Ohio State Football: NIL changing landscape quickly

The Ohio State football program, like every other program in America, is trying to navigate the new world of NIL. It’s been about a year since NIL was made legal and programs have had a chance to see how it works. It’s quickly changing the landscape of college football.

In some people’s minds, it’s just making the rich richer. Bigger programs, such as the Ohio State football program, have more access to boosters with large pocketbooks to help pay for NIL deals. That means that the Buckeyes have a bigger opportunity to land top recruits.

College coaches worry that this is ruining the competitive balance of football. My question is, hasn’t it always been this way? Realistically, there are about 10 programs in a given year that can win a national championship. Every other program would need a miracle to do so.

It was like that before NIL. If you look at just the history of the College Football Playoff, there have been five different champions. Only 6 different teams have played in the National Championship Game itself. Most of those were before the induction of NIL too.

Even so, the Buckeyes have had to change recruiting tactics. They have had to promote the fact that they can give prospects a greater opportunity for NIL deals than other programs. It’s a new tactic that ends up being able to work for a larger program like they are.

I’m not here to tell you if NIL is good or bad. That’s for you to decide as a fan. I have my own opinion and I’m sure if you’ve read this site long enough you know where I stand. But what’s not debatable is that the landscape of college football has changed for the long-haul and teams need to adapt.