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- Thread starter ScriptOhio
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I dunno, I don't blame OSU for taking this approach. The programs dolling out tons of cash to HS recruits and/or rely heavily on the transfer portal haven't done much since NIL became a thing. OSU football generally tends to adapt pretty quickly if they see big problems so I'm not that worried.
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The entire NIL has been a mess since its been initiated. And I believe OSU just doesn't want to be the program who acts recklessly and is then punished for it.
Also, what needs to be stressed as well, is the locker room chemistry that can be put at risk by paying HSers more than the guys who have already been on the team. Countless stories have come out of resentment towards the younger players who have gotten much larger deals just because they were the new 5star. I don't see a program being able to be successful by constantly overpaying for incoming freshman. Because once you offer that massive amount, they are now expected to start and PRODUCE. For example a guy like Jahkeem Stewart is expected to have upwards of 8+ sacks as a true frosh or he's seen as a failure in the eyes of their collective. That's an insane amount of pressure for any player, and especially a true freshman. And I can see a day coming where these collectives expect either money to be repaid, or these deals go to 1yr contracts. Because almost anyone can attest to, players get better as their career progresses, they don't arrive to campus as finished products. So you're playing with fire if you're paying a true frosh more than your seasoned 3rd or 4th year player.
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There's so much money flying around because rules keep changing, and people keep finding their own loopholes. A good number of adults working in the "coaching" or "agent" space will find a fast way to make a lot of money very fast
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Skull Session: Ohio State’s 2025 Roster Will Cost Around $35 Million, Peyton Manning Defends C.J. Stroud and Izzy Rodriguez Scores a Goal in Her International Debut
Ohio State's 2025 roster will cost around $35 million, Peyton Manning defends C.J. Stroud and Izzy Rodriguez scores in her debut for the USWNT.
$20 MILLION → $35 MILLION. The college football world heard Ohio State paid $20 million for its 2024 roster and lost their minds. “But just a few months on, that $20 million figure is notable for a very different reason,” The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Bachman wrote this past weekend. “These days, it would be regarded as downright cheap.”
She continued, “The Buckeyes will be making closer to $35 million – and they won’t be alone.” According to one of Bachman’s sources, payrolls at the highest-paying college football programs nationwide will be between $30 million and $35 million. (Money, money, money, money… money!)
The programs’ jump in payrolls happened for three reasons, according to Bachman. First, new rules have kicked in that aim to curtail the role of booster collectives (see: NIL Go). Second, before the House settlement passed, “there was a last-minute scramble to steer a final burst of booster money to athletes.”
“We know a lot of people front-loaded,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told Bachman. “We were not unique to that.”
And the third reason?
Revenue sharing.
Ohio State isn’t unique to that, either. Well, in some ways it is. With revenue sharing around the corner, Bjork has maintained that Ohio State will fund and keep all 36 varsity sports, and you all know how much that means to someone like me!
Just sayin':
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
What to Know About Revenue Sharing, Ohio State’s Approach As New Era of College Sports Begins
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Buckeyes will share $18 million with athletes in 2025-26
The salary cap – so to speak – for the first year of revenue sharing is set at $20.5 million, an amount roughly equal to 22% of the average total revenue generated by Power 4 athletic departments. That cap will be increased by 4% for each of the next two years, then will be re-evaluated before the 2028-29 season.
Schools that have chosen to add extra scholarships now that scholarship limits have been eliminated, however, are required to count those scholarship funds against their cap up to $2.5 million. Since Ohio State is adding 91 new scholarships across its 36 sports, it is allowed to share $18 million directly with its athletes.
Bjork declined to say during his press conference last month how much revenue would be shared with each sport, saying “numbers create narratives.” That said, it’s expected that a sizable majority of that $18 million will be paid to football players, reflecting the fact that football is by far Ohio State’s top revenue-generating sport.
In addition to setting up revenue sharing for current athletes, the House v. NCAA settlement also created a backpay fund that will be used to pay athletes who played for Division I sports teams from 2016-24. 75% of those funds are being distributed to Power FIve football players, 15% of those funds are being distributed to Power Five men’s basketball players, 5% of those funds are being paid to Power Five women’s basketball players and the other 5% are being distributed to all other athletes who opt into the settlement. While schools aren’t required to use that formula for revenue sharing, most schools are planning to use a similar formula to distribute revenue.
