Lincoln Riley’s task should be made easier by unrivaled NIL potential for USC players

Lincoln Riley takes the reins at USC wielding a powerful recruiting tool that no other Trojans coach has had: Los Angeles is an unrivaled NIL marketplace for elite Trojans football players.

The entertainment capital of the world is sprinkled with influencers, agents and king-makers. Athletes can leverage access to 5.7 million television households in the Los Angeles market and 53 Fortune 500 companies in California. A wealth of opportunities in entertainment, apparel sales and digital spaces will drive NIL value exponentially.

The sheer financial muscle of Hollywood alone eclipses NIL potential in college towns like Norman, Okla., Baton Rouge, La., or Tuscaloosa, Ala., regardless of how deep the pockets of zealous boosters extend. So if Riley can return the Trojans to national prominence, what’s the NIL potential for star USC players?

“Past stratospheric,” said Malik S. Jackson, a Jacksonville-based attorney who counsels clients on NIL compensation matters. 

“The potential to be unmatched. The perfect storm of opportunities for big-time athletes that most other schools may not have,” said Dale Hutcherson, a Memphis-area attorney who specializes in sports and trademark law.

“Undoubtedly near the top of any NIL marketability chart,” said Blake Lawrence, the CEO and co-founder of Opendorse.

“There is a ton of opportunity in the L.A. market, locally and nationally, that other college markets simply don’t have,” said Jim Cavale, founder and CEO of INFLCR.

The Los Angeles market is measured as part of the Nielsen Impact Score, a new NIL marketing value index unveiled last month that compares programs nationwide in three key categories: national exposure, local market impact and social media engagement. Jon Stainer, the managing director of Nielsen Sports in the Americas, told On3 on Monday that the market not only brings the “Hollywood angle” but also a long-entrenched local fan base. He said there are nearly two million USC fans just in the Los Angeles market, according to Nielsen data.

“If Lincoln Riley can tap into that market, it will wake this sleeping giant again and allow athletes to generate NIL dollars from the nearly endless opportunities in L.A.,” Stainer said. “Look at the amount of celebrity that was around the USC program during the Pete Carroll era. And that was before the Pac-12 had a network, before social media really took off and obviously before new NIL legislation. The opportunity is massive at USC.”

Ahhh, but there is a catch

The caveat is “if” USC recaptures some of the glory it attained under Carroll nearly two decades ago because, as Cavale noted earlier this season, the Los Angeles market is potent but also as congested as the I-405 at rush hour. The Rams and Chargers are playoff-caliber teams, the Lakers still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and the Dodgers annually are chasing a World Series ring with a high-priced payroll. As the Angels can attest, even when you have Mike Trout, losing quickly breeds irrelevancy. 

Winning championships in L.A. would make USC a must-see attraction again and potentially transcend the sporting landscape. During the Trojans’ mini-dynasty, celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and Will Ferrell would attend Carroll’s practices. Against that backdrop, possessing the “wow factor” of a Reggie Bush-type athlete would mean NIL discussions begin with seven-figure deals. 

“You start to wonder, ‘Wow, if NIL was available [15-plus years ago], what would it have been like for Reggie Bush, what would it have been like for Matt Leinart?’ ” Cavale said. “It would have been huge because USC was the show in town.”

Lawrence said the perfect example of a college athlete with incredible NIL value was Bush, who was stripped of the Heisman in the wake of a sports agent-related scandal that ensnared his family. That obviously was before the NIL era, which began July 1, changed the equation. Lawrence said “an electrifying USC football player on a winning team in the country’s second-biggest market — it’s the perfect combination. When USC is back on top in football, their star players will undoubtedly be near the top of any NIL marketability chart.” 

Hutcherson on Monday called NIL the potential “X-factor” the Trojans need to return to dominance in the recruiting world and, in turn, on the field. He noted that the Los Angeles market offers high potential for athletes to create their own businesses and brands beyond the traditional endorsement deal. One example in that region is UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson starting his own merchandise and apparel company, Friends over Fans.

In the summer announcement of its partnership with leading NIL advisory and education firm Altius Sports Partners, USC athletic director Mike Bohn acknowledged that USC’s location gives its athletes a “unique advantage in the NIL space.” The city of stars is a patently different animal related to NIL, offering elite athletes all the trappings of a quasi-professional livelihood. Some 15 years ago, famed shoe company czar Sonny Vaccaro told me, ”One-hundred dollars is like a dollar to some of these people [agents and big-brand executives]. You’re right in the middle of it. You’re right here in Hollywood. It’s show business, and these people are substantial.”

At OU, Riley understood the power of NIL

Under Riley, some Oklahoma players this season were at the forefront of NIL opportunities. Quarterback Spencer Rattler garnered significant attention after securing lucrative deals during the summer, months before losing his starting job because of performance (he announced Monday that he is entering the transfer portal). And running back Kennedy Brooks became the first college athlete to start a paid subscriber text messaging community. 

For coaches, NIL fluency now is a necessity. In comments made this summer, Riley expressed support for the new opportunities afforded to his athletes. At the same time, he was mindful of — and articulated some concern over — the complexities surrounding adhering to sometimes nebulous state laws, university policies and ensuring that players avoid becoming distracted by the dollars and deals. 

“I think with all of our players, Spencer included, NIL can be a great thing, but it can also be dangerous,” Riley said when the Sooners opened preseason camp. “It can also be detrimental in the long run if you let it, if you don’t handle it the correct way. We had good, honest conversations, and just like any player, I want him to be able to capitalize and do it extremely well and all of our guys be able to do it.”

Riley is relocating to the ideal locale to highlight immense NIL opportunities to help attract elite talent. Speaking in general about the need for new coaches to embrace NIL, Malaika Underwood, the senior vice president of licensing at OneTeam Partners, said, “you’re going to look for folks who understand what’s going on around them and can adjust to new things. We’re in a new era of college athletics for certain.”

And after Riley’s landscape-shifting decision this weekend, no coach is better positioned to take advantage.