Whatever the source is claiming that SEC schools have $30 million is either (a) excuse-making for their own deficiencies; or (b) lying. Ole Miss does not have a $30 million NIL fund. Vanderbilt? Ha. Mississippi State? Laughable. Indeed, that is one of the primary reasons why Lane was flirting with the Auburn job (and the reason he would absolutely jump to the NFL tomorrow...if a team would have him). In the SEC, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, A&M, LSU, Tennessee, and Alabama have the best resourced NIL funding. Auburn and A&M likely approach the $30 million mark in terms of total access to capital. I think of Georgia as effectively having unlimited funds in practical terms since their model is not solely dependent on collectives. The other programs realistically can access between $15-20 million in funding. To be candid, it is almost impossible to truly discern total cash on hand with any specificity. In some cases, a donor might pledge X funds over a defined duration, and these funds may not be fully realized. In these cases, the fund value might include pledges that have not been made manifest as cash. Also, there is a different priority ascribed to varying player acquisition strategies at different programs. For example, Ole Miss is quite selective about picking and choosing HS recruits, but will invest readily in transfers. It's almost impossible to compare SEC fund values and their application in an apples-apples context.
What is NOT hard to compare is the efficacy of the current Ohio State NIL program compared to the above-referenced SEC programs. I believe that any reasonable, objective person would have ample reason to believe that Ohio State should have one of the most successful, prominent, well-managed, best resourced NIL initiatives in America. Simply put, it does not. Not even close. And, it's not a function of a preference to prioritize current player/locker room culture instead of upfront guarantees to incoming recruits. From the outside looking in, it's a product of incomprehensible incompetence on the part of the collectives. If it is true that the most prominent collective has only resourced $3 million in the nearly 18 months since NIL was effectively legalized (and I have reason to believe that this quoted value is at least in the universe of truth), then that is an admission of both remarkable neglect, shiftlessness, and - ultimately - arrogance.
No one at Ohio State should be surprised when some of the best players in America - true game-changers who project as R1 NFL draft picks - choose other schools this recruiting cycle. It isn't because of coaching staffs, schemes, NFL development, academics, S&C programs, post-playing career professional development, or any typical reason associated with "before times" recruiting. It will be because the Ohio State collectives failed in a massive way to do...anything substantive. I know everyone on this board loves Ohio State, but if essentially identical programs that competed at the highest stakes in terms of on field competition and NFL development were recruiting you with equal competence and vigor, and one said, "We can offer you 1X...but it might take us a few months to pull together the money because our collectives have been asleep at the wheel...but don't worry, our athletic director is going to send out a press release encouraging Joe Fan to reach deep into his pocket this post-pandemic holiday season" and the other program said, "We value our partnership so much that we want to make an investment in you of 5X and here's the money. Go deposit it, and let's put your family's mind at ease so that we can move past financial logistics and concentrate on how we maximize you as a player and person," objectively, which program would you choose?
This is not hyperbole. This is exactly what is happening. And, instead of becoming enraged at the recruiting misses that Ohio State will surely suffer due to the incompetence of its third-party NIL collectives, this fan base perhaps should double-down its appreciation of most every recruit who will honor their commitment because most of them have chosen to turn down significant offers from credible programs because they believe in the ideals and values of the same program that so many of you love.
