A meeting of the elders - NIL

[gtowndawg]

Gentleman, we need to call a meeting of the elders. If we do not get serious about the NIL, we are going to be left behind forever. I know this is not the first time to bring this up but if Saturday didn't show you we can't get the players we need, I don't know what will.

Our um, friends, up North are absolutely leaving us in the dust right now. Not just with their football success on the field but with NIL and overall branding. I know we are trying, and I appreciate those involved, but we are not even in the same universe right now.

For those that don't know, Walker Jones is over The Grove Collective (NIL) for Ole Miss. You probably remember him as a player in the 90's. Walker not only has the Ole Miss connection as a player but he was also an executive at Under Armour for years. He signed Steph Curry and others to UA deals. He has the experience to run an organization that is built around brand awareness and raising big money. That's why they are so successful right now. He also has access to a private jet where he can fly NIL donors (or donors he is working) to home and away games. I encourage you to go look at their Instagram page. You will see tons of activity, they auction game used memorabilia to raise money, they sell custom Ole Miss Air Force 1's to raise money. Heck, they raised a ton of money one random day a couple of weeks ago to go play pickleball with Lane Kiffin. All of that was just the last two 2 weeks. They are constantly working to raise NIL funds and awareness - everyday! On the other hand, we have had 5 Instagram post in 5 months on our NIL page.

I give to the NIL. Not much, quite honestly I joined about 16 months ago out of sheer curiosity. I just wanted my name on a list so I could get an inside track on what's going on. When I do here from our NIL, it's a notification that my credit card was charged for the month, that's about it.

Whether you like it or not is irrelevant, if we don't pay, we won't play. Period. Ole Miss understands this very well but I don't believe we have the fanbase that can stomach it. I don't see much of a path moving forward, we simply don't have the leadership or fans to make it happen.

Also, this is not an indictment of Charlie. I don't know him, he sounds like a smart guy, I'm sure he loves State. But for us to move forward we need a serious heavy hitter leading the NIL efforts.

[civildawg]

Why do people keep complaining about NIL? Go listen to Hadad and Faulks show today. They said the one recruit turned down astronomically more money from us and went to Oregon state. Our NIL is fine for being the poorest state in the union. Our brand and image is the thing holding us back

[TrapGame]

Why do people keep complaining about NIL? Go listen to Hadad and Faulks show today. They said the one recruit turned down astronomically more money from us and went to Oregon state. Our NIL is fine for being the poorest state in the union. Our brand and image is the thing holding us back

Didn't we offer some guy major money and he went to LSU for less b/c it was an offer from LSU?

[gtowndawg]

Why do people keep complaining about NIL? Go listen to Hadad and Faulks show today. They said the one recruit turned down astronomically more money from us and went to Oregon state. Our NIL is fine for being the poorest state in the union. Our brand and image is the thing holding us back

Honest question, do you think we are on the same trajectory with Ole Miss over the next 5 years, 10 years? Yes, I think we can be a solid top 35 team in the country. But that puts us in the bottom 3 of the SEC.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

The people complaining about how others should give more money, are usually the ones that give the least. In my opinion (and it's fine if you don't share this opinion), everyone in American should be giving at least 10% of gross wages to charitable causes. There has never been a year in my life that I haven't reached that level, or far above. And NIL isn't even charitable or tax deductible. It's simply paying someone to play.

[civildawg]

Of course not but that's because they have a way better coach than us not because of money. They've always had more money than us since the beginning of time

[gtowndawg]

Also, I see this argument quite often - "we have NFL players that should be giving to the NIL!" Yes, I agree, they should and I hope they do (but who knows). But if we don't get serious we are not going to have any future NFL players signing deals to continue that trend. The burden for the NIL should be on the fans, NFL players are gravy (and hopefully lot's of it).

[gtowndawg]

Of course not but that's because they have a way better coach than us not because of money. They've always had more money than us since the beginning of time

Brother, having "more money" is literally all that matters moving forward.

[civildawg]

So coaching matters zero? Your an idiot

[gtowndawg]

The people complaining about how others should give more money, are usually the ones that give the least. In my opinion (and it's fine if you don't share this opinion), everyone in American should be giving at least 10% of gross wages to charitable causes. There has never been a year in my life that I haven't reached that level, or far above. And NIL isn't even charitable or tax deductible. It's simply paying someone to play.

I tithe and give to the NIL. All the NIL needs is $10 a month from everyone that goes to games. Or a flat $100 a year. That's Chick-fil-A for a family (practically).

[gtowndawg]

So coaching matters zero? Your an idiot

"you're" - no offense taken though. I've been called worse.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Also, I see this argument quite often - "we have NFL players that should be giving to the NIL!" Yes, I agree, they should and I hope they do (but who knows). But if we don't get serious we are not going to have any future NFL players signing deals to continue that trend. The burden for the NIL should be on the fans, NFL players are gravy (and hopefully lot's of it).

No. NIL in its current state, which is pay for play, should be the burden of the university. Unfortunately, that is not the case so the fans have to carry that burden or your team will SUCK. I get why people are frustrated, I do. But if we continually count on others to foot the bill then we are going to be left for dead in a matter of months, not years. We have to get serious and get rowing in the same direction on this. I get it sucks and it is not right for everything to be on the onus of the average fan, but that is the world we live in. You have to get busy livin or get busy dyin.

[Brobi-wan]

I tithe and give to the NIL. All the NIL needs is $10 a month from everyone that goes to games. Or a flat $100 a year. That's Chick-fil-A for a family (practically).

