Mike Gundy goes in-depth on NIL problems Oklahoma State faces in recruiting

Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy recently went in-depth on the NIL problems that the school is currently facing, particularly as it relates to recruiting in the modern game.

With the Transfer Portal and NIL, player movement is much easier in today’s game. That has, for Gundy, helped make it stand out that resources aren’t equal at every school and makes it difficult for Oklahoma State to add whatever player the staff might want.

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“There’s several ways to look at this,” Mike Gundy said. “There’s a group of teams that are running away with it. So, in offseason free agency and the bidding that’s going on for players, there’s a certain group of them that we don’t even get involved in. You call ’em and they say, ‘I get $300,000 just to take an official visit.’ Okay, well who’s next? So, there is a group that is doing that. That’s still out there.”

One team, for example, that was active in the Transfer Portal this offseason was Ohio State. It has been reported that the program put $20 million into the roster through NIL and transfers.

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“The challenge — here’s what the challenge is gonna be — from what I can see in reading between the lines with this judge [Claudia Wilken], what she is talking about, and then I had a conversation last night with somebody, I don’t think they are going to sign this player revenue,” Gundy said. “I think they are a long ways off. So, if that happens then we’re in another year of what you would call is ‘collective NIL,’ which is paying players, which we are not supposed to be doing. I think she is going the other way on this revenue sharing, in my opinion.”

Mike Gundy is referencing the House Settlement, which would allow for revenue sharing. However, in court that agreement has been under some fire and now there are questions if the lawsuit is still going to settle.

“What we have to be careful of in that instance is the accumulation of money spent by those schools in a period of time. Like the ACC is upset because we get this amount of money per team, the SEC and the Big Ten get this amount of money per team, over a four-year period it is this amount of money. So, it’s like if investing in the stock market, if you invest this amount and the other guy invests this amount then over and after eight years his money goes here [Gundy gestured with his arms] and his money goes here [widens arms]. You doubled your money, but he doubled his money,” Gundy said.

“That is the concern. That is what we have to get under control because if we a few schools in the country and we have more than a few, say 20 schools in the country that are extending themselves by $20 million a year and investing that in the team where are we going to be four years from now, that is the concern… It is heading that direction. My opinion is if she doesn’t sign this and we get out of player revenue sharing the discrepancies are going to be that way and you’re not gonna have anymore parity.”

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State have been active in recent NIL discussions

Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State program have clearly had NIL on their minds in recent months. At the start of the season, it was announced that Oklahoma State would put QR codes on helmets that were linked to the school’s Pokes With A Purpose NIL collective. However, the NCAA stepped in and blocked that. Gundy later shared that the NCAA threatened lawsuits for players who wear the codes.

On top of that, Mike Gundy also recently referenced how affordable D-II transfer Obi Ezeigbo was for the team to add.

“Do you want me to go back into coach talk or do you want the truth?” Gundy said. “He was very inexpensive. The number of players that we go after that were ready to play at this level, we can’t afford.”

Until the House Settlement is official, which could still take a while, there are going to be questions about keeping up in the world of NIL. It’s a challenge that Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State still appear to be navigating.