KSU transfer PG Nijel Pack commits to Miami with $800,000 NIL deal
KSU transfer PG Nijel Pack, one of the top transfer players in the portal, committed to Miami (FL) today. The wild part is the announcement came from the company giving him an $800,000 NIL deal. Purdue and OSU were the other two schools in the running.
***BREAKING NEWS*** @LifeWallet is proud to announce @NijelPack24 has officially committed to UM as a basketball player. The biggest LifeWallet deal to date, two years $800,000.00 total at $400,000.00 per year plus a car. Congratulations!!! @johnnyruiz4 @alex7ruiz @ddiazon7 pic.twitter.com/SzKHag8qnG
— John H. Ruiz, Attorney at Law (@JohnHRuiz) April 23, 2022
And a lot of you think this is a good thing. Huh.
It is a slippery slope that needs to be somehow regulated and navigated and still be consistent with the metes and bounds of what was laid down by the Supreme Court.
Certain schools, including a rather large one in Ann Arbor, may have a different perspective about NIL, but Michigan and the State legislature, if they want to be competitive, had better start reading the tea leaves.
It should get self-regulated to a point. For example, Life Wallet watches their investments fizzle out after several players they sign don’t pan out in the NBA. I’m assuming this NIL deal contains “future considerations” based on the professional success of they player.
They can relate how much the players make at the same time they regulate how much coaches make.
Good, bad, or indifferent it's now the NWO.
If you're looking for a silver lining at least he didn't go to OSU or Purdue.
I'm down-voting you because you aren't saying why you (presumably) think this is a bad thing. Good player being compensated for something he's good at....in what other circumstance is this looked at as a bad thing?
At best, people opposed to this are just stuck in the inertia of the way things 'used to be', not factoring in all the under the table payments that went on.
Worst case is paternalism, plantationism, etc.....Really, if a great cellist in the university orchestra got a big sponsorship deal with Yamaha or whoever, would anyone care?
How DARE he make money off what he’s good at! That’s down right un-‘Merican!
He is making money off what he is pretty good at. He is not playing baskeball for Life Wallet. He is being paid for pitching its service. It is my understanding from watching the Influencer presentation that Nigel Pack will have to be able to prove that his being compensated fairly (market value) for his services to Life Wallet. If not, it is just some firm breaking NCAA rules.
"...it is just some firm breaking NCAA rules."
LMAO!!! Why do a lot of you guys still think there are "NCAA rules"??? Bring up something about football, or the bball scandals of the last few years, and everyone complains that the NCAA doesn't enforce any rules. And you're all RIGHT!!!
Talk about the lack of any framework around NIL, and the straight, above board payments it brings, and everyone screams 'but the NCAA has rules that you can't pay for play'. You can't have it both ways - it only works one way. The NCAA has no rules it will enforce with actual penalties.
Especially NIL - they left it so intentionally vague that nothing is enforceable. The last thing the NCAA wants is to be presenting its case in front of the Supreme Court again because they refuse to let a player 'get paid'. The only thing the NCAA will ever do is 'harrumph' its way through public displays of pearl clutching and find a way to monetize the entire situation.
This is off of the top of my head. Give me another five minutes and I'll do a better job of organizing my arguments:
Because
1. It turns children into businessmen.
2. Because selling shit—or having students sell shit—shouldn’t be the business of universities.
3. Because any pretense of a game being a meeting of equals is blown all to hell.
4. Because kids should be able to concentrate on school and sports while they are in school, not making up fake charities or selling t-shirts and trinkets or used cars.
5. Because the number of kids coming to the good schools to go to good schools is going to decrease, whether the odd Michigan does a little better or a little worse.
6. Because the games are already over-commercialized.
7. Because the idea that the students are the equals of their fellow students is bastardized by these developments.
8. Because it will arouse jealousy among fellow players, and erode loyalty—to the game, to the team, to the school in questions.
9. Because what is already a caste system is on its way to being still more so.
10. Because—obviously—the potential for corruption grows and the kids will be dealing with smarmy care salesmen and t-shirt hawkers rather than having a college life.
