NIL isn’t just shaking up college football; it’s turning recruiting into a straight-up hustle. High school stars are living the dream, calling the shots on their teams and bagging that cash. Meanwhile, college programs are feeling immense pressure as they try to secure commitments from these talented individuals. Now, in between all this mess, what’s even more interesting is that these high-rated athletes are engaging in discussions about the potential earnings former legends could have amassed through NIL deals. Crazy, right? It’s like a money-fueled draft day with players as the grand master.

With CFB heading towards their final stretch in the playoffs, even high schools are making big amends in the game with their much-awaited UANext All-America Game, which is obviously who’s who of HS football. But before that, players thought, why not anticipate which former college football player would make the most NIL? Interesting; let’s just peep into Jared Martino’s IG post where big predictions are taking place. Now first up we have Auburn’s commit Blake Woodby, who’s assertive of Johnny Manziel making the most NIL amount. But wait, he is not the only one who thinks that about him.

The list of Manziel followers is pretty long. Not only Woodby but also Maryland’s four-star commit Malik Washington, Deuce Garalds, four-star defensive lineman, Manhattan’s three-star cornerback JJ Dunnigan Jr., DePaul’s four-star quarterback Derek Zammit, UVA’s four-star commit Isaiah Resse, Arkansas’s three-star commit Scott Starzyk, Auburn’s five-star commit Jared Smith, and five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Ihenacho—all of them have only one name in their mouths, and that’s Johnny Manziel.

Well, the craze for Johnny Manziel is justified. This dude is not just a football sensation; he’s a big-time achiever. From SEC Freshman of the Year to Heisman Trophy winner, what doesn’t Jonny have in his name? But then we also have two names who made it to the final stretch with Johnny, and they are Deion Sanders and Reggie Bush. Like, duh, as if they are not making big numbers now. We all know Coach Prime is a NIL magnet, not just for his team but for himself too. Remember Nike? Plus, Reggie Bush, he is a star; from earning two All-American honors to winning the Heisman. He is definitely the guy.

All this money talk is quite interesting. However, with NIL’s all-new rules in the action, hitting programs right into their pockets, the team’s roster is something people must talk about.

Is NIL ruining it for the programs?

It’s difficult to determine if the changes in NIL and the transfer portal are completely hindering the programs, but one thing is for sure – they have increased their hustle. See, let’s get this straight: NIL has only increased the competition among the teams to get their desired top-rated high school player, and if you think it might ruin it for other deserving programs in the run, then you might consider the situation with Bryce Underwood. Not a single person would have thought that he would end up joining Michigan, but then a $10M NIL deal played its cards correctly, and a program like LSU also could not hold on to him. And a fun fact: Michigan was the worst this season.

Now let’s see the whole situation through another lens. Na’eem Offord is a five-star cornerback who made a verbal pact with Ohio State, but on signing day he flipped his commitment from the Bucks to Oregon. It could be because of two reasons: first, obviously, the first is Phil Knight’s Nike deal, which attracted him, or the second reason could be that Oregon still remains the undefeated team in the tournament, and who knows, they might even win the playoffs. So who doesn’t want to be a part of a titleholder team?

But yes, we can’t ignore the fact that transfer portals are the real soul-sucking aspects of the programs. Just imagine what Kalen DeBoer and the team must be going through right now. 15 of their athletes went out to join the transfer portal for a better chance. Also, Deion Sanders’ team is topping them with 16 players in the portal. That’s some crazy numbers. It’s slowly turning into a full-blown war cry: keep the money flowing or keep your players happy enough so they don’t ghost you. Man, that’s some weird game going around.