Really good piece
www.si.com
“We’re funneling everything previously under-the-table over the table,” says one SEC staff member who spoke to SI under the condition of anonymity. “The big change is the numbers are going up. Before [NIL], you knew it was bulls--- if a kid came to you and said he was getting more than $50,000 from another school. Now, numbers that used to be bulls--- aren’t bulls--- anymore.
“Everything now comes down to how willing are your boosters and how rich are your boosters. You’re pretty much f----- if you don’t have the booster bank.”.....
“What I’ve learned is, everybody is doing it now,” says Hugh Hathcock, an auto industry innovator who is worth a half-billion dollars and recently started a collective at the University of Florida, Gator Guard, by donating $1 million of his own money. “The landscape is, if we [Florida fans] don’t get the money, we’re going to lose players. No matter how well a kid likes Florida, if a school comes in at the last minute and says ‘We are going to pay you $100,000’ and we have $10,000, they’re gone.
“That ain’t gonna cut it if you’re competing against [Texas] A&M, Alabama and Georgia.”
NIL, ‘booster banks’ and recruiting wars: For some, it doesn’t add up - Sports Illustrated
Stakeholders across college sports are divided over the benefits of NIL and whether opening the door to big money donors is a good thing.
www.si.com
“We’re funneling everything previously under-the-table over the table,” says one SEC staff member who spoke to SI under the condition of anonymity. “The big change is the numbers are going up. Before [NIL], you knew it was bulls--- if a kid came to you and said he was getting more than $50,000 from another school. Now, numbers that used to be bulls--- aren’t bulls--- anymore.
“Everything now comes down to how willing are your boosters and how rich are your boosters. You’re pretty much f----- if you don’t have the booster bank.”.....
“What I’ve learned is, everybody is doing it now,” says Hugh Hathcock, an auto industry innovator who is worth a half-billion dollars and recently started a collective at the University of Florida, Gator Guard, by donating $1 million of his own money. “The landscape is, if we [Florida fans] don’t get the money, we’re going to lose players. No matter how well a kid likes Florida, if a school comes in at the last minute and says ‘We are going to pay you $100,000’ and we have $10,000, they’re gone.
“That ain’t gonna cut it if you’re competing against [Texas] A&M, Alabama and Georgia.”
