[BostonCard]

Random thought:

I think NIL and its frontal assault on the appeal of the Stanford 40 year decision value proposition (because let's be real, Dylan Lonergan is NOT making an irrational 40 year decision to go to Alabama rather than Stanford) is absolutely a big deal and much about our future depends on how we navigate that and/or if NIL evolves further in ways more or less congenial to our success. However, one big factor is our willingness to play in this space (pay to play if you prefer), and I think that may be less about administration support than some assume. My worry/hypothesis is that Stanford football fans are just so much less plentiful and passionate than what we're trying to compete with that we may struggle to achieve liftoff in NIL regardless of the administration's posture. As Taylor keeps saying, we have a collective. But is money flowing into that collective? Is it being doled out to entice recruits to come, either in a blanket way or a strategic way? If the answer to either remains no then we're going to struggle in this space. Yes, we have some rich alums, but a lot of them don't give a crap about football. A lot of those who do have other interests in life or will want to give their money to something more purely philanthropic or will want returns on investment that are unrealistic in the world of college football recruiting. Ultimately, we may struggle with NIL not because the administration is lukewarm to it but because a) we don't have any fans so can't pool money beyond what a few big donors give and b) the big donors may be temperamentally/culturally/individually/whatever less disposed to do so than some Texas oil baron is.

Almost certainly correct.  I think the question is what the eventual NIL landscape winds up looking like.  Will Inch & Co be doling out four Teslas every year to Penn State football players?  Will they become disillusioned when a year after their NIL deal, one of those guys leaves for another school?  Right now the NIL landscape is very unsettled while schools and donors try to figure out what the market is worth.  But yeah, while I could see donors funding some players on an ad hoc basis, I don't see a thriving collective with a multi-million dollar budget each year to acquire and retain players, nor do I want one.

BC

[BostonCard]

Random thought:

I think NIL and its frontal assault on the appeal of the Stanford 40 year decision value proposition (because let's be real, Dylan Lonergan is NOT making an irrational 40 year decision to go to Alabama rather than Stanford) is absolutely a big deal and much about our future depends on how we navigate that and/or if NIL evolves further in ways more or less congenial to our success. However, one big factor is our willingness to play in this space (pay to play if you prefer), and I think that may be less about administration support than some assume. My worry/hypothesis is that Stanford football fans are just so much less plentiful and passionate than what we're trying to compete with that we may struggle to achieve liftoff in NIL regardless of the administration's posture. As Taylor keeps saying, we have a collective. But is money flowing into that collective? Is it being doled out to entice recruits to come, either in a blanket way or a strategic way? If the answer to either remains no then we're going to struggle in this space. Yes, we have some rich alums, but a lot of them don't give a crap about football. A lot of those who do have other interests in life or will want to give their money to something more purely philanthropic or will want returns on investment that are unrealistic in the world of college football recruiting. Ultimately, we may struggle with NIL not because the administration is lukewarm to it but because a) we don't have any fans so can't pool money beyond what a few big donors give and b) the big donors may be temperamentally/culturally/individually/whatever less disposed to do so than some Texas oil baron is.

Almost certainly correct.  I think the question is what the eventual NIL landscape winds up looking like.  Will Inch & Co be doling out four Teslas every year to Penn State football players?  Will they become disillusioned when a year after their NIL deal, one of those guys leaves for another school?  Right now the NIL landscape is very unsettled while schools and donors try to figure out what the market is worth.  But yeah, while I could see donors funding some players on an ad hoc basis, I don't see a thriving collective with a multi-million dollar budget each year to acquire and retain players, nor do I want one.

BC