SI: Gophers' PJ Fleck: Without NIL money, we can't keep team intact

Donate To GopherHole

1. what Fleck said is basically true

2. once again, he comes out after a disappointing loss and talks about NIL. whether he intends to or not, it can be seen as trying to deflect attention away from the loss. as noted by others, I don't think NIL is the reason the Gopher defense gave up 600 yards to the last-place team in the division.

Yes - they lost some depth in the portal - how much of that was NIL-connected is hard to say. But the coaches had opportunities to bring in new players from HS or the portal to replace that depth.
2 injuries to LB's and the Gophers are playing walk-ons?
 

If we didn’t have the Vikings, the Gophers would be our “pro” team and, I believe, would have serious NIL money available. the trick is how to raise serious NIL money for the no. 2 FB team in town. The corporate sponsors, to extent they look to football for ROI, are all in on team no. 1.
 


How about a universal NIL non compete clause? If you transfer you can still play but you may not sign an NIL deal for 1 year.

How about, freshmen cannot be offered NIL deals until they are enrolled in school? That way schools cannot entice kids to verbal or flip based on crazy NIL numbers. That’s fair, as NIL is defined as using name image likeness of an NCAA student athlete, which they are not until they enroll in school.
 


at some point soon, watch for Bleed or someone else to post a new Jim Souhan column on here.

when that hits, the stuff is really going to hit the fan.

(spoiler alert - it is not complimentary to Fleck.........)
 

mngg11 said:
I heard him on PA this morning, he was referring to the fact that we've been gutted of a lot of talent, experience, and depth the last few seasons and its killed the depth chart. Young linebackers being forced to play way sooner than intended was also brought up. Also stated good luck keeping our current star players with the big boys being able to essentially load up on NIL and bring in anyone they want. It makes sense. He said if we had retained everyone over the last two years this would be an entirely different team, and I think there's a good chunk of truth to that
Click to expand...
Fleck has gotten a lot of good players from the portal to offset losses. What he says highlights the need to make portal acquisitions the highest priority. The best thing is they can’t transfer a second time. Jack Henderson will have a better Gopher career than either of the LBs who left this year.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
at some point soon, watch for Bleed or someone else to post a new Jim Souhan column on here.

when that hits, the stuff is really going to hit the fan.

(spoiler alert - it is not complimentary to Fleck.........)
Click to expand...
Just read it.

Souhan is a dink.
But he makes some good points.
 

mngg11 said:
You have to admit that even though we didn't lose any major players other than Bucky the mid tier guys we lost killed our depth and experience. Guys who wouldn't normally be playing yet due to our lack of depth are causing us to be exposed. It absolutely factors into our record
Click to expand...
It has nothing to do with NIL. Western Michigan and Georgia Tech didn’t line the pockets of our linebackers from last year.
 



So he's suggesting (without outright saying it) that the experienced guys that left did so because of NIL? Maybe I missed it, but is it really widely believed that Trill Carter, Dixon, MJ Anderson, Braelon Oliver etc. left because of NIL? The only one I could see being NIL related is Carter, and only because it's Texas. Otherwise, Georgia Tech, Rutgers and ISU don't strike me as places that likely have any better NIL than us.

PJ has a very valid point as it relates to college football as a whole, and it is 100% a problem and will only get worse. But as it relates the Gophers, really the only guy we lost due to NIL was Bucky. He's using it as a very convenient excuse to deflect blame after the Purdue debacle.

At a minimum (on the NIL front), it sure would be helpful if any of these deals were public record, or part of the collective bargaining agreement (which at this point there needs to be one) that are made public, just like player contracts in pro sports. You want to make money? Great, but make it public. All the arguments about injury reports, salaries (NIL), closed practices, etc. not being divulged because they're "amateur athletes" to me all go out the window when players start making money. They're professional athletes and should be treated as such. Your NIL deals are public. Your injury status (what injury and how long you'll be out) is public. Media has access to players and practices.
 

A couple of thoughts...

I really think Fleck is winning more than he is losing in the transfer portal. He has brought is some pretty good players - Gibbens, Dew-Treadway, Henderson, etc. Only big, big name he lost was Bucky Irving. I am sure someone has a list of players in and players out, but I would think we are sitting positive.

Second thought - Why not let the fans have a choice, with your season tickets do you want to donate to the scholarship fund or NIL? If the U doesn't make enough money with all the TV deals they need to re-evaluate how they are spending their money. I know that money can't go to NIL, but should be able to go to the scholarship fund... I am not sure though? I admittedly haven't spent a lot of money on NIL. I have bought a couple of Mo Ibrahim and Cody Lindenberg t-shirts off of 500 Level and attended a meet greet for Gopher players that was $40 for me and my son to attend.

How much money does someone like me have to give to actually help? I have season tickets, pay a mandatory donation, etc. It isn't like I am sitting on a pile of cash.
 

mngg11 said:
You have to admit that even though we didn't lose any major players other than Bucky the mid tier guys we lost killed our depth and experience. Guys who wouldn't normally be playing yet due to our lack of depth are causing us to be exposed. It absolutely factors into our record
Click to expand...
Trill Carter plays a ton at Texas and in the game I saw, he made an impact. I can’t remember if he started or not.
 

