Re: Gator Collective
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 5:12 pm
We are in the infancy of NIL. As seasons go by, there will be more and more situations like this and issues that arise. The most foreseeable consequence is a drop in direct donations (a result of money being diverted to NIL) that could cause some serious Title IX issues and endanger certain sports.
Harder to forecast is the fallout from what will essentially be failed ROI with many of these recruits. The fact is, a plurality of highly-touted recruits fail to really launch. Big money donors aren't generally in the habit of throwing good money after bad. Another complication I see is big money donors over-estimating their influence over athletic departments and their respective programs. There are plenty of highly principled (perhaps egotistical) head coaches and AD's who won't be afraid to tell an overzealous, overbearing donor/ fan when to f--- off. As much as ego seems to be a character issue with someone like Bohl, it's also the very trait that would motivate him to stand up to fan influence, regardless of their potential as a financial resource. Could anyone imagine someone like Mike Leach kowtowing to a wealthy Law School alumnus?
In short, there's too many possibilities to extrapolate much of a long-term prognostication of how NIL shakes out over the next few years, or decade, or decades. Lots of unintended consequences. It might turn out to be a shallow money trench laden with landmines, it might turn out to be five miles of goldmine. No one can really be sure, so while it's worth observing, it's probably not worth losing sleep over...
Harder to forecast is the fallout from what will essentially be failed ROI with many of these recruits. The fact is, a plurality of highly-touted recruits fail to really launch. Big money donors aren't generally in the habit of throwing good money after bad. Another complication I see is big money donors over-estimating their influence over athletic departments and their respective programs. There are plenty of highly principled (perhaps egotistical) head coaches and AD's who won't be afraid to tell an overzealous, overbearing donor/ fan when to f--- off. As much as ego seems to be a character issue with someone like Bohl, it's also the very trait that would motivate him to stand up to fan influence, regardless of their potential as a financial resource. Could anyone imagine someone like Mike Leach kowtowing to a wealthy Law School alumnus?
In short, there's too many possibilities to extrapolate much of a long-term prognostication of how NIL shakes out over the next few years, or decade, or decades. Lots of unintended consequences. It might turn out to be a shallow money trench laden with landmines, it might turn out to be five miles of goldmine. No one can really be sure, so while it's worth observing, it's probably not worth losing sleep over...