Top recruits discuss NIL

Some of the top prospects in the 2024 cycle were in Nashville recently for the On3 NIL Elite Series presented by Mizuno. ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and On3 Founder and CEO Shannon Terry among others spoke with these recruits and their families about name, image and likeness, their On3 NIL Valuations and more.

While at the event, attendees sat down with On3’s J.D. Pickell and Josh Newberg to discuss their experiences and perspectives of name, image and likeness. These blue-chip players talked about how NIL factors into their recruitments, what they think are the biggest misconceptions about NIL and the wildest story about NIL that they have heard.

How did NIL factor into the recruitments of some of the top players in the country?

River Rouge (Mich.) four-star wide receiver Nick Marsh: “NIL factors pretty big in my recruitment. I want to come in and I want to have fun, but I always want to make money. I want to able to take care of my family. NIL is a big thing, but it’s not always about the money. It’s about where’s the best fit. I wouldn’t just want to be given money. I want to work for it, just produce what I earn.”

Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day School four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger (Tennessee commit): “I think that I was really fortunate that it didn’t factor into my recruitment, which is good honestly. I feel like I made a decision based on where I wanted to go, who was there, what the college was like and not based off money.”

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star running back Jerrick Gibson: “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have a factor in my recruitment because it does. My main goal is to get my family to where they don’t have to work again. It does play a part, but it doesn’t play a big, big part. I’m still looking at schools to get developed and get me to the next level, to get the big money, get to the main goal. I just want to be comfortable in college, so it doesn’t really play a real big part.”

Buford (Ga.) Five-Star Plus+ safety KJ Bolden: “It doesn’t really factor a lot because once you get to college, if you play good, you’re going to get paid regardless of the situation. Then, if you’re going through your plan to get to the league, it’s right down the corner. All you have to do is wait three years and you’ll get that major contract. But it definitely plays a role. You don’t want to go to college for nothing.”

Jefferson (Ga.) five-star linebacker Sammy Brown: “We had a conversation with Tennessee this weekend about it, but that’s one of the first that we’ve had, so I’m assuming that on the officials, they’ll talk about it. But I haven’t mentioned it to any of the colleges just cause that’s not anything I’m really worried about. I want to go to college to play football and NIL’s just a byproduct of that.”

West Hills (Calif.) Sierra Canyon four-star wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer: “For me, NIL is really not a big deal. I look at NIL as an opportunity to show young athletes their worth, but also it shouldn’t be who you are. You shouldn’t pick a school just cause they’re giving out money, if they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, we’re going to promise you this amount of money,’ because at the end of the day, that’s chump change when it comes to the league.”

What do top recruits think are the biggest misconceptions of NIL?

KJ Bolden: “Some of the money that schools offer you sometimes doesn’t end up being true. They could tell you, ‘I’m going to give you $15 million, $20 million,’ and then you get up there and they’re not giving you all the money and now you’d be like, ‘I’m going to leave and going to transfer.’ I’ve definitely heard one of those stories before.”

Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews: “People think that since I have a large NIL valuation, they think I’m able to get all that money right now. That’s not really the case. I kind of do away with that because I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in Georgia. I have to wait for my time.”

Sammy Brown: “I think it’s that everybody thinks it’s corrupt, and it’s not. There’s a lot of great people out there doing it for the right reasons and doing it for the players. I think that’s the biggest misconception right now because you hear all about the bad deals and the bad agents and all that. But there’s a lot of good out there too.”

Albany (Ga.) Dougherty four-star running back Kameron Davis (Florida State commit): “NIL takes a lot of respect. It takes a lot of time to talk deals and contracts out with brands. I think they should know that it takes a lot of work and time for NIL deals to actually be.”

Jake Merklinger: “It’s really awkward. It’s not easy to talk about at all with even coaches, even you guys.”

Willis (Texas) five-star quarterback DJ Lagway (Florida commit): “The claim that kids choose schools for the NIL, I feel like I’ve talked to a lot of kids that have been committed and I feel like that’s not true. They truly like the school, love the coaching staff, love the depth chart.”

Avon (Conn.) Avon Old Farms four-star quarterback Ryan Puglisi (Georgia commit): “I would say the biggest lie is it’s the only thing that matters because a lot of these kids, like me in general, picked up a football and went into high school and you were still not allowed to get paid. I think the reason you picked up that football was not because of the money. It’s because you loved the game.”

What is the wildest NIL story these top recruits have heard?

Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy four-star cornerback Kaleb Beasley (Tennessee commit): “I’d say, being committed to Tennessee, I’ve got to bring up Nico (Iamaleava). When he went to Tennessee and he was getting $9 million, I feel like that was the biggest thing. $9 million is a lot of money.”

Jerrick Gibson: “The quarterback that was committed to Florida, Jaden Rashada, his whole situation was crazy to me. I’m not going to get into it because I know it’s none of my business.”

Jake Merklinger: “I think there was a story around last year’s cycle. There was a kid who was talking about getting money from a school and he was using it as leverage for another school, but didn’t realize the coaches talk to each other and that the leverage was fake.”

Raymore (Mo.) Raymore-Peculiar four-star tight end Jaden Reddell (Georgia commit): “One of my friends was telling me about how a school offered him so much money and he chose to commit there. But once he committed, they changed the decision and didn’t give him any money.”

Ryan Puglisi: “I’ve heard some things like some schools have run out of scholarships, but they’ve been able to fill that void with NIL money, being able to give the kid a free spot, but not on scholarship technically.”

Sammy Brown: “I’ve heard about people that have signed deals where they didn’t read the subscript and they’ve had to give off 20% off what they make. Stuff like that is just crazy, to think that you have to give 20% of everything you make to somebody.”

Mike Matthews: “I’ve heard of some schools offering a crazy amount of money, like some millions to go there. That’s crazy because that can really change the whole spectrum because a person could like this school, but this school offers more money. So they might flip just because of the money.”

Nick Marsh: “As far as me being previously committed to Michigan State, a lot of fans were like, ‘He’s over there getting that NIL money or Nick Marsh is getting paid big money.’ I never was getting paid money. It was the relationship with the coaches that kept me there.”