How about assessing a fee on transfers w a portion of fee going back to the school that developed the player, and a smaller percentage going to the conference. the fee is based upon the amount of NIL money given to the transferring player.
 



Is the NIL money or benefit public information?

Other than Irving, have any of the portal players that left, cashed in? I didn’t think many of the transfers went to real powerhouse NIL type schools.

Seems like PJ is buying more trouble than has been caused thus far by NIL.
Not saying it won’t be a huge problem at some point…….now though it just smells of an excuse for substandard play.
 

SHGopher said:
That's true.

Doesn't Purdue have the same problem?

How do we explain the coverage call to put a safety on a top, fast receiver in a sprint to the endzone? Does d coordinator need more green?
Click to expand...
That has been the question many seem reluctant to address. Illinois has 4th and 11 from near their end zone and the starting QB is down. Backup comes out totally cold. The situation screams for all out pressure on the QB. Rossi dropped back, giving him time to sit and wait for Williams to find the hole in coverage. First down.

Again on the TD he allows him to read a pizza menu while Williams sprints flat out to University Ave and gets behind the coverage.

This defensive play calling fiasco was a lot worse than AK firing a bullet at his tight end.
 

hello-world said:
The way Minnesota wins NIL is with advertising dollars. He needs to turn his players into minor celebrities. There should not be a week in which these guys are not doing some kind of promotion.
Click to expand...
And how much revenue is thst gonna generate?
 

Tech Machine said:
Is the NIL money or benefit public information?

Other than Irving, have any of the portal players that left, cashed in? I didn’t think many of the transfers went to real powerhouse NIL type schools.
Click to expand...
Trill Carter @ Texas and is noted in my previous post, he plays a ton
Tech Machine said:
Seems like PJ is buying more trouble than has been caused thus far by NIL.
Not saying it won’t be a huge problem at some point…….now though it just smells of an excuse for substandard play.
Click to expand...
 

Tucker32 said:
It has nothing to do with NIL. Western Michigan and Georgia Tech didn’t line the pockets of our linebackers from last year.
Click to expand...
You are right, but I think the Transfer Portal and NIL go hand-in-hand. The free market on the Transfer Portal allows players to transfer back home for their last, and 6th, year to play in front of friends and family. It also allows players that maybe aren't getting consistent reps to transfer to a lower level to play. Both are bad breaks for the U and hurts their depth, but it is hard to fault either LB for taking advantage of the system.
 

hello-world said:
Caleb Williams is on Wendy’s commercials. Yes, that is the direction this is headed if Minnesota wants to be successful.
Click to expand...
Caleb Williams is recognizable. AK could walk down the street in Minneapolis and hardly anyone would recognize him.
 



MNfootballfan said:
A couple of thoughts...

I really think Fleck is winning more than he is losing in the transfer portal. He has brought is some pretty good players - Gibbens, Dew-Treadway, Henderson, etc. Only big, big name he lost was Bucky Irving. I am sure someone has a list of players in and players out, but I would think we are sitting positive.

Second thought - Why not let the fans have a choice, with your season tickets do you want to donate to the scholarship fund or NIL? If the U doesn't make enough money with all the TV deals they need to re-evaluate how they are spending their money. I know that money can't go to NIL, but should be able to go to the scholarship fund... I am not sure though? I admittedly haven't spent a lot of money on NIL. I have bought a couple of Mo Ibrahim and Cody Lindenberg t-shirts off of 500 Level and attended a meet greet for Gopher players that was $40 for me and my son to attend.

How much money does someone like me have to give to actually help? I have season tickets, pay a mandatory donation, etc. It isn't like I am sitting on a pile of cash.
Click to expand...
You’re not the type of person we should be relying on. You need people who own tech or financial services companies or are a unicorn like Phil Knight.
 

Tech Machine said:
Thanks, I think there is a guy at Rutgers as well that plays a lot. Texas may involve NIL but probably not Rutgers.
Click to expand...
Dixon the DB.

Texas is definitely involved and but was reported that the minimum every scholarship player was receiving was $50k/year.
 


hello-world said:
Disagree. Minnesota would get behind a curling team if they thought they had a chance to win a gold medal.

Entire state is desperate for a winner.
Click to expand...
I think you are right. The right coach who could recruit and work the portal can build the enthusiasm to bring in money too. But you never talk about money publicly. The whole message has to be we are going to build a winner.

Fans only want a winner. Businesses, large and small, jump on a winning team and find the way to make their investments pay.
 


No matter what, PJ is being paid $6M per year to find a way to navigate through this new landscape. I know it's not easy, but that's a fair amount of cake.
 

MNfootballfan said:
That was kind of my question. It would take a ton of nobodies like me.
Click to expand...
It’s not feasible to compete with the helmet schools without a deep pocketed individual(s). We can do what we can and try to find a creative fundraiser.
 


mngg11 said:
There is no one who can come here and out coach money. Look at the entire conference's performance compared to OSU, Michigan, and PSU. They'll harvest the best players from the rest of our teams with NIL money and we'll be fighting amongst each other for fourth place in the conference with a bunch of three stars and underachieving four stars.
Click to expand...
OSU and Michigan have always had the best players, from long before NIL. The best players want to be with the winners, in front of massive, enthusiastic crowds, and showcasing for the NFL.

If Minnesota could pay as much as Ohio St the imbalance would still exist.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom