Ohio State coach Ryan Day's candid comments on NIL in college football go viral

Ohio State football coach Ryan Day made some very candid comments about NIL and the Buckeyes team to some business owners recently.

Day spoke with business leaders on campus in Columbus to announce the school's NIL Corporate Ambassador Program, which will help businesses go through the university's athletic department to hire athletes.

In his remarks, Day said that the Buckeyes football program needs more money — a lot of money — in NIL funding to keep its roster intact.

How much money? About 13 million bucks.

Otherwise, the team could risk losing players to other schools in the transfer portal.

"One phone call, and they're out the door," Day said, via Cleveland.com.

"We cannot let that happen at Ohio State. I'm not trying to sound the alarm, I'm just trying to be transparent about what we're dealing with."

That $13 million figure means an average of about $150,000 per player on scholarship, but of course not every player is getting exactly the same amount.

Day hinted that the going rate for blue-chip quarterbacks is around $2 million, while he estimates elite edge rushers can pull around half that amount.

NCAA rules still clearly forbid schools or boosters from paying players, but there's no question that behind the scenes money is playing a very important role in deciding which players go where.

(h/t Cleveland.com)

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