Potential NIL deals will complicate the ability of MLB teams to sign their draft picks

Beyond the big dollars slotted for the top few rounds, NIL deals could give young players options and leverage when negotiating contracts

With the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft a little more than a month away, the decision on whether to sign and begin to pursue the dream of a professional baseball career has become a little more complicated in the age of Name Image Likeness. This is especially true in the case of players outside the pool of top picks who will be offered multi-million dollar bonuses to sign.

The 2023 draft will take place July 9-11 in Seattle. Last year's top pick, Druw Jones agreed to a slot-value bonus of $8,189,400. Very few college baseball players, if any, can expect to see NIL money in that range, but college baseball NIL deals can eclipse six figures.

That could be more than enough incentive for a potential pro to go to grab the money, pursue a college education and improve his stock for a potential larger professional payday down the line.

"You've got to remember, the high school players want to sign," Miami Marlins senior director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik said. "The really, really good ones, they've committed their life to this. So the ones going in the top two or three rounds, usually, they're just going to sign. There are enough dollars at stake, where they're just going to take bird in the hand."

Baseball NIL's are certainly not at the level of major college football.

For example, University of Alabama coach Nick Saban said that in 2021 his Crimson Tide football players raked in about $3 million.

The slot money for the 2023 MLB Draft, in the first round tops at $9.271 million and the 30th pick is valued at $2.74 million. And the 39th overall selection, or the final pick of the Competitive Balance Round A, pool is $2.2 million.

Round 2, ranges from $2.145 million for the 40th pick to $1.159 million for the 66th pick.

NILs won't reach the million-dollar range in college baseball, at least for a while. But when you consider the slot for the last pick of the fifth round (215 overall), is $360,800, and the final pick of the 10th round (316 overall) is $164,400, the powerhouse college conferences can offer their opportunities to be in that range.

"The high school players, there is a consideration for some of the NIL stuff," Svihlik said. "But I don't think it's as egregious as people think. It's not like players are getting millions of dollars from these colleges. So, you're dealing with maybe $100,000 here or there, or $50,000 here or there. I don't think it changes much for the high school players."

For players on the fence, unlike the pre-NIL days, college may be a more viable option.

Along with NILs, college baseball's transfer portal further complicates MLB draft rooms, because a college player may seek an opportunity at another school over pro ball.

"The portal situation in the NCAA, and the NIL money in the NCAA, creates a lot of challenges," Svihlik said. "Not just for the NCAA head coaches, but it creates a lot of situations for us. So, you're managing talent, and you're managing the money. It makes for a very, very challenging situation."

Keep in mind, the bonus pool money applies to the Top 10 rounds. After that, teams can sign players for whatever they want. So you might see more prep players picked in rounds 11-20. But that doesn't mean they will sign professional.

From a MLB team's perspective, they are trying to sign as many of their picks as possible, while working within their budget.

"It is important that we do a lot of work on the signability of these players," Marlins general manager Kim Ng said. "So that"s what we rely on."