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Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said during a recent NIL discussion that recruits are now demanding some sort of payment just to book official visits. Before stepping foot on campus, transfers and high school players are allegedly asking for up upwards of $5,000 to even consider a school.
And that’s just for the opportunity for a program to get into the prospect’s top group. There’s no guarantee that he will wind up committing.
The comments come amid an uncertain time in the world on NIL and transfer portal tampering which some coaches compare to the Wild, Wild West. The NCAA opened Pandora’s box by allowing payment to players with little to no regulation.
It’s resulted in programs essentially buying talent on an open market rather than building relationships. Making things even more challenging, athletic departments are attempting to bypass what little enforcement the NCAA is putting in place through state law.
While NIL was brought about to reward athletes for their name, image, and likeness through public appearances, merchandise sales, and local partnerships, it’s now become a bidding war. Texas A&M, for example, was rumored to have bought its historic 2022 recruiting class for an estimated $30 million.
With many growing angry at the current NIL landscape, conversations are beginning to take place on how to reel things in. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith spoke on a few things in one of his latest hearings, painting a picture of what’s happening on every major campus.
OSU AD says recruits are asking for payment to book official visits.
Ohio State AD Gene Smith will say the quiet part out loud in today’s NIL hearing on the Hill during his testimony.
“A practice of asking a school for a fee to simply visit campus has emerged; asking for $5,000 just to visit has become common.”
— Pete Nakos (@Pete_Nakos96) September 20, 2023
Pete Nakos of On3 Sports quoted the athletic director as saying “A practice of asking a school for a fee to simply visit campus has emerged; asking for $5,000 just to visit has become common.”
Smith was speaking to Congress about the state of NIL in college athletics. “Trust me,” he said, “I never wanted to come to the federal government to ask for help.”
The AD is one of many hoping to see a uniform bill passed on name, image, and likeness believing things have gotten completely out of control.
The remarks about official visits are crazy when you think about it. The schools are already footing the bill for travel, meals, and room and board for athletes and their family members on those campus visits. An extra couple of thousands of dollars on that seems unnecessary, again given the fact that payment doesn’t equal commitment.
Then again, these schools are making boatloads of money off the hard work and performance of these athletes on the field. Maybe they’re finally realizing their own worth.
Still, it represents another example of the bidding taking place in college football, and likely other sports throughout the NCAA.
Many, including former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, have been working to push some sort of legislation surrounding the issues at hand. To this point, we’ve seen little change.