UAB's Trent Dilfer on NIL: 'What you want to use it for is retention'

ATLANTA – First-year UAB football coach Trent Dilfer spoke Sunday night at the INFLCR NIL Summit, where earlier in the day Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) co-founder and CEO Jason Belzer shared a snapshot of NIL compensation data from the roughly 30 collectives the company supports. So, how much money in NIL revenue does Dilfer think UAB needs in order to be competitive as it transitions to the new-look American Athletic Conference on July 1?

“Here’s why I won’t use a number,” Dilfer told On3. “I think everybody knows I’m honest about everything. I’ll say what everybody else was thinking. But on this one, I don’t know if we know in our hearts because when it comes down to retention – cause that’s really what you want to use it for is retention – who are you competing against?

“I’m not competing against Tulane and UTSA for retention. I’m competing against Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Clemson, South Carolina, right? That’s who I’m competing against. So how can I say – if they can offer $400,000, do I need to even offer $50(,000)? Right?

“So, do you even try to retain that player? If you develop a player, and he’s good enough to make that type of money at a program that would be perceived up from us – economically, for sure – well, as a player-centric coach, isn’t it my job to encourage him to take that money if he doesn’t hurt his chances of making generational wealth at the next level? And there lies the kicker.”

Two of Dilfer’s new players also attended the NIL Summit.

“He’s a good person to take advice from, and he takes care of his players, too, so that’s a big thing,” UAB wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer told On3.

Sales pitch for retention: ‘You’re going to get every rep’

Trent Dilfer said the case he’ll make to retain UAB players who could have the opportunity to transfer to a Power 5 school is that they’ll likely play more snaps at UAB. He said he believes that could improve their development as an NFL prospect.

“Stats are about to come out of G5 kids who go to P5 [schools] and the lack of snaps they get once they go there, so my argument’s going to be ‘Well, you want to make generational money, stay with me cause you’re going to get every rep,'” Dilfer said. “‘You want to make what in the bigger scheme of things is sandbox money then go take it.’ So, I answer your question by saying I don’t know how much this is because I’m not going to try to go raise $400,000 to match a kid. I can take care of most of my roster with that money.”

He said he believes the role of NIL deals varies based on the specific situation.

“So, again, everybody’s going to want to have a science to this … I get it,” he said. “There will be no science because it’s a case-by-case – it’s a moving goalpost. That’d be the best way to say it. It’s a moving goalpost. So how am I going to tell my kicker to kick it through a moving goalpost? I’m just going to be prepared to be pliable as everything changes.”

Trent Dilfer’s approach for UAB

While Trent Dilfer said he’s unable to give a dollar amount for how much NIL revenue UAB will need to be competitive in the AAC, he said he’s hoping to maximize that number.

“We’re trying to raise as much money possible to give our kids what they’re going to earn,” he said. “Now, they’re going to earn it. You know what I mean? I think that’s something that might have been lost the last couple of years is, you know, entitlement kills programs. So, we don’t want entitlement. We want kids to be rewarded for their investment. Now not necessarily performance – investment.

“I also think kids need to feel valued more than just an attaboy, right? They need to know that they are sacrificing some. They’re sacrificing their bodies. I think of all the sports, football probably deserves NIL the most because you’re putting your physical well-being on the line. So, I’m excited about growing it. I don’t have false expectations. But we plan on making it a very big part of what we’re about because we believe in it.”