Jeheim Oatis (formerly Jaheim Oatis) directed any inquires about his future in college football to his NIL agent. In doing so, the former four-star recruit is making it abundantly clear that money will factor into the equation.
This should not come as a surprise, because collegiate athletics are no longer an amateur entity, but it continues to be an increasingly common trend in the unregulated era of Name, Image and Likeness.
Oatis, a former four-star prospect out of Mississippi in the recruiting Class of 2022, committed to Alabama over offers from Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Southern Miss. He spent two full seasons in Tuscaloosa and totaled 55 tackles during that stretch. However, his playing time quickly dwindled during the first year with Kalen DeBoer as head coach.
Oatis played only 25 snaps against Georgia and Wisconsin.
As a result, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound defensive tackle decided to utilize his one-time redshirt and sit out the remainder of the 2024 college football season. He will seek new opportunity at a different program.
Not long after entering the transfer portal, Oatis asked for interested suitors to reach out to Noah Reisenfeld.
All inquires go to @noah_reisenfeld https://t.co/vEOjmyjgqJ
— Jaheim Oatis (@JaheimOatis) October 18, 2024
Reisenfeld lists himself as the “EVP of NIL and Business Development for Young Money APAA Sports” and a “head NIL agent.” NIL agents are exactly what you think. They handle all Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for their client in exchange for a percentage of their earnings.
In this instance, based on the context provided by Oatis, Reisenfeld serves a different purpose. Instead of searching for a company that might want his client to be the face of its marketing campaign, he is going to be on the phone with programs that want his client to play for their teams.
If this sounds a lot like NFL free agency, it’s because it might as well be NFL free agency without rules.
The optics of Jeheim Oatis’ post make it seem as though the school with the most NIL money to offer will receive his commitment. We will never know whether or not that is true because the NCAA does not require any involved parties to release any financial information at any point in the process.