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Few things are more important but less understood than the money available to college student-athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness.
NIL payments were approved by the NCAA starting in July of 2021, and since then, student-athletes have earned money through a variety of manners. How much they make is almost always a matter of speculation, though, because almost all the deals are private and not open to public viewing.
Make no mistake, though, that NIL is important in today’s college sports world, particularly for Division I’s two major sports, football and men’s basketball.
The colleges themselves are not supposed to be directly involved in setting up NIL opportunities for their student-athletes, but it’s naïve to think the programs leave all facets of the process to outside entities, like collectives, which raise money to distribute as NIL payments.
Questions about NIL opportunities often start at the outset of the recruiting process, though every prospect is different when it comes to such inquiries.
“It depends; it really does,†said WVU head football coach Neal Brown about NIL questions from high school recruits. “It comes up eventually with every single one of them, but I wouldn’t say that’s THE determining factor in the decisions by the high school recruits, but it is a factor.â€
For high school recruits, there are a range of reasons why they ultimately pick a specific school, according to Brown. NIL opportunities have become part of that mix, but there is not one single reason for high schoolers.
“I think everybody’s circumstances are different,†WVU’s fifth-year coach explained. “Academics are still a factor; maybe not for all but for some. Geography matters. The facilities and the support of your program, that still matters. The opportunity to play is the most important, because that is the reason they are doing what they do is to play. That matters.
“NIL is a factor, and it’s a bigger factor for some,†Brown continued. “I think it’s the things that go along with that — exposures and things like that — which have probably grown the most in recent times.â€
NIL is one of many reasons high school recruits sign with a specific program. But it’s a bigger part of the selection process for transfers who are looking for their second — or third or fourth — college home.
“Now the transfer market, that’s a whole other deal,†said Brown of how much NIL matters to transfers. “For them, it’s factor No. 1 or No. 2,†with opportunity for playing time being the other.
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New West Virginia University Director of Athletics Wren Baker has signed a term sheet for a six-year contract that will pay him $1.1 million for the first two years of his employment, then increase by $50,000 per year through the final four years of the deal.
Baker's contract with WVU commences on Dec. 17, 2022 and runs through Dec. 31, 2028. Most of the parameters and perks of the deal are in line with other contracts executed between the school and previous ADs and head coaches, but a couple of unique retention and fundraising incentives are included.
In addition to the normal perks of two courtesy vehicles and tickets to athletic events, Baker will also receive a one-time payment of $250,000 to cover the cost of the buyout of his University of North Texas contract, and will also receiver a one-time retention incentive of $75,000 following his first two weeks of employment. That latter payment and amount is out of the ordinary when compared to other contracts executed by WVU, and is will to be made "for services rendered" according to the term sheet.
Baker will also be eligible for another retention incentive payment of $250,000 if he is still employed by WVU on March 1, 2026. His moving expenses to West Virginia, as well as temporary housing stipend of up to $20,000, covering four months, are also part of the deal.
Baker's eligibility for additional incentives is also generous. In year one of the contract alone, he could earn $410,000 for a multitude of items, including:
75% of the amount of incentive payments earned by coaches of WVU teams based on their academic and athletic achievements, with a cap of $125,000$25-35,000 for APR scores of 970 or 985Up to $100,000 per year for meeting performance targets set by the President during his annual performance reviewUp to $50,000 for exceptional performance relating to innovation in revenue generation$50,000 for every $5 million in pledged donations outside those required for ticket purchases that are paid in no more than five years$50,000 for a 10% increase in attendance for home football games$25,000 for a 10% increase in attendance for home basketball games
With increased scrutiny on buyouts, amounts for the breaking of the contract in both directions are spelled out.
Should Baker leave the job prior to Dec. 31, 2023, he will owe WVU liquidated damages in the amount of $1 million. That amount drops by $200,000 over each of the next four years. In the final year of the contract (2028) he would not owe any liquidated damages.
Should West Virginia fire Baker without cause, it would owe him 75% of the remaining contracted value of his base salary. That amount would be offset by any amount Baker earned if he leaves for other athletic-related employment.
So, for example, if Baker were dismissed by the school on Dec. 31, 2026, WVU would owe him $1,912,500 ($2.55 million x 75%).
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Money doesn’t guarantee success when it comes to college athletics.
If it did, the NCAA’s top two earners — Texas and Texas A&M — would be fighting for FBS supremacy every year rather than every few decades.
Still, the first-class facilities, high-end coaches and all the other things loads of cash can secure are definitely important when trying to build a winner, which is why those immediately following the Longhorns and Aggies on the revenue tree — Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee — are usually those having the most success, especially on the football field, where it takes a lot of money to compete for national championships.
That’s why the new media rights deal recently signed by the Big 12 Conference with ESPN and Fox is so important for the 12 teams who will comprise the reconstituted league after Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC.
This new contract will keep the Big 12 linked with its previous broadcast partners (ESPN and FOX), but will up payment by approximately $8 million per school per year, as it will average $31.6 million annually to each of the 12 members.
The new deal will start in time for the 2025 football season and will run six years through the 2030-31 athletic season. It also includes a grant-of-rights for the length of the contract, meaning the 12 colleges aligned with the Big 12 once the deal kicks in will likely be locked in place for its duration.
Add in the other income derived by the Big 12, like bowl game payments, CFP percentages, conference basketball tourney profits, NCAA basketball tournament shares, etc., and the conference could send each member a check annually in the neighborhood of $50 million, up from the $41 million the members made this past year.
The Big 12 is not going to be making nearly the same money as the SEC and Big Ten, each of whom will send their members total payments of around $100 million per year, but the Big 12’s financial future is far better than the gloom and doom many predicted when Texas and Oklahoma announced their exits from the league in the summer of 2021.
While the Big 12 will trail the SEC and Big Ten in terms of revenue distribution, right now it is ahead of the other two Power 5 conferences — the ACC ($20 million annually per school for its media rights contract) and the Pac-12 ($21 million annually per school for its media rights contract, though that league is currently negotiating a new deal).
If WVU is thrilled with the prospect of getting $31.6 million annually from the new media deal, which will be an $8 million increase over the old package, you can imagine the giddy mood of the incoming Big 12 members.
Three of those — Houston, Cincinnati and UCF — were part of the American Athletic Conference, which has a media contract that pays $7 million to each school per year. Those programs will now make more than 4.5 times as much as Big 12 members than they did as part of The American.
The Big 12’s new six-year media rights extension won’t guarantee its league members’ success on the football field or within any other athletic venue, but the money gained from the deal should help those in the league stay competitive.
The SEC and Big Ten schools will still have an advantage, but the Big 12 programs won’t be at the huge disadvantage that many predicted when they projected the league’s next media deal would only be worth $10 million or so annually for each member.
This new contract gives the Big 12 athletic departments a fighting chance instead of just struggling to stay afloat.
