Any NIL Collective at Clemson Would Have to 'Fit Purpose' of Tigers' Program

On Wednesday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney hinted at a forthcoming announcement regarding an NIL collective.

CLEMSON, S.C.- The landscape surrounding college football is rapidly evolving.

One of the biggest changes has revolved around the new Name, Image and Likeness rules, and with that came the creations of NIL collectives at numerous schools across the country. Like everything else in college football, head coach Dabo Swinney thinks it's created a somewhat ripple effect across the sport.

"Whatever's out there, that's a natural progression," Swinney said. "One school has a good chef, the other school is gonna get a good chef. One school has three strength coaches, the other school is going to eventually get three strength coaches."

At each school, the collective can serve different purposes, but the end goal of each is the same. Providing student-athletes with opportunities to earn money while in school.

While no collective has officially been established at Clemson, Swinney hinted at some things being in the works and at an announcement that could be forthcoming in the near future. However, with Swinney being the traditionalist that he is, any collective formed would need to coexist alongside the culture that has been created inside the program.

“I think there probably will be some announcements, you know, on the Clemson end," the head coach said. "I mean, again, we’re limited in that area. But I think some of the things that I’ve heard out there, I think, are positive and would fit the purpose of our program and fit within something that everybody can participate in.”

At the end of the day, Swinney is more focused on getting his players prepared for the upcoming season, but contrary to popular opinion, the head coach isn't against NIL and has every intention of doing whatever he can to help his players succeed on and off the field.

“These guys, like I said many times, they’ve got an opportunity to do something on their own on their time, good for them. My focus is what’s going on when they show up, in preparing our team, and all that other stuff, and making sure they’ve got the resources that they need to help navigate those external things.”

The Tigers, who went 10-3 in 2021 and finished 14th in the final Associated Press Poll, are the fourth team on FanDuel Sportsbook's list to win it all in 2022. Only reigning national champ Georgia (+200), runner-up Alabama (+200) and Ohio State (+800) are ahead of Clemson at +1000. 

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