With the rising cost of education, free 4-5 years of Rutgers education/room and board for out of staters is about a quarter of a million dollars. This is worth way more than the majority of NIL deals. Especially when you account for your potential for a nice $100k+ NYC salary.
Of course there is the exception of those high 6 figure and 7 figure deals for those 5 stars just looking for a huge payout who we aren't getting anyway.
The majority of D1 athletes are not going pro. And even for those who do it's not garunteed you're having a long fruitful career. Free college education at a good academic school is going to set you up for the rest of your life.
NIL deals worth $100k+ will be heavily taxed and after your eligibility is up and you don't go pro? Now what? What did you do with that NIL money? Did you invest it? Did you do well in school? Did you pick a major that is going to make you money for your future?
Unfortunately these kids see the bags of money in front of their faces and aren't thinking long term and the majority of these big time programs offering huge NIL deals know this. They don't care about the kids' future. They just want them in their team. They are being treated like pros and not student athletes. Your Alabama degree in gender studies isn't setting you up for your future.
This is where I think Rutgers can shine. We can attract those quality kids and those families who value education and see the long term value of a Big Ten education within 30 minutes of NYC. Rutgers sports should be advertising their student athlete graduate salaries. They should be career oriented, setting up connections for those high NYC salaries.
We may not be able to compete with the high 6 and 7 figure NILs but we can do the low 6 figure and 5 figure deals + offer the value of a potential for a career with a high salary. We can be in the forefront for teaching the kids how to manage their NIL money and their future careers, whether that be pro sports or something else.
Of course there is the exception of those high 6 figure and 7 figure deals for those 5 stars just looking for a huge payout who we aren't getting anyway.
The majority of D1 athletes are not going pro. And even for those who do it's not garunteed you're having a long fruitful career. Free college education at a good academic school is going to set you up for the rest of your life.
NIL deals worth $100k+ will be heavily taxed and after your eligibility is up and you don't go pro? Now what? What did you do with that NIL money? Did you invest it? Did you do well in school? Did you pick a major that is going to make you money for your future?
Unfortunately these kids see the bags of money in front of their faces and aren't thinking long term and the majority of these big time programs offering huge NIL deals know this. They don't care about the kids' future. They just want them in their team. They are being treated like pros and not student athletes. Your Alabama degree in gender studies isn't setting you up for your future.
This is where I think Rutgers can shine. We can attract those quality kids and those families who value education and see the long term value of a Big Ten education within 30 minutes of NYC. Rutgers sports should be advertising their student athlete graduate salaries. They should be career oriented, setting up connections for those high NYC salaries.
We may not be able to compete with the high 6 and 7 figure NILs but we can do the low 6 figure and 5 figure deals + offer the value of a potential for a career with a high salary. We can be in the forefront for teaching the kids how to manage their NIL money and their future careers, whether that be pro sports or something else.
