“Don’t put the bag in front of the game”. This was something Deion Sanders had mentioned long back and you gotta keep in mind that when Coach Prime is warning you about something, you better listen to it. NIL deals have become synonymous with star players in college football. No lie, some of these can change lives. However, you still cannot avert your eyes from the ambiguity that these deals also carry. While Shedeur Sander’s NIL valuation has already hit a staggering $4.7 million, we got Carl Reed Jr today mentioning some points that might help Coach Prime and his son avoid any issues in the future.

247Sports took to X on August 21st to share a clip from their show called Unfiltered. We got Carl Reed Jr talking about the disparity in NIL deals and the key things to remember before signing. “I’m going to tell every kid that goes into a situation: specific details should be written all out in your contract,” Reed mentioned. It is important to understand that, while NILs are life-changing, they can be easily manipulated as well. We saw firsthand what happened to QB Jaden Rashada and his contract with Gators Billy Napier. The gist of the situation was that Napier had promised Rashada a sum of $13.8 million over a tenure of 4 years. However, that never happened, and the money was nowhere. This caused Rashada to file a lawsuit for the damages and fake promises. This entire thing scares Reed regarding Shedeur’s future. “Who is honoring the NIL contract?” Reed noted. Another important thing to remember while navigating NIL is understanding who is responsible for paying the contract. Shedeur or Coach Prime himself should keep a close check on whether the money is coming from the collective or they have outsourced to some other organization.

Another kid who should follow Reed’s suggestion is Travis Hunter. Following close behind Shedeur with an NIL valuation of $2.7 million, Hunter also needs to be mindful of the deals he decides to sign. Another amazing point that Keyshawn Johnson had talked about back on July 11th is the overall gap between the amount that is promised and the amount that the players get in NIL deals. “Those numbers aren’t real,” Keyshawn had noted. He went on to explain the ambiguity and murky nature of an NIL deal and how players often get misled because of the big sum. However, when the payout comes, half of the money gets lost in different cuts and charges. This also gives us the perfect opportunity to talk about the survey that 247Sports had done way back.

Breaking the NIL iceberg

247Sports conducted an anonymous survey where multiple former and current players revealed a plethora of issues surrounding NILs. The survey featured multiple former and current players who talked about their experience with the deals. A player had mentioned in the survey that “people get paid to play.” While it is still understandable, this does give rise to some major disparity between players. Like, only the best of the bunch would get solid monetary benefits while others get nothing. Another player had noted that “numbers that you be hearing are outrageous” reflecting what Keyshawn Johnson had noted back in July.

While right now neither Shedeur nor Travis have faced any problems with their deals, it never hurts to be extra cautious regarding these. After all, we do not want another Rashada-Napier incident happening in the Buffs.