Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Nov 29, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (16) reacts after his fumble was returned for a touchdown by Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Amare Campbell (not pictured) during the second half at SHI Stadium.
In the last 50 years, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program has won double-digit games just two times, and it hasn’t won more than seven games since 2014.
Despite those struggles, the state of New Jersey is still heavily committed to its flagship university’s football program, and it proved as much by recently passing legislation that will divert taxpayer money to the program’s NIL funding.
However, not everyone in the state is happy about that development.
The NIL arms race just found a new loophole.
New Jersey’s budget includes $5M for Rutgers Athletics under “Events Attraction and Marketing.”
But according to reporting, lawmakers specifically requested the money for NIL.
Public dollars are now building the machine that helps… pic.twitter.com/lVKMVGTvVV
— Dan Furman (@Dan_Furman) July 30, 2026
New Jersey Sneakily Diverted New Jersey Tax Money To Rutgers’ NIL Program
As Keith Sargeant of NJ.com reports, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill recently approved a record $60.7 million state budget.
Within that budget lies a provision labeled “Events Attraction and Marketing.”
However, state lawmakers have reportedly asked explicitly for the money to be set aside for Name, Image and Likeness spending for Rutgers athletics.
“The money is expected to support the athletic department’s NIL fundraising efforts, including personnel salaries and marketing and branding opportunities. However, university officials said the cash won’t go directly to athletes,” Sargeant reports.
“The $5 million allotted to Rutgers athletics marks an extraordinary step in asking taxpayers to help subsidize a college sports department,” he added.
While university officials claimed the money wouldn’t go directly to athletes, they did not say where the money would go, raising a number of questions among fans.
It is one thing for Football revenue and private donors to pay players (👍), it is a whole nother deal for states to pay players with tax revenue. 🙈🙉🙊 https://t.co/wbsErP2ork
— LastOptimist (@Claybats_elSane) July 31, 2026
“There needs to be a full investigation into this. Our tax dollars should not be used for NIL funds for Rutgers athletics,” one fan posted on X, echoing the sentiments of many others.
What do you think? Is using tax dollars for NIL funding fair game? Or is it a step too far?