The 2022 College Basketball offseason has marked a new era within the sport, with the additions of NIL, changing the Transfer Rules and more. Despite NIL being around last year, using it as a major recruiting tool has officially come into play and if your program isn’t taking it seriously then odds are you will be falling behind. With that being said, just because your program gets involved in NIL, there is no guarantee that things will run smoothly.
One prime example of this, was the recent events to take place at the University of Miami. Last weekend, Miami gained a huge commitment from Kansas State Transfer Nigel Pack. Pack averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and was selected as a First Team All Big XII selection, despite Kansas State only finishing 17-14 overall. Originally, directly after the announcement, many people were surprised by Pack’s decision, as all the chatter was that he would attend Purdue especially as an Indianapolis native. About twenty minutes later, we found out exactly why Pack decided to come to Miami and it was three letters… NIL.
LifeWallet CEO John Ruiz, tweeted out a congratulatory message to Pack on his commitment to Miami shortly after Pack’s official decision was announced. In that tweet, was also the details of Pack’s new LifeWallet NIL deal that included 8 thousand dollars over two years and a new car. For years people on the outside have wondered what exactly these players are worth on the open market. With just one tweet, John Ruiz put an end to all of the speculation, which may not have been his wisest choice. It is now going to be very difficult for Miami to ever recruit a kid without giving them at least something in NIL. Whenever Miami wants to bring in a new player, odds are every conversation will start with “If Nigel Pack is worth 4k and a car, then what exactly is my child worth?” There is no precedent in College Athletics for coaches, when it comes to NIL and Miami is about to learn that the hard way.
Fast Forward to later in the week, and Miami Guard Isiah Wong was in the news and it wasn’t surprising as to why. Wong was Miami’s second leading scorer in 2022, averaging 15.8 points per game, while leading his Hurricanes all the way to the Elite 8 this past March. Wong made the case that he wants a lucrative NIL deal like Pack due to the fact that he led the Hurricanes to the Elite 8 last season. “If Isaiah and his family don’t feel that the NIL number meets their expectations they will be entering the transfer portal tomorrow, while maintaining his eligibility in the NBA draft and going through the draft process,” said Adam Papas, Isaiah Wong’s agent. Where this story takes an interesting turn, is that Papas is not only Wong’s agent but Pack’s agent as well. By driving up the price for one of his clients, he is insisting that the same thing should be done for his other one, which is a very smart business. However, it should also be noted that Wong currently does have an NIL deal with LifeWallet. As a matter of fact, shortly after the Wong news, John Ruiz countered with a statement through ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. “Isaiah is under contract,” Ruiz said in a text message to ESPN. “He has been treated by LifeWallet exceptionally well. If that is what he decides, I wish him well, however, I DO NOT renegotiate! I cannot disclose the amount, but what I can say is that he was treated very fairly.”
The only reason why Miami was put into this predicament to begin with, was because of Ruiz’s original tweet that included the specific amount for Pack’s NIL deal, which really opened up a massive can of worms. Now, this is not an ideal situation for all parties involved. Wong is upset, because he doesn’t feel he’s getting his worth in NIL, and so are the Miami Boosters and Coaches if they lose one of their best players from last year’s Elite 8 team.
When NIL was first introduced as a realistic possibility for college athletics, it all sounded really good on paper. Of course, student athletes should have the opportunity to profit off of their name, however the process of installing it took way too quickly, especially without the NCAA’s leadership. There is no denying that these Student Athletes want to get paid and they should, but the process should not have been installed without any rules or regulations. Many people have labeled the Transfer Portal as “College Sports Free Agency.” As there are some similarities, with players being able to pick their new destination it is also not exactly the same. There is a salary cap in the NFL and NBA for a reason, plus in those sports the best players are signing long term deals to stay in their destination for a specific period of time. That is not the case here, as players virtually have the option to leave anytime they want, which is not a sustainable model, especially with all of the NIL dollars coming in. While Wong leaving Miami just to secure a bigger NIL deal, might seem like an obvious “Pay for Play” NCAA rules violation, it is not likely anyone will do anything about it. As a matter of fact, former NCAA President Mark Emmert, recently retired and they are currently operating without a president right now. As great as NIL and eliminating having to sit out after transferring sound on paper, there couldn’t have been a worse time to incorporate it, without any clear guidance or leadership coming from the NCAA.
The question now becomes, if there are no clear rules or regulations put in anytime soon, then where do we know to go from here? If The University of Miami and their boosters are really willing to pay Nigel Pack, whose team finished 9th in the Big 12 last year 8 million dollars, then what is your average 5 star recruit really worth on the open market? There are just way too many dangerous doors waiting to be opened, based on the precedent of different players being worth different amounts to different people. Players definitely are deserving of getting paid and making some money off of their name, but they shouldn’t be doing it with absolutely zero rules. Many players in College Basketball have just volunteered to put their names into the portal, just to see how much money they could really get when it comes to the NIL. It was somewhat surprising to see guys like Tyrese Hunter, Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi and others enter the portal at first, but the more you looked into it the more sense it made. Kids are deserving of money but every kid being able to become a Free Agent every offseason just is not a sustainable model for the sport.
If this is the future of College Sports, then where exactly are we going from here? Historically, one of the biggest reasons why coaches are hired is their ability to recruit and connect with the kids from a personal level as soon as the recruiting process begins. However, now a lot of these conversations are going to start “How much money in NIL, am I going to be able to bring in?” Do these schools hire someone separate to deal with the finances of NIL alongside bringing in the players, while the coaches just coach? What happens when a booster is willing to pay a lot of money for a certain recruit, but the Head Coach wants someone else? These are the questions that will need to be answered sooner rather than later, or else the NIL process can continue to take us down a slippery slope.
Thankfully for Miami, Wong later changed his mind and will remain at Miami next season, if he passes on the NBA Draft. With that being said, this is a situation very likely to happen again, as a major bullet was dodged. In College Football Pitt’s Jordan Addison, who won the Biletnikoff award for best WR in the country entered the portal, already knowing he’d be getting a lucrative NIL deal from USC. That cannot continue to occur or else College sports could be on their way down a long dangerous road, difficult to turn back from.
Zac Krull has covered College Basketball for the last 2 years while working with Aaron Torres of Aaron Torres Media and recording his own Zac Krull Sports Podcast. Currently, Zac is writing as a contributor for Aaron Torres online with weekly articles and working as a producer for the BETQL Network. Zac graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2021 with a degree in Sports Studies.