Michigan should avoid mass departures because of 'outstanding' NIL setup

The coaching carousel can be devastating to a college football program without a solid NIL infrastructure.

We’ve seen it time after time over the past few weeks – the head coach departs and you immediately see a mass exodus for the transfer portal.

Yet, there are some programs more prepared for that eventuality than others.

Michigan is a prime example.

The Wolverines are in the market for a new coach after Jim Harbaugh accepted an offer to be the Los Angeles Chargers coach following his national title victory. Sherrone Moore is expected to be named the next Michigan coach in seven to 10 days, according to Chris Balas of On3’s The Wolverine.

The well-revered Wolverines’ offensive coordinator and Harbaugh’s right-hand man should dampen the departures of some key players (yes, some will still leave because that always happens with a coaching change). But what will limit the defections the most is that Michigan has an “outstanding” NIL structure in place and money to spend.

“If this would have happened two years ago or even 18 months ago, I would have told you that Michigan would be in big trouble,” a leading NIL observer told On3. “But the way that Michigan has embraced NIL from the top – the administration and leadership level – to a renewed focus at the collective level over the past year has set it up for this.

“Over the past year and a half, they’ve quickly gone from not focused to one of the most outstanding NIL setups in college football.”

Champions Circle key to Michigan’s NIL situation

Getting admin and leadership buy-in was important. But it can’t be stressed enough how vital Champions Circle is in this situation. The collective’s leadership – spearheaded by co-founder Jared Wangler and his team – positioned Michigan for this eventuality.

They’re ready to keep the Wolverines on the national championship level in this post-Harbaugh, free-agency, roster-value world of NIL.

“Michigan has long had one of the top infrastructures in the NIL space with Valiant Management bringing endorsement deals to top players,” On3’s college sports business and transfer portal expert Pete Nakos said. “But just in recent months have the Wolverines become serious about their NIL collective – Champions Circle – and made a recent push again to raise dollars to keep talent back in school for another year.”

A prime example of that push is the “Those Who Stay” NIL campaign launched by Champions Circle earlier this month. It began well before Harbaugh left for Los Angeles, but it was a sure sign the collective wasn’t messing around in its efforts to retain important players on the Wolverines’ roster.

The campaign came a year after Champions Circle put together a program called the “One More Year Fund,” which collective leaders credit for retaining players that were integral to the Wolverines’ run to the national championship like Blake Corum, Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter.

“To continue the success that Michigan football has had the last several years, we need the resources to retain our student-athletes who are not only talented but great ambassadors of the program and university,” Wangler told The Wolverine. “The whole Michigan family has to step up now and show every one of these student-athletes how much we appreciate them and want them back for the 2024 season.”

Michigan will maintain NIL success post-Harbaugh

Make no mistake losing Harbaugh stings on a lot of levels for the Wolverines, including from an NIL standpoint. Harbaugh was a vocal supporter of NIL, collectives and players’ rights – including revenue share from TV revenue.

The player-turned-coach used major moments to talk about his belief that athletes should deserve a piece of the revenue pie while also pounding the pavement to generate funds and raise awareness for NIL.

“Harbaugh played a big part in all of Michigan’s NIL success,” Nakos said. “He traveled across the country this past summer to meet with top donors in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

“Whoever takes over will need to continue that push.”

Several national-level NIL observers believe that if Moore is hired – as expected – then Michigan should be able to maintain its success.

“In a way, Michigan already experienced life without Harbaugh with his suspension this year,” a leader in the NIL marketplace told On3. “Given coach Moore’s success leading the team in Harbaugh’s absence and the program’s national championship stemming from their ability to retain talent, I believe there will be strong donor support continuity.”

Nakos points to Ohio State and Oregon as programs with the best NIL setups in the Big Ten, while Nebraska, Penn State and Wisconsin all have well-run operations. He said Michigan is not at the same level as the Buckeyes or the Ducks, but the Wolverines have come a long way.

“They’ll need to make another push to reach that top tier,” Nakos said.

That push could be coming.

One of the experts believes now that Michigan knows what it takes and has a strong NIL game plan in place, the Wolverines should receive a donation boost with the coaching change.

“The blueprint for success at Michigan was rooted in retaining veteran talent and it proved to be successful,” one of the experts told On3. “So, donors now know that the foundation is in place and what is necessary to continue to compete. With their archrival Ohio State committing extensive donor resources to NIL, there should be plenty of desire from donors to continue strong commitments.”