Recruiters: Ryan Day’s $13 million NIL figure was ‘spot on’

Ohio State coach Ryan Day was the first college football head coach to say out loud what most on the recruiting trail have been privately saying for months. Thanks to NIL, it’s going to take millions of dollars to assemble a national championship-caliber team.

Last Thursday morning in front of 100 members of the Columbus business community and potential NIL donors, Day put a price tag on how much it will take to keep the Buckeyes competitive.

The head coach believes $13 million will keep Ohio State at the top of college football. From conversations with recruits and families, Day and his staff have cobbled together a blueprint of what other schools are offering. That number comes out to roughly to $550,000 annually for the top 25 most talented players or so that it takes to win the College Football Playoff.

“One phone call and they’re out the door,” Day said, according to Cleveland.com. “We cannot let that happen at Ohio State. I’m not trying to sound the alarm, I’m just trying to be transparent about what we’re dealing with…. If the speed limit’s 45 miles per hour, and you drive 45 miles per hour, a lot of people are going to pass you by.”

Ryan Day’s NIL figure is on the money

It was a clutch your pearls moment for many college football observers.

For them, it’s blaspheme to hear a college football coach – let alone somebody of Ryan Day’s stature – talk about how much money it takes to secrete the talent it takes to win it all. Yet, those that questioned the figure and questioned the sanctity of today’s college football have simply had their heads buried in the sand since NIL became a reality nearly a year ago.

The people that criticized Day have a serious lack of knowledge of just how much money is being funneled to players through collectives in today’s NIL world. For college football recruiters talking to prospects on a daily basis, the amount Day talked about “seemed spot on.”

“I’d still like to think that NIL is behind things like NFL development, coaching style, fit and location,” an SEC assistant coach said. “But it’s not anymore. If you want to land some of the best of the best, it’s going to take millions of dollars. That’s a fact. It pains me that we’re even talking about this. But in the SEC that $13 million figure is spot on. Heck, it’s probably too low.”

A Pac 12 coordinator agreed.

“I feel filthy… At least $13 million,” the coach said. “It’s all dictated by the quarterback. We’re finding out it’s taking at least $1.5 million, but maybe even $2 or $2.5 million for the best quarterbacks. They might not have their hands out, but many in their circle do.

“You start there, and the numbers just keep piling up and up with receivers, cornerbacks, defensive linemen and offensive tackles. You better have a war chest now if you want to win in recruiting. This isn’t what it’s supposed to be like. It makes me sick.”

‘The market is real’

A Big 12 recruiter said he gets asked “daily” about NIL opportunities at his school. Since he’s in a state where it’s not legal for school representatives to be involved in NIL discussions, he said he has to either quickly deflect to another topic or find a way to make sure the recruit and the collective touch base.

“It’s this weird gray area that we’re living in now, and every coach hates it,” the coach said. “We’ve not as a staff talked about it taking this much or that much to land a guy or a group of guys. But we all know it’s a reality. Thirteen million. Twenty million. Five million. It doesn’t matter. The NIL market is real and anybody that says it isn’t is naïve.

“I give a lot of credit to Ryan for finally putting it out there. Now maybe people will finally start paying attention to what we’ve been dealing with for months now. Pay-for-play is a real thing and it’s killing recruiting.”