The Moore situation had me thinking about the complexity of NIL cap and roster management. I know there isn't a cap on NIL money, but any resource is finite to some degree, certainly most universities. We have already seen almost 90% of top recruits moving to the early signing period and enrolling early into college trying to lock up those positions and NIL money early in the process, but we are also witnessing a conversion into a HS recruiting/portal season and a portal season in January.
December is where top HS recruits and good players from non-major bowl teams enter the open market to better their situations and lock in NIL deals. A second season will develop with after the major bowl season ends and the annual coaching carousel begins. Take Louisville for example; should we have backed up the Brinks truck and paid Moore his price, or are we better off using that money to help pull in a couple of portal guys that enter after their bowls end or their coaches leave for greener pastures?
Do you go ahead and give a scholarship to a decent 3-star kid or hold it until January when the portal season goes into full mode? Does the portal now take scholarships away from the 3-star kids in January? Does to portal also allow coaches to move more easily knowing that they can pull some of their guys over with them and build a team more quickly pulling talent from other teams in their first year?
Are we going to see a "Money Ball" approach to managing these various variables in the future? A program like Louisville is going to have to master and optimize this balance to remain competitive. Fortunately, we have the resources to do this if done wisely.
December is where top HS recruits and good players from non-major bowl teams enter the open market to better their situations and lock in NIL deals. A second season will develop with after the major bowl season ends and the annual coaching carousel begins. Take Louisville for example; should we have backed up the Brinks truck and paid Moore his price, or are we better off using that money to help pull in a couple of portal guys that enter after their bowls end or their coaches leave for greener pastures?
Do you go ahead and give a scholarship to a decent 3-star kid or hold it until January when the portal season goes into full mode? Does the portal now take scholarships away from the 3-star kids in January? Does to portal also allow coaches to move more easily knowing that they can pull some of their guys over with them and build a team more quickly pulling talent from other teams in their first year?
Are we going to see a "Money Ball" approach to managing these various variables in the future? A program like Louisville is going to have to master and optimize this balance to remain competitive. Fortunately, we have the resources to do this if done wisely.
