Gators Todd Golden on NIL: ‘Basketball is a Little Behind Football’

Photo: Todd Golden; Credit: Alex Shepherd

The landscape of college sports has undergone a drastic change over the last year since Name, Image and Likeness compensation for athletes was deemed legal by the NCAA.

Resulting in bidding wars for some of the top players around the nation, verbal jabs were thrown by two titans in the coaching industry and a new way of life all-around for those in college sports as a whole, NIL has become a polarizing subject with a massive learning curve yet to be figured out completely by anyone.

In the early stages, college football — being the cash cow it is — has received the most attention from collectives and other donors to secure game-changing pieces on their favorite teams. Former Pitt Panthers wide receiver and recently announced USC transfer Jordan Addison is the greatest example — and beneficiary — of this new reality.

Gators head basketball coach Todd Golden believes his sport is lagging behind in some regard.

“I think basketball is a little behind football, to be honest," Golden told media on Thursday. "Not saying there isn’t programs who have navigated that space for a while now. It was really when the whole Miami story broke that it really got hot in our world of recruiting.”

That statement came in reference to the announcement that highly touted Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack would be receiving salary-based compensation as he suits up for the Hurricanes. The two-year contract slates him to earn a total of $800,000 through LifeWallet, owned by the widely-acclaimed “face of NIL” John Ruiz.

It became the largest deal to occur since NIL legalization for collegiate basketball (at least where publicly detailed deals are concerned).

Currently standing as an outlier, Pack’s smart business move has the potential to become a norm for talented prospects around the nation.

Golden said it hasn’t necessarily affected the current climate of recruiting yet, but has the potential to in the near future.

“It hasn’t been a very big part of the discussions we’ve had with recruits, but we definitely anticipate over the next three to six to nine months that it’s going to be very important and very present," Golden said.

“It definitely adds another layer in terms of recruiting and sifting through what’s important for the student-athlete, and people who are kind of supporting them through the process. But, yeah, it’s definitely part of the conversation we’re having every time.”

Despite the lack of emphasis put on NIL in his early recruiting efforts, that doesn’t mean the Gators haven’t seen that ability for compensation affect the status of their players.

Namely, that played a role in center Colin Castleton’s decision to return to Gainesville for a fifth year.

Golden is gearing up for the increased emphasis on NIL in the coming months. He is also excited to hear what his colleagues think about the ordeal when SEC coaches meet for meetings in Destin, Fla.

“I’ll just say I’m excited to get down to the SEC meetings next week and hear what the commissioner and the rest of the coaches have to say about it," Golden shared.

He doesn’t plan on getting involved in any Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher-like debacles over the issue, however.

“I’m just going to sit there and listen."

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