Red Raiders taking level-headed approach to NIL money
The Name, Image and Likeness era of college athletics has been an adjustment for everybody involved.
Just ask members of the Texas Tech football team.
Whether they were still in high school or in college just two years ago, the thought of getting paid money outside of their scholarship to play football was ridiculous. With the NCAA's no-nonsense approach to extra benefits, players like Donovan Smith couldn't imagine being paid a couple grand to be a college football player.
Over the last year, NIL has become the latest in a never-ending stream of hot topics in college sports. Some love that players are able to capitalize on the power they hold as athletes at Power 5 schools. Others feel the idea NIL alone is enough to bring the structure of college athletics come crumbling down.
Regardless of outside opinion, NIL is here, and the players are still adjusting to the new landscape they reside in.
"It's been wild, you know," Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton said during last Thursday's local media day for the football team. "It wasn't a deal when I was getting recruited. So once I got here, and I see high school kids getting recruited, I'm like, wow, this is cool. ... And then Money is on top of that."
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The three quarterbacks competing for the starting job — Smith, Morton and Tyler Shough — represent the different eras of college athletes with NIL. Athletes started being allowed to profit off their name during Morton's freshman season while Smith and Shough have seen the change up close as members of the Red Raiders.
"It's just great," Smith said. "You know, you could take care of your family if you need to. And it's just, you can really do whatever you want. You can live your dream in college, if you wanted to set yourself up after college as well."
Two weeks ago, The Matador Club, a non-profit collective organized by Texas Tech donors, announced they would be offering one-year, $25,000 contracts to 100 Texas Tech football players — all 85 scholarship players and the top 15 walk-ons. Part of the contract stipulates the athletes will do community service and charity work around the ciyt of Lubbock and soon expand those efforts to others cities in West Texas.
Signing on for $25K is one thing. What to do with that money is another.
Some of the Red Raiders, such as Shough, already have NIL deals with the Matador Club's contract being additional income. For others, like SaRodorick Thompson, this is the only deal they currently have.
More:Matador Club offers $25K contracts to 100 Texas Tech football players
Part of that is by design. Several football players said while the idea of NIL and getting paid is nice, they have other things to worry about, like trying to help the Red Raiders win games on the field.
"A lot of people. ... they signed with agent groups or things like that to try to help them find deals," Thompson said. "But me, personally, I don't know. I just, I've never been that type of person. That don't really fit my personality. I just, like, let things come to me. ... And the things that have come to me, they've been great blessings. I appreciate them, but I don't feel like I'm gonna go out and like really try to find some."
Thompson isn't the only one that feels this way.
Cade Briggs, a transfer offensive lineman from New Mexico, said he's not much for the social media game, which is a big part of most NIL deals. When he does have a deal come along, he lets his sister — who works in the social media sphere — handle posting for him. He also noted that the idea of his jersey being on sale, and getting a cut of the profits, is "crazy" to consider.
"There's a lot of people that will DM me on social media and ask me to do small things," defensive back Kosi Eldridge said, "I try to do what I can but now that the season is coming up and for camp to start, I'm gonna start swaying away from because I don't have a lot of time to really look into it now."
More:Tech donors form collective to fund NIL for football, men's hoops, baseball teams
Most of the players said they weren't sure what they were going to do with the $25,000 from The Matador Club, or any other NIL money that may come their way. Many said they were going to put it away for when they need it. Some talked about upgrading their vehicles — or in Briggs' case, buying a beat-up pickup truck just to have transportation at all.
The players are learning how to handle their finances. Jesiah Pierre said head coach Joey McGuire is consistently bringing up being financially responsible.
"It does like benefit us and mold us both ways and trying to help us discipline ourselves to benefit us in the future so we won't be unprepared or be unexpected by anything," Pierre said.
As much as they're trying to stay on top of things themselves, some players are getting help from familiar sources when it comes to handling the money. Smith said his mom told him she will be watching the money he gets from The Matador Club.
Receiver Jerand Bradley said if he spends money on anything, it'll be to feed his sneakerhead habits. Saving was instilled in him from a young age.
"I'm just like I don't even want to lose anything I got," Bradley said. "I'll just stack it up."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football taking level-headed approach to NIL money
