Hugh Freeze delivers message on NIL deals, financial literacy

Every head coach wants success on the field. However, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze wants his players to succeed off the gridiron, as well. When a reporter recently asked Freeze about how Auburn teaches its players financial literacy, Freeze had no shortage of examples.

“This one could take a while to answer, but the education part, I think, is absolutely vital. We’re creating a SOAR Program within our building that stands for the students and their opportunities that they’re getting, both athletically, academically, and with the resources that they have.

“I have five people that work in that arena. They don’t have anything to do with football. They have to do with our player development, and how are we going to educate them.

“We also depend upon, once a deal is done, after they’ve gotten to Tower Campus and a deal is done with On to Victory, they have an incredible board that is set up with financial advisors that are willing to help them do that,” Freeze said.

Auburn players have an influx of capital. The Tigers boasted an NIL average of $56,000 per player last season. With Freeze’s recent success, that number will only go up. Freeze encourages his players to take their financial literacy seriously.

“I tell every kid that I think you’re very, very wise if you take us up on the resources we’re offering you. Ultimately they get to make that decision, but I do think you’re dead on that if we’re not educating them, then we’re just setting ourselves up for even more issues.

“I think it’s incredible that young men get to benefit. Do I think that, at some point, it needs some more parameters around it? Of course. You’ve heard that.

“But I do think that managing the locker room is one of the things that keeps you up at night as a coach right now. I was very candid with our team and said, ‘Listen, how many of you wanted the NIL opportunities?’ How many hands do you think went up? All of them.

“I said, ‘That’s great, but you also need to know that it will never totally be fair in your eyes, but accept it as a blessing and be accountable for yours,'” Freeze said.

Freeze’s players aren’t the only ones making big money. Freeze is set to earn $6.5 million a year. Additionally, Freeze can make an additional $2 million if he takes Auburn to the NCAA National Championship. Freeze will also earn $150,000 if the Tigers win five SEC contests. The 53-year-old head coach simply hopes his words get through to his players.

“Will everybody hear that message and accept it? I sure hope so. I think the ones that do are going to have a better chance to have a better team, but that’s the reality that we live in, that life is not always fair, and everybody won’t look at everybody else in the sportswriter world or in the coaching world and feel like I got the fairest deal that he got.

“Until we start — we need to quit looking at other people because comparison is the chief enemy of joy. It’ll steal it, and it’ll steal from our team.

“We’ve got to focus on, man, the facts are that I’m very blessed that I am getting this education, that I am getting the opportunities that a collective deal may give me. That is a blessing. So rejoice in that and go work as hard as you can to get a better blessing,” Freeze said.

Fans will see if Auburn’s hard work pays off on Sept. 2 when the team takes on Massachusetts in its season opener.