The Right - And Wrong - Way For Notre Dame To Think About NIL Deals

In the wild, wide-open world of modern college football, NIL deals play a huge role in recruiting and landing prospects. How much of a huge role?

That varies athlete to athlete. Some players simply commit to the highest bidder, while others take a more balanced approach regarding overall football, academic, and cultural fits.

Oftentimes, when a player chooses one school over another, folks are quick to point out that the team that missed on a prospect is either cheap or broke and could not compete financially, and therefore "lost" the recruitment.

This is flawed thinking.

Each team's NIL valuation of a player is different

When one team lands a commitment, and another doesn't, that doesn't mean the team that didn't couldn't compete in NIL. No two teams value any given player to the same extent.

Some teams may think a certain prospect has a higher ceiling than others and are willing to pay more of a premium to land said athlete than the others.

Each team has different positional needs to varying degrees

Does this mean that the team that didn't land the prospect is broke or cheap? Not necessarily, they just may not think the player is worth the amount another does.

This is where having a full-scale and modern college football front office becomes critically important.

Money isn't a free-flowing resource; accurate calculations and decisions must be made to determine the amount of NIL cash that should be warranted by each player. In this regard, as contrary as it sounds, sometimes missing on a player is the smart move.

BREAKING: Four-Star OT Layton von Brandt has Committed to Auburn, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’6 290 OT from Middletown, DE chose the Tigers over Notre Dame, Florida, and Penn State

He’s ranked as a Top 5 OT in the 2027 Rivals Industry Rankings 🦅https://t.co/nahnWxww3a pic.twitter.com/nSC8QW0Cnu
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 18, 2026

The other reason its illiogical to assume a team that lost out on a player strictly due to money is the fact that each team has different roster needs.

A team that has a gaping hole in one position may be willing to overpay in NIL in order to quickly solve this need.

Another team may be interested in said player, but is comfortable and confident not only in what players are already on the team at the position, but also has some comfort regarding the plan B recruit targets at the position as well.

The world of NIL has changed fast. The best teams in the land have employees strictly dedicated to crunching numbers to determine needs and values and stick to their plan.

Having this level of fiscal discipline helps keep rosters and budgets balanced, and Notre Dame is doing a fantastic job in this regard.

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