FanPost

Where does it end?


I mentioned a few weeks ago that this was going to become an issue and it appears as though I was right. Two HS players have inked NIL deals with Nike. They are a junior and a sophomore. I predicted that at some point it could filter down into middle school levels as well. If colleges end up working with boosters (or collectives as they want to be called), they could end up pipelining players to certain high schools and guaranteeing them money to play there and then signing those players from that school. It literally could become like a farm program in baseball. Middle school payers are funneled to one middle school that then feeds into one high school that then almost exclusively gets recruited by one college. How many parents do you know (especially economically challenged ones) that will turn down an NIL deal in middle school and high school? It may not be much money, but if someone comes up and offers you $5,000 for your kid to go play ball at a certain school, would you turn it down? Sure, there may be some state athletic regulations that could inhibit it, but from what I've seen when dealing with those, they are pretty easy to get around. Players jump from school to school all the time here in Oklahoma with little repercussions.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/33933056/nike-inc-signs-sister-soccer-players-company-first-high-school-name-image-likeness-deal

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