by announcing that his 2021 first time starter to be Bryce Young has inked deals that approach a total of seven figures.

And, the rich are about to get richer.  Texas and Oklahoma are chatting with the SEC about joining and expanding the conference to sixteen heavyweights.  More super teams in a super conference mean much more TV money.

In college tennis, all of the above would be called game, set, and match.  In NCAA football, the real moneymaker, all of that is called a game-changer.

Eighteen-year-olds from coast to coast who might be “taking their talents” to this university or that one, are also now increasingly verbalizing that they are “working on their brand.”  The truth is they aren’t a brand.  But the best ones, or the ones who go to the college that can best exploit/promote them, can resemble an ATM.

And last evening ESPN ran a story about high schooler Mickael Williams (the next Michael Jordan?) inking a NIL deal or three as he and his marketing team “work on his brand.”

You might be wondering, where does it stop?  The answer is that it doesn’t really.  It will seek its level much like under the table money does.

If you’re that good, you’ll get paid.  If you’re not, the money will go away eventually.

For every Air Jordan “brand” there are thousands of air balls.

Five-star yesterday, NIL money today, and not drafted tomorrow is always a possibility.

But for the current makeup of the NCAA it’s here today, and gone tomorrow.