We all know that universities profiting off of students without some compensation was unfair. Hopefully people don’t feel that they have to deliver tired lectures on that subject anymore--everyone gets that. Far better, in my view, if a share of the profits from each school had been divided among all of the players and we had gone on with business.
The current dispensation—which allows students to make money—COMPLETELY fails to address the fact that schools will continue to make money off of them in EXACTLY the ways that they did prior to the decision. “Hey, we’re gonna keep on making millions off of you, but you can go out and grub some money—we’ll even help you! Wanna sell tacos in the dorm hallway--you be our guest." Not my conception of how a fine university that every member of my nuclear family and grandfather went to should be operating, and I don’t—honestly—care much that others disagree.
A handful of teams will profit (Michigan will profit, a little, but not enough to climb into the top tier of perennial championship contenders), and most of the rest of the college game will suffer.
Fools who would be okay with having Emirates Airways tattooed on their foreheads will continue to embrace. . . well, anything, and college football in particular will in time be understood to be a pro B league—with a commercial every two minutes. It’s close to unwatchable now. Don't let the fact that we sniffed glory last year delude you, OSU, Bama, and Clemson may be mediocre schools, but they're good at the lying and corruption part; don't expect that to end.
Happily, all of you will still have lots to complain about, because this is not going to end well.
Far better, in my view, if a share of the profits from each school had been divided among all of the players and we had gone on with business.
college football in particular will in time be understood to be a pro B league—with a commercial every two minutes. It’s close to unwatchable now.
But how much more unwatchable would it be if schools had to share the profits with the players? I mean, schools aren't just going to let all that revenue go. They're going to make up for this lost money elsewhere, like through more commercials.
1. It turns children into businessmen.
I started working at 16 and got paid. Your argument makes absolutely no sense at all.
2. Because selling shit—or having students sell shit—shouldn’t be the business of universities.
And he's being paid to advertise for a company, so again this makes zero sense.
3. Because any pretense of a game being a meeting of equals is blown all to hell.
That pretense went out the window half a century ago, or do you think Western Michigan and Michigan has ever been a meeting of equals?
4. Because kids should be able to concentrate on school and sports while they are in school, not making up fake charities or selling t-shirts and trinkets or used cars.
You see buddy, I also worked through college, some of it selling shit as well. Maybe you shouldn't get so jealous others have more marketable skills.
5. Because the number of kids coming to the good schools to go to good schools is going to decrease, whether the odd Michigan does a little better or a little worse.
Maybe you should write this again after thinking it over.
6. Because the games are already over-commercialized.
Yeah the conferences are reaping billions, for decades, and another Johnny football making money advertising isn't going to change anything.
7. Because the idea that the students are the equals of their fellow students is bastardized by these developments.
Oh wow, the person providing better value is getting paid more! That's how capitalism works buddy.
8. Because it will arouse jealousy among fellow players, and erode loyalty—to the game, to the team, to the school in questions.
Seems like you're the one drowning in jealousy. 19 year olds are in the NBA or MLB, they're dealing with jealousy just fine.
9. Because what is already a caste system is on its way to being still more so.
I don't think you know what a caste system is, and how ironic you're promoting a slave system.
10. Because—obviously—the potential for corruption grows and the kids will be dealing with smarmy care salesmen and t-shirt hawkers rather than having a college life.
Yeah, dealing with that is part of their job, which is why they have advisors and lawyers.
I have no idea why you're so dead set against people earning fair market value for their skills. This isn't a communist country.
was this written 40 years ago or are you just very naive about what's been going on for decades?
So paternalism, ok that’s what I thought.
1. It turns children into businessmen.
They are all 18. SAs are grown young adults. Plenty of HS students start their own business.
2. Because selling shit—or having students sell shit—shouldn’t be the business of universities.
Technically the schools aren't directly involved in selling this shit. Also, liscensing and marketing are legitimate busniess concepts. Also, have you ever heard of Don Canham?
3. Because any pretense of a game being a meeting of equals is blown all to hell.
This makes no sense. No competition is guaranteed to be between equals. This sentance is an affront to the concepts of language and communication.
4. Because kids should be able to concentrate on school and sports while they are in school, not making up fake charities or selling t-shirts and trinkets or used cars.