Bjork said Ohio State “really tried to use metrics in a formula, while also balancing some Title IX approach” to determine how much it would pay to athletes from each of the four sports included in its first year of revenue sharing.
“What we did is we used metrics. So we said, OK, what does football drive? What does women's basketball drive? What does volleyball drive? And then we came up with, knowing we'd have $18 million, what are some metrics that can put some parameters around how to allocate it?” Bjork said. “So that was a process through a lot of data, a lot of studying that our staff put together.”
Per Ohio State’s financial report to the NCAA last year, Ohio State football generated $111,646,810 in revenue during the 2024 fiscal year – a number that will be significantly higher for the 2025 fiscal year, which includes the 2024 football season, given that the Buckeyes played nine home games (including a College Football Playoff game) in 2024 vs. six in 2023 and won the national championship. Ohio State men’s basketball generated $24,764,064 in the 2024 fiscal year, while women’s basketball had $1,710,887 in total revenue and women’s volleyball had $823,819 in revenue for FY24.
If Ohio State went solely off of last year’s numbers in deciding how to distribute revenue, football players would receive approximately 80% of the available money – more than $14 million – while men’s basketball players would receive approximately 18% (around $3.2 million). Given what Bjork said about factoring Title IX into revenue share, it’s likely that those numbers will be slightly lower so that some of that money can be given to women’s basketball and volleyball players.
Bjork said Ohio State will leave it up to coaches to determine how they want to distribute the allocated revenue for each of their sports among their players. While Ohio State won’t reveal how much it pays to specific athletes, it’s expected that stars like Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, Bruce Thornton and Jaloni Cambridge will receive the highest payments for their respective teams, as there’s no requirement for players to be compensated equally nor a cap on how much any individual athlete can be paid.
NIL still exists, but with more oversight
While the amount schools can directly pay players is capped, college athletes will be able to earn additional money through NIL deals. All deals with a total value of $600 or more, however, will now have to be reported to NIL Go, a clearinghouse and review platform built by Deloitte and overseen by the College Sports Commission, a new administrative entity created to oversee and enforce rules around revenue sharing and NIL.The intent of NIL Go is to ensure that NIL deals have a valid business purpose and fall within a range of compensation commensurate with compensation paid to similarly situated individuals, and to prevent schools and boosters from using NIL deals as a way to circumvent the revenue-sharing cap. But it’s already apparent that schools and their NIL collectives are still looking for every way possible to get more money to their players and give themselves a competitive advantage.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that payrolls for top college football programs are expected to be around $30-35 million this season even with the revenue-sharing cap now in place. And Opendorse reported Tuesday that NIL collectives paid athletes 824% more this June than they did last June, a clear effort by collectives to funnel more money to players before the new model went into effect.
“We know a lot of people front-loaded,” Bjork told the Wall Street Journal regarding the collective deals. “We were not unique to that.”
The new model does allow schools to work directly with third parties to facilitate NIL deals for their players without counting those deals against the cap. As a result, Ohio State now has an in-house NIL initiative, Buckeye Sports Group, which is taking over the work previously done by the 1870 Society and The Foundation, the two external NIL collectives that worked with Ohio State to arrange deals for players.
“The Foundation, 1870, the people involved in those groups, they wanna stay involved, they wanna help, and we embrace that,” Bjork said last month. “They've done a great job. But as we transition with Ohio State Sports Properties, it's really a marketing agency that can go out and arrange agreements between an athlete and a business … so really, really excited about the Buckeye Sports Group and the partnerships that have been created.”
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OSU players donating their NIL to a good cause. I'll never understand not wanting the players to be paid. But glad they are and continue to do great things with the money they earned
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
How the Ohio State football team screwed up NIL after a national championship
Coming off a national championship, the Buckeyes should have known what to do with their NIL. Instead, they screwed things up.
scarletandgame.com
Will Ross Bjork's Big Bet on In-House NIL Control work for Ohio State?
