Alabama Football: Not every recruit views NIL the same

A new norm has evolved in college football recruiting. Almost every time a program misses on a commit, fans of the program blame it on NIL deals. Alabama football fans do it, as do fans of almost every school. For full disclosure, I have been guilty of the same in posts written for this site.

Maybe many of us are overreacting. Maybe the knee-jerk conclusion that every recruit choosing another school did so because of an NIL deal – is not always correct.

For example, almost no one thinks Texas ‘bought’ Arch Manning. More recently, there have been no credible claims Peter Woods was ‘bought’ by Clemson. In fact, if there is another college football head coach as opposed as Nick Saban, to NlL deals being used in recruiting, it is Dabo Swinney.

So starting with me, let’s pump the brakes on ‘everybody’ using NIL not as it was intended, even though clearly many programs are doing just that.

Alabama Football Commit, Malik Benson

Instead, let’s consider what recent Alabama Crimson Tide commit, Malik Benson said about NIL deals,

"To, me NIL won’t or doesn’t really play that much of a factor… I think like the real money is really going to come once I go to the NFL.I mean, a few thousand here or whatever the school (collective) offers you, that is going to be great. But that’s temporary money. The money that is really going to last is being a first-round pick …I’m more excited for the development piece I am going to get at my next school really. The exposure there, too, and all that."

From the same source, Dawg Nation, check out these comments from Joenel Aquero,

"Development is key for me here. Are you going to get that $15 mil? Are you going to one day get that $50 mill with my second contract? Everything. That’s definitely more important to me. Being developed by a good coach. I’d rather make that $15 or $50 million later on that you know making $200,000 right now and not really getting developed by a coach. Or making a half of a mil now and not really getting developed."

How representative are these comments? It is impossible to know. Recruits and their families are unlikely to openly discuss any payouts made or promised to them.

What is important, is the comments from Malik Benson and Aquero, are consistent with the pitches Nick Saban is known to be making to prospects. For a counter to the claim NIL will destroy college football, the quotes are encouraging.

As I have written before, Nick Saban’s resistance to using NIL for recruits is a ‘long game’ the Crimson Tide can win.