Revenue Sharing Could be a Game Changer for Michigan football recruiting
The landscape of college athletics just changed even more. Revenue sharing has been approved as an addition to college athletics, beginning in the Fall of 2025. This is a huge shift in terms of NIL, and should be very beneficial for Michigan. Here's why.
It should even the playing field
While how this actually works is still being figured out, it's expected that contracts will become popular, meaning that players will be contractually obligated to stay at a school for a certain period of time in exchange for a certain amount of money. This should mean the end of poaching players from other rosters every year.
Michigan, along with other schools, won't have to worry about NIL powerhouses offering millions of dollars to their best players every offseason, since those players should be under contract. That will allow Michigan's staff and athletic department to allocate additional time and money to potential recruits or graduate transfers.
Likewise, Michigan football can now explicitly guarantee money to recruits, which has been a huge point of difference between Michigan and top NIL schools. Guaranteeing money - even if it is less than what some other schools are offering - should even the playing field to an extent.
Many recruits know that if they succeed on the field, Michigan's brand will take care of them. The big thing, however, is that recruits want security and guaranteed money, not just money if they become a star. This allows Michigan football and other U-M programs to guarantee money to recruits, improving their chances with many top recruits.
Michigan could have a huge advantage
While it's far too early to guess how the athletic department is going to allocate its money amongst all the sports and Title IX rules, Michigan should have an advantage over most schools in the country. That advantage being the massive amounts of revenue it generates.
The official ruling states that schools can allocate up to 22% of athletic department revenue to athletes. The average AD revenue among power four schools was found to be about $100 million. Michigan reportedly brought in about $230 million in revenue last year. That means that, in theory, Michigan's bankroll is about twice as large as most schools, and is on par with the top teams in the nation.
Revenue sharing is a year away from fruition, but it's tough to not be excited about this. If Michigan takes full advantage and makes the most of these prospects, they could completely flip every NIL narrative about them. There is a real opportunity for Michigan to become one of the top NIL schools in the country with this.
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This is definitely something to watch as more concrete details emerge. Keep an eye out for any updates. Go Blue.