Ross Bjork wants to be out in front, but with collectives pursuing litigation, his decisions will be tested.The House v. NCAA settlement, finalized on June 6, 2025, was supposed to bring clarity to the chaotic world of name, image, and likeness (NIL) in college sports, but just weeks later, it’s sparking a new wave of conflict.
House plaintiff attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman have accused the NCAA and power conferences of violating the settlement’s terms, specifically targeting the College Sports Commission’s (CSC) guidance on booster-funded NIL collectives. In a fiery two-page letter sent on July 11, 2025, the attorneys demanded that the NCAA retract the CSC’s memorandum, arguing it undermines the settlement by unfairly restricting collectives, according to Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, NIL collectives are gearing up for legal action, according to On3’s Pete Nakos, “Lawsuits are about to come.” This escalating battle raises questions about whether Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork was right to bring NIL operations in-house and if his decisions will position the Buckeyes for success in this new era.
The CSC, tasked with enforcing the House settlement, issued guidance on July 10, 2025, stating that booster-backed NIL collectives must meet a “valid business purpose” to have their deals approved by the Deloitte-run NIL Go clearinghouse. This means collectives can’t just pay athletes to attend a school—deals must involve promoting goods or services for profit, like a pro athlete endorsing a product.
Attorneys are planning to escalate the issue to Judge Nathanael Cousins, the settlement’s appointed magistrate, if the guidance isn’t retracted. Collectives, feeling squeezed out, are already consulting lawyers. But the CSC put out a statement about how they believe the guidance was in line with the settlement terms.
“The guidance issued by the College Sports Commission yesterday is entirely consistent with the House settlement and the rules that have been agreed upon with class counsel,” a CSC spokesperson told Dellenger.
The root of the problem lies in the settlement’s goal to shift athlete payments from collectives to schools, which can now share up to $20.5 million annually with athletes. Ohio State’s Ross Bjork, speaking at a press conference on June 6, 2025, embraced this shift, announcing that Ohio State would allocate $18 million for NIL payments across football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball, with $2.5 million for additional scholarships across its 36 varsity sports.
The House v. NCAA settlement, finalized on June 6, 2025, was supposed to bring clarity to the chaotic world of name, image, and likeness (NIL) in college sports, but just weeks later, it’s sparking a new wave of conflict.
House plaintiff attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman have accused the NCAA and power conferences of violating the settlement’s terms, specifically targeting the College Sports Commission’s (CSC) guidance on booster-funded NIL collectives. In a fiery two-page letter sent on July 11, 2025, the attorneys demanded that the NCAA retract the CSC’s memorandum, arguing it undermines the settlement by unfairly restricting collectives, according to Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, NIL collectives are gearing up for legal action, according to On3’s Pete Nakos, “Lawsuits are about to come.” This escalating battle raises questions about whether Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork was right to bring NIL operations in-house and if his decisions will position the Buckeyes for success in this new era.
The CSC, tasked with enforcing the House settlement, issued guidance on July 10, 2025, stating that booster-backed NIL collectives must meet a “valid business purpose” to have their deals approved by the Deloitte-run NIL Go clearinghouse. This means collectives can’t just pay athletes to attend a school—deals must involve promoting goods or services for profit, like a pro athlete endorsing a product.
Attorneys are planning to escalate the issue to Judge Nathanael Cousins, the settlement’s appointed magistrate, if the guidance isn’t retracted. Collectives, feeling squeezed out, are already consulting lawyers. But the CSC put out a statement about how they believe the guidance was in line with the settlement terms.
“The guidance issued by the College Sports Commission yesterday is entirely consistent with the House settlement and the rules that have been agreed upon with class counsel,” a CSC spokesperson told Dellenger.
The root of the problem lies in the settlement’s goal to shift athlete payments from collectives to schools, which can now share up to $20.5 million annually with athletes. Ohio State’s Ross Bjork, speaking at a press conference on June 6, 2025, embraced this shift, announcing that Ohio State would allocate $18 million for NIL payments across football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball, with $2.5 million for additional scholarships across its 36 varsity sports.
Bjork emphasized the settlement’s clarity, calling it “transformational progress” after years of murky NIL rules. He also expressed confidence in the CSC’s authority, noting that the settlement’s rules, including the “valid business purpose” requirement, were court-approved and backed by arbitration, making legal challenges difficult.