Students can choose to use their time as they see fit. Plenty of kids try to be influencers or have an ETSY account or an Only Fans (whatever that is).
5. Because the number of kids coming to the good schools to go to good schools is going to decrease, whether the odd Michigan does a little better or a little worse.
Not sure what you mean exactly, but they are still free to make their own choices to benefit themselves in whatever ways they feel provide the best opportunities. For education, exposure to pro-level training and coaching, for best competition level, and yes side compensation in the here and now while they are at their peak.
6. Because the games are already over-commercialized.
People love America until they understand what America really is. Unregulated commercialization of any and all aspects of life. Whatever is happening with NIL, it won't solve this problem, nor will it make it any worse. At least the actual players are getting a piece now.
7. Because the idea that the students are the equals of their fellow students is bastardized by these developments.
Again, this was a myth before NIL and nothing has changed. Unless you think about the entrepenurial kid in the dorm setting up an app/paid service for rides on Friday nights or working as a Lyft driver. Athletes can now get paid to advert for these things as influencers.
8. Because it will arouse jealousy among fellow players, and erode loyalty—to the game, to the team, to the school in questions.
More than playing time? And the 5* status? I think once things settle down and all the schools develop their opportunities that students have (so everyone knows what each school has and doesn't have) and the COVID-shirt 6th year fades out, say in 2-3 years, things will settle down from a loyalty standpoint. Now there is so much flux in what each school offers and doesn't offer, people don't know. 3rd-5th year players are jumping in while they have the chance since things changed mid flight for them. Current HS recruits will know what they can get and what they can't as we go forward, so fewer triple Xfers will happen. Always gonna see the up transfers for more exposure/NIL and down Xfers for more PT tho.
9. Because what is already a caste system is on its way to being still more so.
Again, 'Merica gonna 'Merica. Can't get any more wet when you're already in the middle of the ocean. At least an adults' NIL is now in their own control.
10. Because—obviously—the potential for corruption grows and the kids will be dealing with smarmy care salesmen and t-shirt hawkers rather than having a college life.
Not if your point (2) happens and the schools can organize things and help vet legit business and opportunities that fit the school and the SAa so the students don't have to wade thru the muck alone.
“Hey, we’re gonna keep on making millions off of you, but you can go out and grub some money—we’ll even help you! Wanna sell tacos in the dorm hallway--you be our guest." Not my conception of how a fine university that every member of my nuclear family and grandfather went to should be operating, and I don’t—honestly—care much that others disagree.
Honestly, this is a fucking genius idea. If there was a taco cart in my dorm on my hallway- shut up and take my money. Why is this a problem for you? Were you not a fan of the kid who supplied the, uh, 'stash' or the 'keg' on the weekends?
Fools who would be okay with having Emirates Airways tattooed on their foreheads will continue to embrace. . . well, anything, and college football in particular will in time be understood to be a pro B league—with a commercial every two minutes.
If there is anyone from Emirates Airways listening, I will tattoo FLY EMIRATES on my forehead for 400k USD. College football has been a pro B league since, IDK 1970? Commercials every two mins? Too late again, chief. Would really like to know what year you think it is, cause FYI, the rest of us are in 2022. You know, TD-Commercial-KO-commercial-set of downs-commercial-punt-commercial-2 plays, EOQ, commercial, 2022. Trump was president, Jan 6, war on terror, housing market crash, inflation, Iraq war, Russia invaded Ukraine, COVID pandemic, truth doesn't exisit b/c of the internet and social media, all happened by 2022. It sucks and is a distopia. But if you buy Microsoft, Google and Tesla stock you'll be alright. Russian Doll MFer
April 23rd, 2022 at 10:45 PM ^
I love everything about your response and want to subscribe to your newsletter.
Honest question, though - would you really get that forehead tat for $400k, if the contract said you could never remove it (but baseball caps are ok)? Genuinely curious.
