Del Jones transferred from Clemson to Radford. His decision, which was largely based in finances, proves how college basketball programs at schools without football might actually have an advantage.
They can spend more money!
The last four years of Name, Image and Likeness were largely unregulated. There were no rules.
Schools, through their NIL collectives, were able to spend whatever amount of money they wanted on any player in any sport without any guidelines on how to operate. Inducements were common. Tampering was rampant.
Revenue sharing is supposed to bring change.
Although some of the past behavior will surely continue under the table, this new revenue sharing model is supposed to provide some semblance of structure when it comes to finances across college sports.
Universities must operate under a set cap for direct compensation. Outside NIL deals must undergo approval from an outside entity. The entire pay scale will be limited.
We’ll see!
Non-football schools might have a competitive advantage in college basketball.
This new model is where smaller schools might find some common ground if they do not compete in college football on the FBS level or on any level. They can pump more money toward college basketball.
Just for the sake of this example, lets use a revenue sharing budget of $100 million for large schools and $60 million for small schools.
A large school with an FBS program might choose to spend $60 million of that $100 million on football. That leaves just $40 million for the other sports, including basketball. A smaller school without a football program can spend $40 million or more on basketball.
The basketball programs are on equal playing fields. They have the same amount of money to spend.
Clemson got out-bid by Radford.
Clemson will spend $20.5 million to pay players directly in 2025. The football program will receive at least 80% of that money. Head basketball coach Brad Brownell claims he will receive only 11%.
That could prove to be an issue for recruiting. It already is!
Former Tigers point guard Del Jones entered the transfer portal during the offseason. He ultimately committed to Radford.
Clemson tried to keep Jones but it did not have the money to match his other offer. Brownell got out-bid by a mid-major.
Mind you, the Tigers spent a lot of money in the transfer portal on top players from Nevada, Georgia Utah Valley and Middle Tennessee. They just ran out of money on the backend.
Del Jones left Clemson to get paid more money from a much smaller school without football!