The Ohio State Buckeyes have been branded as the big NIL spender after their run to the 2024/2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. Sure, they spent $20 million to win it, but OSU wasn't the only team cutting eight figures worth of contracts.
As USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer pointed out, Ohio State is far from the only spender in town. The Buckeyes aren't even the lone spender in their conference. The Oregon Ducks, TTUN, and the Indiana Hoosiers are all beneficiaries of massive donor checks to roster-build.
Toppmeyer used fired LSU Tigers coach Brian Kelly and fired Penn State Nittany Lions coach James Franklin, plus the Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian, as examples of how NIL spending doesn't guarantee on-field success.
Finally, Toppmeyer compared Ryan Day to the great Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, dynasty builders at the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs, respectively.
"Ohio State’s the revenue king, but it’s not as if it rules in a land of the destitute. Oregon’s got Nike money. Michigan’s got Oracle money. Curt Cignetti’s galvanized Indiana’s huge alumni base, and he’s gotten into Mark Cuban’s wallet," Toppmeyer wrote.
"James Franklin and Brian Kelly went splat despite coaching well-heeled programs. Sarkisian is doing less with more with his 2025 Longhorns. So, I’d call Day’s ability to deliver return on investment a feature, not a bug.
"Saban achieved his dynasty by assembling unmatchable talent. Then, Kirby Smart replicated that move. They weren’t winning national titles with a team of three-star Dandy Dans. You build dynasties by signing and developing guys who’ll play on Sundays. Day does that."
Day has earned trust that a dynasty is in progress until further notice. First-year coordinators Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia earned that much goodwill with their performance thus far in OSU's 7-0 start.
Of course, the "dynasty" talk could age extremely poorly if the Buckeyes don't get the job done during the College Football Playoff. Those expectations could set Day up for an even bigger backlash if this isn't a dynasty in progress.
We'll see if Toppmeyer's words age like wine or milk.