Ohio State Football: Recruits asking for absurd amount of money just to visit campus according to Gene Smith

The Ohio State football program has done a much better job in the last 12 months of getting NIL initiatives in order. These collectives have helped the Buckeyes maintain their recruiting dominance over the rest of the Big Ten and most of the rest of the country.

NIL has certainly changed college football. It’s unclear whether it’s for better or worse. Many athletic directors around the country have been asking for a federal NIL law to have some sort of standard practice when it comes to distributing NIL funds.

Gene Smith was testifying today in front of the House Committee on Small Business and described some very interesting facts when it comes to NIL. According to Eleven Warriors, Smith claims that recruits ask for an absurd amount of money just to visit campus.

Smith indicated that recruits asking for $5,000 just to visit campus is becoming “common”. That’s just for visiting the Ohio State football program. That particular recruit may just take that money and have no intention of actually considering the Buckeyes.

I think that is out of control. Kids shouldn’t just be asking for $5k just to have grace programs with their presence on a visit. That’s completely absurd. I do agree with Smith that something needs to be done with NIL on a federal level to make stuff like that not happen.

Smith makes it clear that he thinks NIL is a good thing for student-athletes. I do agree with him. When athletes are contributing to the events that these TV contracts worth billions of dollars are signed up for, students deserve some piece of that money. Even non-revenue-generating sports athletes deserve money if they can find a way to leverage their fame. I have no issue with that.

I do have a major problem with recruits around the country asking a program for money just to see the campus. That’s nonsense and needs to stop.