Bjork’s decision to integrate Ohio State’s NIL operations seems prescient given these developments. By bringing NIL Collectives in-house, Ohio State avoids reliance on collectives, which are now under fire. Bjork’s use of analytics to determine position values, guided by experts like defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, mirrors NFL salary cap strategies, ensuring competitive fairness within the $20.5 million cap.
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How the Ohio State football team screwed up NIL after a national championship
Coming off a national championship, the Buckeyes should have known what to do with their NIL. Instead, they screwed things up.
scarletandgame.com
How the Ohio State football team screwed up NIL after a national championship
Coming off a national championship, the Buckeyes should have known what to do with their NIL. Instead, they screwed things up.The Ohio State football program should be feeling great about its recruiting class in the offseason, coming off a national championship. Whenever a team wins a national championship, there is usually a recruiting bump that comes from that. That has not happened for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Right now, the Buckeyes have just the seventh-best recruiting class in the country. They just had an in-state recruit flip his recruitment to North Carolina. The 2026 recruiting class is actually shaping up to be the worst recruiting class that Ryan Day has had since he took over as head coach.
A big reason for that has been how poorly Ross Bjork has decided to run the NIL that they have access to. Despite the fact that the Buckeyes are spending the third-most of any program in the season, they are willingly turning away more money that can help them get recruits.
Ross Bjork isn't doing the right thing with NIL for the Ohio State football program
Ohio State has decided not to allow outside collectives to give them NIL money, instead funneling all of their NIL through the university. Other schools are not following suit, as they believe that there will be legal challenges coming for the House settlement that was agreed to.That settlement is the main reason why so many NIL deals are being denied with current recruits, but that won't last. The Buckeyes should allow collectives to still help collect money so that they can afford their current roster in addition to top incoming recruits.
Once August 1st hits, the Buckeyes will have a little more clarity on what is going on in the world of NIL. That's when the settlement is supposed to officially come into effect. Until then, there is a lot of gray area that Bjork and Ohio State aren't taking advantage of.
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How the Ohio State football team screwed up NIL after a national championship
Coming off a national championship, the Buckeyes should have known what to do with their NIL. Instead, they screwed things up.How the Ohio State football team screwed up NIL after a national championship
Coming off a national championship, the Buckeyes should have known what to do with their NIL. Instead, they screwed things up.
The Ohio State football program should be feeling great about its recruiting class in the offseason, coming off a national championship. Whenever a team wins a national championship, there is usually a recruiting bump that comes from that. That has not happened for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Right now, the Buckeyes have just the seventh-best recruiting class in the country. They just had an in-state recruit flip his recruitment to North Carolina. The 2026 recruiting class is actually shaping up to be the worst recruiting class that Ryan Day has had since he took over as head coach.
A big reason for that has been how poorly Ross Bjork has decided to run the NIL that they have access to. Despite the fact that the Buckeyes are spending the third-most of any program in the season, they are willingly turning away more money that can help them get recruits.
Ross Bjork isn't doing the right thing with NIL for the Ohio State football program
Ohio State has decided not to allow outside collectives to give them NIL money, instead funneling all of their NIL through the university. Other schools are not following suit, as they believe that there will be legal challenges coming for the House settlement that was agreed to.
That settlement is the main reason why so many NIL deals are being denied with current recruits, but that won't last. The Buckeyes should allow collectives to still help collect money so that they can afford their current roster in addition to top incoming recruits.
Once August 1st hits, the Buckeyes will have a little more clarity on what is going on in the world of NIL. That's when the settlement is supposed to officially come into effect. Until then, there is a lot of gray area that Bjork and Ohio State aren't taking advantage of.
This was mentioned a few pages back I think.
If you aren't spending the money because you don't have it, or because you have a rock solid idea of how you can spend it more wisely then fine.
If you aren't spending (or generating) the money because you are trying to play by the rules of this new system then you are a fucking idiot.
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Few things in life are as difficult to prove as the illegitimacy of a NIL deal. If you can't prove guilt, you can't enforce the rule. If rules are practically unenforceable, they are only rules for people who try to follow them.
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