NIL-Backed Boosters Contacting Recruits: What It Means For Miami And College Football

Major news has broken in the way Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) can operate, and it may have a domino effect on the rest of college football.

Multiple sources, including Dov Kleiman and Pete Nakos, posted on X earlier today that the states of Tennessee and Virginia will be seeing drastic alterations to the NIL space, as NIL collectives will now be able to communicate directly with high school recruits and transfer portal players.

In other words, NIL collectives can now directly involve themselves in the recruitment of players essentially putting in place a bidding war for top recruits and transfers. While it only is in effect in Tennessee and Virginia, it could likely roll over to other states as they fall suit.

While it has already been known that NIL has significantly changed the world of college athletics, this court ruling might end up steering NIL in the wrong direction from where it was intended. 

NIL was brought into place to allow college athletes to capitalize financially during a point in their lives where their marketability might be the highest it will ever be. Suppose other states begin to adapt these rules that are now in place in Tennessee and Virginia. 

In that case, college sports (mainly football and basketball) will become free agency where top schools will dominate with larger financial backing from their collectives.

As for Miami, Florida, Florida State, UCF, and USF fans, this might well be advantageous for them if the state of Florida is to adopt the same laws. Here's an example.

Miami is regarded as possessing one of the more stable NIL situations in the country with collectives such as Canes Connection to contact these athletes during the process could help bring in more top talent to Coral Gables.

This doesn't mean that Miami collectives – and ones representing UF, FSU, UCF, and USF – will necessarily be reaching out to recruits and transfers that aren't agreed upon with the coaching staff. There's no incentive for a collective to lure in talent that the school isn't keen on.

For now, no other states are actively looking to follow in the footsteps of Tennessee and Virginia (or at least nobody is going to court about it right now), but with how lucrative college sports are it shouldn't be long before the next wave of states join in.

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