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‘Arms race’: NIL compensation now a potent recruiting weapon

FILE - Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, March 4, 2022. Alabama’s Nick Saban said last month that his players made more than $3 million in NIL deals over the last year and his SEC rival, Georgia's Kirby Smart, got even more specific. “We may have had the highest-paid defensive lineman last year in NIL in Jordan Davis,” Smart said.(AP Photo/AJ Mast, File) FILE - Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (19) plays against Charleston Southern during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, in Athens, Ga. Alabama’s Nick Saban said last month that his players made more than $3 million in NIL deals over the last year and his SEC rival, Georgia's Kirby Smart, got even more specific. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) FILE - Georgia head coach Kirby Smart speaks with Alabama head coach Nick Saban before the first half of the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Atlanta. When the NCAA instituted a policy last summer allowing athletes to earn money off use of their name, image and likeness, the notion was that it would give players a chance to make a little money but wouldn’t be used as a recruiting weapon. That’s not how it’s worked out. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) FILE - Ohio State head coach Ryan Day talks to reporters during an NCAA college football news conference at the Big Ten Conference media days, at Lucas Oil Stadium, Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in Indianapolis. Pay-for-play situations or improper inducements are still banned, but there is nothing stopping colleges from letting recruits know how athletes on campus are already profiting through NIL deals and how much support is available to them if they're interested. For instance, Ohio State has a Twitter account in which it boasted this summer that it had surpassed 1,000 disclosed NIL deals for its athletes. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File) FILE - Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson answers a question at the NCAA college football Atlantic Coast Conference Media Days in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, July 20, 2022. “You used to talk about graduation rates and majors,” Clawson said about recuiting. “Now the first question is, ‘What are you guaranteeing me year one, two, three and four?’” Clawson isn't necessarily talking about playing time, either. Prospects are far more familiar with ways they can profit off their fame through endorsement deals and are looking hard at whether schools can help them do it. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)
‘Arms race’: NIL compensation now a potent recruiting weapon