Florida State HC Mike Norvell’s coaching job is already at stake. Now the Seminoles HC further fell into a sticky spot as their NIL investment amount was disclosed. Not long ago, on the eve of August 2, Boston College Eagles tumbled down their aspirations like a tower of Jenga. Ever since their disastrous defeat, a number has been doing rounds on the internet- $18 million.

But what does it signify? It’s the amount that Norvell and Co. invested in NIL. But poor FSU! It did not bear any fruits and fans now stripped them off for their dumb move. 

DJ Uiagalelei’s failure amidst Jim Norvell’s bold NIL initiative

The Florida State’s NIL collective, Battle’s End, was founded in December 2022. Even though Ingram Smith’s initiative has been one of the most aggressive in the NIL space, this season has been tough for Norvell and Co., FSU has decided not to just focus on football but assist sports like golf and other sports. As part of the initiative, they promised to spend approximately $18 million for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Making most use of the NIL funds in free agency, this season Norvell’s program did land some notable players this off-season. It included QB DJ Uiagalelei and Georgia EDGE Marvin Jones Jr. But did this leave FSU enough opportunity to celebrate? No, not at all. Instead, it tangled them in a state of despair. 

On Monday, September 2 night, QB Uiagalelei faltered massively crushing Norvell’s dreams. Among the 27 passing attempts, he succeeded in recording not even 50% and came with only 11 completions. Not just this, Uiagalelei’s woes further continued as he missed three consecutive shots to the end zone, enough for the FSU fans to go furious. 

Fans outraged over NIL investment gone wrong

Fans are not at all okay with the fact that such a hefty investment went into vain. The NIL fund left a fan with a nauseous feeling about how $18 million could have been used effectively, “18m and this is what we put on the field?? Yikes.” Talking about the laws of economics Return on Investment (ROI), Norvell’s luck did not favor at all as another fan commented, “That’s an incredibly awful ROI.”

A fan chose to further sprinkle some salt on Norvell’s wounds further asking about the current scenario, “how’s that working so far?” What another fan believes is it’s FSU’s brain game to save money by choosing castoffs like Uiagalelei, “Wasting the fans money bc they are more into paying mercenaries that were castoffs by other programs instead of going for HS players.” Because of the poor strategizing and money management, FSU got overpowered by mid-team as another fan highlighted, “Just  to get dog walked by mid teams.”

Losing 10 players to the NFL Draft just made Mike Norvell’s journey extra tough as he failed to find the correct replacement. In the meantime, he is under tremendous pressure now that FSU handed him an extension that resulted in a salary hike from $5.5 million to $9.875 million. Can Norvell tackle the firing squad and come out unscathed? Do share your thoughts!