CJ Stroud shows in NIL era, NFL cash remains king

CJ Stroud could have turned the college football model on its head Monday morning.

He never won a game against Michigan, a Big Ten title or a national championship. Those weighed on him, making the final decision difficult. Yes, in the NIL Era, athletes are finally making a profit. Stroud has succeeded, signing notable agreements with Designer Shoe Warehouse and Express.

But on the final day he could make a decision, the Ohio State quarterback made the logical one.

The name, image and likeness space is never going to be able to add the number of zeroes to a paycheck the NFL can. Sure, booster-funded NIL collectives have popped up across the Division I landscape. Marketing deals are highly profitable for top-tier athletes in college football.

Lucrative NIL deals range between the seven figures, though. The signing bonus for a top-five pick in the NFL Draft is north of $20 million.

For Stroud to have feasibly come back, a collective would have to needed to present a contract between $10 to $15 million. That would have been able to almost compete with his signing bonus. And that does not even factor in the what-ifs. What if a return to Columbus for the 2023 season only hurt his draft stock? Or, worse, he suffered an injury?

Stroud will not have to lose sleep over those possible outcomes.

NIL has opened up the avenue for NFL talent to think a little harder about their options. A projected fourth-round pick may be tempted to return because of an NIL salary. Hard to see a generational quarterback talent do so.

The NBA has started to see the same impact. Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe all returned this year. Each admitted being able to profit off their NIL — opposed to leaving for the professionals solely for cash — made them think twice.

Maybe an athlete wants to earn their degree or enjoy the final year of college. But a surefire first-round pick turning down the NFL for NIL is just not happening. Turning down contracts valued in the eight figures for NIL opportunities is ludicrous. The dollars and cents will never add up, especially when the idea behind name, image and likeness was never to compete with professional sports.

Brian Schottenstein, who runs Ohio State’s collective, The Foundation, texted On3 a quick “no,” when asked last week if Stroud would return. As a businessman in the Columbus community, he fully understands the platform and opportunity the NFL provides.

Minutes after the humiliating loss to Michigan in November, Stroud’s first question in his press conference circled around the future. Would his second consecutive loss in The Game also be his final appearance in Ohio Stadium?

“I don’t know if this is my last time playing in the Shoe, man, but I enjoyed every second I’ve gotten in there,” he said. “I’ve come a long way in there. From the first game in the Shoe being booed, everybody not saying very nice things about me. I think I’ve earned everyone’s respect as time has gone on.”

At the time, making the College Football Playoff appeared impossible. But then USC lost to Utah in the Pac-12 title game, opening the window.

CJ Stroud made sure to deliver a final time. Without a number of playmakers, the quarterback put Ohio State in position to take down the unbeaten, reigning national champs at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. But a missed field goal in the final seconds against Georgia brought the end of his career.

Where the quarterback ends up going in the NFL Draft remains to be seen. Draft analysts will spend the next few months churning out different possibilities, comparing Stroud’s hands to Bryce Young’s.

What is guaranteed, however, is NFL cash. That can’t compete with NIL.