NIL is based on wealthy donors contributing to the program. Duke has a ton of NBA guys, so does Kentucky, UNC, Kansas. OSU doesn't have that many former NBA guys to kick in to NIL. Some other programs might not have a rich history of pros, but they might have other rich donors instead who have fortunes from big oil or big tech. OSU has Les Wexner, who apparently has no interest in contributing to NIL, and no other billionaire donors. Most college athletic departments don't make money, and even OSU's profits are limited, we're talking $5M to $20M profit per year, and it's variable. Ideally the athletic department would cut down on costs and find a way to invest more in NIL, but that's not what higher education does, everything always gets bigger and more expensive. So they have to rely on wealthy donors, who aren't all that plentiful.