Lincoln Riley calls USC's NIL operation 'most improved' in country

INDIANAPOLIS – Lincoln Riley is ready to take on the Big Ten.

With Oregon and Ohio State’s third-party NIL collectives operating on budgets pushing $20 million, the USC coach is not worried about the Trojans’ war chest. USC held on to defensive tackle Bear Alexander this offseason and added Mississippi State running back Woody Marks and UNLV quarterback Jayden Maiava.

Riley’s also has a verbal commitment from 2025 five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, who has continued to take official visits despite committing to the Trojans last August. But the fourth-year coach believes USC has made progress in all areas on and off the field, including with its collective.

“I’m not a magician,” he said Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days. “I can’t wave a magic wand and everything is just perfect right away. But find one area that we haven’t made progress. This thing’s got momentum. It’s coming, nothing’s going to stop it. That’s fine. They started at a different point. We’ll see where it ends up.”

USC’s House of Victory NIL collective launched in April 2023 as a nonprofit entity. Run by USC’s former Director of Player Personnel, Spencer Harris, the collective is an institutional sponsor through its sponsorship agreement with Playfly Sports.

The collective has also received buy-in from former players. House of Victory’s QB U event last year featured support from stars, including Carson Palmer and Mark Sanchez. The collective charged $20,000 per table and $2,500 for an individual.

When Riley initially arrived at USC, NIL had just started. BLVD LLC started operations in January 2022, but the collective was handcuffed as Riley wasn’t able to help fundraise. But with new USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen, the Trojans have restructured and become more aggressive.

USC is also using Caleb Williams’ NIL success in recruiting pitches. The Heisman Trophy winner was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in this spring’s NFL draft.

“Our collective is probably the most improved collective in the country and continues to improve,” Riley said. “Honestly, not too concerned about what everybody else has done.”