Mike Gundy: 'Player retention is based on money'

Mike Gundy made a point about how the NIL has affected roster turnover in college football at his weekly press conference. As he typically is, the Oklahoma State coach was blunt in stating his belief that money plays a big role in keeping players in the program these days.

Since NIL rules were introduced in 2021, the number of players entering the transfer portal has risen each year. The 2024 season saw more than 3,300 players move on from their previous teams for a change of scenery.

“Player retention is based on money,” Gundy said. “I’ll give you an example. If you’re playing on our team and we go 3-9 and right now you’re making $12,000 and we say, ‘Hey, if you come back we’ll pay you $250,000.’ What are you gonna do? Player retention is probably 90 percent built on money now. Not other things. It’s changed.”

To Gundy’s point, a number of those players saw big pay days. Miami is one example of a team who benefitted by bringing in quarterback Cam Ward and running back Damien Martinez, but smaller schools weren’t as lucky. Ward came from Washington State and has an NIL valuation of $2 million according to On3, ranking him sixth among all college football players.

Oklahoma State was somehow able to return nearly every starter from last year’s team despite not having the biggest NIL budget compared to other programs. That is likely because of the success it had on the field last year, going 10-4 and finishing runner up in the Big 12.

However, the Cowboys have struggled this season as they are 3-4 having lost their first four conference games. That being the case, the transfer portal might not be as kind to them this offseason if they can’t find a way to match offers from elsewhere.