Why Michigan must become proactive with NIL moving forward

Now that Jim Harbaugh is off to the NFL, Michigan is officially entering a new era. He did what he set out to do when he returned to Ann Arbor in 2015, leading his alma mater to three straight College Football Playoff appearances and, at long last, a national championship this past season.

While the new coach is important — offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore emerging as the leader in the clubhouse — Michigan could also put more emphasis on its NIL efforts. The university has three operating NIL collectives, led by the Champions Circle, and appears to be in strong position to hold onto the key pieces of the roster after Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers.

According to The Wolverine’s Anthony Broome, though, Michigan’s attitude about NIL needs to change. UM needs to be a bit more “proactive” to capitalize on the opportunity to keep good players in town and bring new ones in.

“I think a lot of the things that they’ve done as it pertains to NIL and pay-for-play stuff, all of that, I do think it has been more reactive than proactive,” Broome told Andy Staples on On3 Roundtable. “That’s not going to hold up moving forward. A lot of the issues that they’ve had, both self-inflicted and circumstantially, are covered up when you have a guy like Jim Harbaugh. He’s just got this Midas touch about flipping Mike Sainristil from wide receiver where he was hardly used to maybe one of the best defensive backs in all of college football. Those are the types of things on the margins that Jim Harbaugh does.

“And this is no disrespect to Sherrone Moore or whoever might follow Harbaugh at Michigan. But those are the types of things that you are going to lose out on, which means you need to enhance everything else. So I think that from a Michigan perspective, the messaging needs to be clear. I think it is clear. Right now, in this new era that we are we have entered, if you want your team to be in the conversation, you have to invest in the on-field product.”

Administrative support is key for Michigan to take the next step in the NIL space

Champions Circle is the focal point of Michigan’s NIL efforts. But there are others, including the “Those Who Stay” campaign, and one NIL expert told On3’s Jeremy Crabtree the university’s setup is “outstanding.”

But it takes more than just collectives doing their part, according to Broome. The administration also has to buy in and help UM take the necessary next step.

“Yes, facilities are important, and fundraising to make things at Michigan more modern is important,” Broome said. “But without the top-flight players out there to fill those facilities — to me, with Michigan, you’re a blue blood program, you just won a national championship, you have one of the largest and wealthiest alumni bases of any public university in the world. Listen, the collectives are doing what they can. The guys at Champions Circle are doing a phenomenal job. But it has to be more than just them. There has to be administrative support, there has to be proactive thinking instead of reactive thinking and quite frankly, it’s just time to act like you are one of the big boys because you are.

“You just won a national title, you went 15-0, you have been at the top of the Big Ten for three years in a row. This isn’t this doesn’t have to be a lightning-in-a-bottle, three-year run. Now, again, it’s going to look different because you don’t have Jim Harbaugh. But I think administratively and from a donor base perspective, everyone needs to step up their game a lot more. And I think that’s going to be a big key and something to watch in all of this, as well.”