The Mind of Mike is a scary place. NIL has affected performance and I’ll tell you why.
While we are in the second full year of NIL and things have improved, think back to the 2021 season and some of the players that businesses invested greatly in. DJ Uiagalelei was the Dr. Pepper guy. Spencer Rattler signed with Leigh Steinberg and had some amazing deals with sports memorabilia companies. Sam Howell? He became part of a secret bidding war between agents and companies looking to rep the player that was expected to be the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft behind Rattler. And Quinn Ewers accelerated his high school graduation so he could get out of Texas (no state NIL) and head to Ohio State to lucrative deals.
And what happened? Uiagalelei was average at best and has been ever since while being replaced by Bryce Young in Fansville, Rattler lost his job to Caleb Williams and transferred, Howell regressed greatly and slid to the middle of the NFL Draft and Ewers transferred when it became clear he wouldn’t play ahead of CJ Stroud for a couple of years. Some might say it’s a coincidence but I say it’s a distraction, and it could be a problem moving forward.
This year has been better as stats like Young, Stroud, and Bijan Robinson from Texas all lived up to the hype. But what about the NIL-heavy class at Texas A&M with players like DB Denver Harris and WR Chris Marshall getting in trouble off the field and transferring out already? And we have had some examples of regression as well as Jordan Addison took the money and ran to USC to see his numbers and perhaps his draft stock fall while LSU WR Kayshon Boutte has some huge NIL deals but some think he mailed in this season.
While NIL is great if your performance enhances it the investment into unproven players is increasing more than ever and the gambles being made by collectives and companies with millions is minimal. But I’m convinced the distraction of the money and the feeling of “I’ve made it” can seep in. I’m not saying NIL is bad, players should earn money if they can, but it’s going to be interesting to see how they juggle the off field requirements of making this money with the potential loss of motivation and drive that comes with it.
