[Mick]

I will make the suggestion (and I'm sure it will be an unpopular one) that Stanford should peel off a billion dollars from their $40B endowment, invest it conservatively in securities returning 5%, and use the returns to fund NIL and athletics.  That would be a game changer.  Stanford could be a net winner in the portal/NIL game rather than a net loser.

If we're going to go to the trouble of having a top-flight athletics program, one that attracts eyeballs and attention and applicants, we may as well take that step. At this point, we're just negotiating price.

[Mick]

I will make the suggestion (and I'm sure it will be an unpopular one) that Stanford should peel off a billion dollars from their $40B endowment, invest it conservatively in securities returning 5%, and use the returns to fund NIL and athletics.  That would be a game changer.  Stanford could be a net winner in the portal/NIL game rather than a net loser.

If we're going to go to the trouble of having a top-flight athletics program, one that attracts eyeballs and attention and applicants, we may as well take that step. At this point, we're just negotiating price.