And you didn’t think college football had changed all that much! … It was literally only a couple of years ago that if a college football player could be suspended if a local diner comped him a burger and fries if the owner was a big fan of the team. Times have indeed changed! Yesterday, Miami signed OT Jackson Cantwell, one of the very top prep prospects in the country. In signing with the Canes, Cantwell got a $2M NIL deal for his freshman season, a figure that will surely increase, perhaps exponentially, if he actually plays well. And its hard to imagine that those kind of dollars are not going to encourage some college players, who just a few years ago would be itching to get to the NFL as quickly as possible to get a shot at the big money in the pros, to think about milking the college gravy train for as long as possible before taking their chances in the pros.
One other draft-related issue that was kind of bubbling just under the surface after last month’s draft is the possibility – maybe even likelihood down the road – of a player with remaining eligibility, who either wasn’t drafted at all or didn’t go as early as hoped, might try and force their way back to college. There was some speculation, for example, this year that Texas QB Quinn Ewers, who reportedly turned down NIL offers of anywhere from $4-8M per to transfer prior to entering the draft, might consider it after he slipped all the way to this year’s 7th round. In the end, Ewers who was selected by Miami stuck with the NFL, but you know its coming. No wonder, that everyone from the president on down is talking about a way to rationalize the college game to which we say good luck with that!
