Mike Gundy on NIL negotiations during season: 'Tell your agent quit calling us'

Since Michigan was crowned as the College Football Playoff national champion in January, all eyes were on the intersection of NIL and the transfer portal during the offseason. But on Aug. 24, the first games of the year will take place – putting the focus back on the field.

Count Mike Gundy in the crowd that’s ready for games. The Oklahoma State coach said he’s ready to get back at it and put all negotiations on hold until the season ends.

“That’s what I told the players. There’s no negotiating now,” Gundy told reporters this week. “The portal’s over. All the negotiation’s history. Now, we’re playing football. Just coaching and playing football.”

NIL was a prominent part of this past transfer cycle once again. On3’s Pete Nakos reported NIL dollars were moving from the high school level toward a focus on talent retention once the windows opened, with collectives spending upward of $10 million annually on a payroll for the roster.

But now that the windows are closed and teams are back on the field for training camp, Gundy said he doesn’t want to hear about negotiations. It’s all about performing once Week 0 hits.

“The business side of what we do now is we have to have those conversations with them. ‘Tell your agent to quit calling us and asking for more money. It’s non-negotiable now. We’ll start again in December,'” Gundy said.

“Now, we’re able to direct ourselves just at football. And that part is fun because there’s been so much other stuff going on, it’s been hard to really focus on football.”

As 2024 season begins, House settlement looms

While Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State and the rest of the college football world get ready for the 2024 season, there’s still plenty left to figure out off the field. It all starts with the House v. NCAA settlement as Judge Claudia Wilken weighs a potential approval.

That Sept. 5 date could be a landmark date as a new landscape looms. Schools would able to share up to $22 million beginning in 2025-26, if certified. The settlement would also provide a payday for the thousands of athletes who were not allowed to capitalize on NIL, participate in revenue sharing or profit from video games.

Instead of facing $20 billion in back damages, the NCAA and Power Five conferences signed off on a 10-year settlement agreement that includes $2.776 billion in back damages. New scholarship limits are set to be installed, and the settlement would attempt to establish new enforcement in college sports.

Wilken could provide a preliminary approval Sept. 5. However, she could still deny the full settlement, which is facing multiple objections.

Pete Nakos contributed.