The Lord’s chicken is pricey. $100 bucks a year isn’t too much to ask. I spent that on books about the Roman Empire literally this month. It’s not about the size of the donation if you can get a big base going. I think a lot of people want to see us heading in the right direction before they give. Which I understand is backwards.

[HancockCountyDog]

The problem is that it is costing us more to keep players than most on here would suspect.

I think people would be stunned to find out how much our roster is costing us. I've been told a number, i'm not sure i believe it, but if it is even close, I'm not sure what we do but start over.

The OL, Shapen, a few of the HS kids, several defensive players are making real NIL dollars. Same type money that the bears are paying some of their players. Now, do i think their salaries exceed ours? Of course, but I will bet you that our OL is making close or the same as ours. Shapen isn't making Dart money, but it is a lot.

Stonka, Coleman, and Kelly A, are making real money.

The biggest problem I see is that we are overpaying for guys that aren't even close to difference makers. I was told John Lewis, Deonte Anderson and I think Ellington all got really solid NIL deals to stay with us. Is that a good thing? It's like paying Kirk Cousins 45 million dollars, sure he is solid at times, but not if Josh Allen is making 55 million.

I'm not sure what our path forward is honestly. Our HS recruiting is below average, we can't really benefit from diamonds in the rough anymore, because if they come here and blow up, then its a bidding war and we can lose them (Rara, Thomas) to better programs.

I'm tired of people comparing us to the bears. Its not a fair comparison right now. They have a top 5 coach in the country when it comes to branding, coaching and media. That won't last. It just can't. Right? The problem for us right now, is that people don't look at what you have done the last 5 years, its basically the last two years. The attention spans of both fans and donors is about two years.

We need to figure out a way to pull one solid upset this year. I don't care the game, just one SEC upset. I'm pretty sure we will be an underdog in all of our SEC games, so we have to pull one out to show that Lebby's plan will work here. I really like Lebby as a coach, but he has been dealt a very, very tough hand. The last two coaches were handed teams that had SEC DL on the roster. Lebby wasn't. Having that Covid year, really helped keep the defense together, and say what you want, Arnett knew how to coach defense.

[gtowndawg]

No. NIL in its current state, which is pay for play, should be the burden of the university. Unfortunately, that is not the case so the fans have to carry that burden or your team will SUCK. I get why people are frustrated, I do. But if we continually count on others to foot the bill then we are going to be left for dead in a matter of months, not years. We have to get serious and get rowing in the same direction on this. I get it sucks and it is not right for everything to be on the onus of the average fan, but that is the world we live in. You have to get busy livin or get busy dyin.

Fair point. I wish it was on the university and we could all give to one common source. But as of now, that's not the case. I think that's some of the hard decisions that also need to be talked about. Splitting our money between NIL and the Bulldog Club will never get anything accomplished. It's a hard conversation to have but we don't have the resources to fully fund both.

[civildawg]

Agree with all your points. We are either missing on evaluations or not coaching our current players up. Our OL is bad and our DL is high school level. We need a refund on our OL transfers

[gtowndawg]

This is not a guess - I know this because it's a friend of my middle son. This kid is about to commit to a SEC school in baseball and will get $150,000 to sign plus NIL. He visited another SEC school this weekend to see if they would be willing to do more. That's baseball. So imagine what SEC football cost. As I said earlier, it's all about the money moving forward. Whether we like that or agree with that is irrelevant, it's a fact.

[gtowndawg]

The Lord’s chicken is pricey. $100 bucks a year isn’t too much to ask. I spent that on books about the Roman Empire literally this month. It’s not about the size of the donation if you can get a big base going. I think a lot of people want to see us heading in the right direction before they give. Which I understand is backwards.

100% - our success is all about quantity. We just need a good vision placed in front of the average fan to clearly show why it's so important. Right now the NIL get's what, one mention at the football game? That's insane. I mean for heaven's sake we still have The Bulldog Club painted in the end zones!

[StarkVegasSteve]

Fair point. I wish it was on the university and we could all give to one common source. But as of now, that's not the case. I think that's some of the hard decisions that also need to be talked about. Splitting our money between NIL and the Bulldog Club will never get anything accomplished. It's a hard conversation to have but we don't have the resources to fully fund both.

Correct. Until this is all brought under the university umbrella you either have to give to the BDC or NIL. Right now, the choice needs to be NIL. If you don't have the resources to give to both, and a lot of people don't, then give the minimum seat donation to the BDC if you have tickets and give the rest to NIL. It sucks and I get that, but it's unfortunately the landscape college athletics are in. We can only hit up Richard Rula, Richard Adkerson, Heath Jenkins, Billy Howard, etc. for so much. This is where OM has us whipped right now. Everyone from Dickie Scruggs, David Nutt, and Jerry Hollingsworth on down to the young alumni that I know out here in Dallas are giving to The Grove Collective. They understand the importance of NIL. They are all in. We have to get to that point.

[StarkVegasSteve]

100% - our success is all about quantity. We just need a clear vision placed in front of the average fan to clearly show why it's so important. Right now the NIL get's what, one mention at the football game? That's insane. I mean for heaven's sake we still have The Bulldog Club painted in the end zones!

If I was Lebby and Co. I would make sure the Bulldog Initiative logo is on the field at every game. Either put it in the endzones or on the sidelines and have damn QR codes all over campus and Starkville