Tulane Green Wave Could See Recruiting Edge for Football With New NIL Bill

The Tulane Green Wave has benefited and suffered from the transfer portal and NIL era of college football as much as any program, though head coach Jon Sumrall has a refreshingly adaptable perspective to the state of the sport.

Tulane football may now have a potential massive recruiting edge.

Louisiana is gearing up to be the fourth state to introduce legislation aimed at exempting name, image, and likeness earnings from state income tax.

While nothing has been officially filed, state representatives spoke to NOLA.com and indicated their intent to follow the likes of Georgia, Alabama and Illinois with a bill that will shield NIL income for in-state student athletes.

The LSU Tigers sparked the lobbying for legislation as the state flagship university, but every in-state program would gain an edge — the Green Wave being one of them.

Per NCAA disclosure data, the average Power 4 football player made $63,592 in NIL last season. Noah Henderson, with NIL Daily Sports Illustrated, broke down the progressive state income tax in Louisiana with a top bracket of 4.25% for earnings over $50,000.

"For an athlete earning $100,000 in Louisiana, the current state income tax burden would be $3,570, a small but non-inconsequential figure," Henderson writes. "However, when that income is increased to $1,000,000, the state income tax burden quickly becomes more significant, elevating to $41,800."

Now, with Tulane being a private university, they aren’t required to disclose NIL in the way in-state programs like the Tigers must.

The distribution of name, image, and likeness funds among players remains unclear.

However, there have been multiple reported six-figure deals given to top players over the last few years, especially at quarterback.

To use Darian Mensah’s projected earnings as an example, should the new Duke Blue Devil’s $2 million-a-year figure be correct, he would have to pay $85,000 in state income tax in Louisiana.
Since he’s now at Duke, it’s clear the Green Wave were unable or unwilling to match that alleged amount, but the point remain.

While most Group of 5 programs are floundering in the NIL era, Tulane is notably flourishing.

Now, there may be something to the strategy from a geographical perspective, as the South is a hotbed for elite high school prospects. The Green Wave also has a heavy recruiting presence in Florida and Texas, two of the nine states without income tax.

Of note, Alex Bauman transferred to the Miami Hurricanes in a state with no taxation on his NIL earnings.

While not many athletes are commanding seven figures or deals close to that of Mensah, should programs want to be elite and compete in the College Football Playoff, they need to be prepared to offer that requisite amount to coveted talent, be it in the transfer portal or retention on the roster.

On its face, the state tax burden is disadvantageous.

Has this issue led any player to choose a program in one state over another or is it merely states getting ahead of themselves or trying to catch up on an unknown track race?

The NIL bills have not landed well with the public, who would be subject to state income tax on their earnings, including students who live among the student athletes, student workers and teachers helping football players earn their degrees.

However, should a bill go through, the Green Wave would have to capitalize on the recruiting advantage and utilize that in their strategy.

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