I’d have to think about the price but yeah. That pays off all debt, mortgage and college for two kids? Probably would a hell of a lot worse than that
It's an interesting social experiment question. I wouldn't for that amount because it would severely limit my career prospects (I'm a Finance exec) and so probably freak out my young daughter. But I guess if that number were to be multiplied by 10 or 20, it would change the calculus. Everyone has a price I guess lol.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
When the teams that paid more megamillions are back in the playoff again for the bazillionth time--TAMU, Bama, Clemson, OSU--and we, like most of the rest of the world that will NOT "profit" from this sloppy, misnamed shitshow that is "NIL." then we will return to complaining.
But when the prospect of paying off some one talented player to obtain their services looms for us we will, very very shortsightedly, party and crow.
I am hardly the only person to point out that there's a real difference between players setting up real businesses that involve use of their 'name, image, and likeness"--doing work, profiting as they should from their popularity and achievements--and legalized payola, which is what more and more of the high-profile deals involve.
Thanks to the NCAA, sports journalists who are mostly in the business of shucking and jiving for sports--sucking the teat--rather than carefully examining it, we have no clarity about that at all.
Again, no one is against paying the players--they were being exploited--WE FRICKING KNOW THAT. It's creating a fairer system where they ARE adequately remunerated, a system of some semblance of fairness to all, one that preserves some scintilla of parity--at least across college divisions--that is the challenge; that is not what the NCAA, a bunch of heavyset white sub-sub-minimafiosi--have, in their great majesty, bequeathed us.
Ardent M fans on message boards, crowing each time the prospect of landing a player with some money arises--repeating the same two or three strings of faulty programming language that have been beaten into then--are maybe predictable, but not necessarily far-sighted. They are applauding the decline of the thing they claim to love, lured by the fool's gold of their own university's potential to get in the game. As has been analogized elsewhere: The U of M is that person who stands at the corner waiting for the WALK signal when no traffic is in sight.
This is a bad, fixed, corrupt game we cannot win, that we will not win. There will be millions more losers than winners. I'm good with my university, and with what is going to happen: We will not jump in with both dirty feet like the Alabamas and OSUs.
You are shouting into a blog that feels all weight gain (or loss) is good weight gain (or loss). Good luck.
April 24th, 2022 at 10:11 AM ^
Mglobules,
I first paid into Social Security when I was 13. I got W-2s in my teens for coaching baseball camps. I also gave private lessons, both for over 10 years. Was I already a business man before I played college baseball? Promoting myself to both recruiters and coaches as well as selling my services to counselors and parents of travel players?
I wish while I was in college the NCAA didn’t regulate my wages in doing that. You can still coach your sport while playing but the NCAA determined how much you can be paid for doing it. It was less than I was charging on my own in high school.
Are cellists known for their love of motorcycles?
Why is this a bad thing?
What's wrong with a guy getting paid a life changing amount of money to play basketball? Making 800k before graduating college seems like a hell of a good thing.
This^ This will change the trajectory of his life whether or not he every makes the league. So many kids get out of college with crippling student loan debt and a market with stagnant wage growth. They can't even think of starting a life (buying a home, starting a family, saving for retirement,etc.) I think these kids should get every penny they can get with the opportunities they have worked hard for.
Players finally getting a piece of the multi-billion dollar pie they're baking for the schools to whom they provide their services? Yes, it's a good thing. It's called commerce and free enterprise.
People saying why's it a bad thing, the kid is getting paid yet these same people bitch when OSU and Bama gets players 🤣😂🤣
How dare kids be paid for their labor!
I know, right?????? It’s just not fair that he’s getting paid for something he’s good at. It was way better when just coaches, admins and the delaneys of the world were the only ones making money.
What exactly is wrong? He gets paid by someone to go to school free and try and help a team become good. Why can’t a kid who ends up not getting money out of HS cash in on his likeness? They fired his coach and he left. Oh…no.
The whole point of NIL is to stop cheating and to let kids get paid for who they are if people want to do so—this is not cheating, nor is it bad for the game.
It is an equalizer to the student athlete. Methinks for some of you it stems from jealousy and supremacy.
April 23rd, 2022 at 11:14 PM ^
It's a good thing. It could've been a better thing if some company wanted to pony up $800,000.01 and a car on behalf of Michigan.
April 23rd, 2022 at 11:51 PM ^
He committed to Miami despite the Michigan money cannot shooting blanks as usual
This is awesome. Great for Nijel. Congrats.
How do my Chips even compete? Division 1 football needs to be split.
Basketball as well…
Are your chips currently competing for a national championship? Feels like 90 percent of college football went from having no chance to win anything meaningful to no chance to win anything meaningful and making annoying bad faith arguments against NIL
Chip here.
No MAC team or lower conference team will ever compete for a national title. Cincy is a complete outlier.
The NIL didn't eliminate the Chips from national title contention. If anything, under the new models (BCS, playoff), the Chips went from having a 0.0 percent chance to win a title to 0.02.
They don't, but I root for them anyway.
Get that casino on board - there's plenty of money to build up that football team! Might take a few years, but it could happen...
College sports is officially dead!! This sucks I don't like the new way of college sports. It is all about money even more than usual. The NCAA should have gotten on top of this along time ago. The NCAA is a fckn joke and was only interested in the money they made for them and now it has backfired. To me every player should be payed the same from the star player to the 13th man or 85th man. All sports should have some kind of money for players that they can live off of during the time they are enrolled to play a sport at a Div.1 school. College sports is never going to be the same and that sucks because it was better than pro sports in my opinion when it came to football and basketball. It is now a free agency and making a commitment to a school doesn't mean anything now. They don't like it pack up and leave and see who offers the most money. Schools like Michigan, Stanford, Northwestern and schools that actual care about academics are at a disadvantage and then you factor in the no-group of 5 schools and they are the ones getting hurt worse than anyone. How can they compete with schools like OSU, Miami and the ones giving about shit tons of money to players. Completely ruining college athletics.
Please provide the years you think college sports were the best and also money didn’t matter.
I mean, if both things have to be considered I'll withdraw my answer. But...
I've always preferred college sports to the pros. Yes, I know the pros play a more technically sound game that's a lot faster. I also that they largely go through the motions until late in the game, and that the play is homogenized because everyone learns the tricks of something new relatively quickly.
I just believe that college, with it's diversity of great players and warm bodies, and varied styles of play, is more fun to watch. More shit can happen - great plays or game altering mistakes, players making a bad tactical decision, surprising play from a warm body... All of that happens in every game. And - I believe - the players play harder, every play.
Except Michigan just made the playoff.
If Michigan wants to be the best of the best, they have to embrace the world of the NIL- that's what we have now.
I agree with you..can there be a way to cap what players make?
No. Not in any way that would hold up in court. Nobody else is in the business or sports world is capped on how much they make. What makes you think you’d be able to do it to college athletes?
And before someone mentions “max contracts” and “salary caps,” don’t forget to add in the endorsement deals those professional players sign. College players aren’t paid by their schools (legally). They ONLY get endorsement deals. There’s no way to legally cap that.
The nba, just as an example, has a cap on how much salary you can make. Of course there is no cap on endorsements, etc. as you pointed out,
And before someone mentions “max contracts” and “salary caps,”
I literally acknowledge that. I said before anyone mentions it, but you did anyway. And yes, as I also pointed out, the only money these players are making is from endorsements. They’re still not paid by the schools. They’re simply allowed to get endorsement deals. Which there’s no cap on for athletes in any sport with salary caps and max contracts.
League rules can restrict how much money the players can make from league sources. They cannot restrict players earning money from outside sources. That’s the whole point of NIL. That’s where all of these deals are coming from. You can’t restrict it, and any attempt to do so will get shot down in court.
April 23rd, 2022 at 10:11 PM ^
IF it were set up so that the cash from the coaches, AD, etc. went to the players/team equally, in some way rewarding for winning or at least doing well as a team, would it be any better than the money going disproportionately to a few players? I guess same question could be asked of the professional leagues.
April 24th, 2022 at 12:48 PM ^
I know. It was so much better when boosters and apparel companies “payed” players under the table. And if your school wouldn’t look the other way then you never really had a shot with the most talented athletes.
Whether we like it or not, this is the current setup and system. And it will remain so until the market self-corrects and until whatever governing bodies (those with any REAL say in the matter---which thereby means NOT THE NCAA) regulate it in an attempt to somehow level the playing field.
Good luck to them with that!