Sac State is losing sight of the bigger picture. They are investing a significant amount, perhaps even all of their budget, into NIL initiatives for the upcoming year. Their goal is to achieve a 12-0 record and secure a conference invite. This is a bold strategy, essentially putting all their eggs in one basket. It seems unlikely that they can replicate this approach yearly WHILE upgrading their facilities.

So, it's 12-0 or bust. The old saying goes, "I'll have the opposite of what they're having."

Good question. They have had 40+ players leave, so maybe not,
I don’t see an obstacle of giving out NLI money instead of a scholarship and effectively compensating the player the same amount.

I see a challenge in asking a player who received, for example, $100,000, to give up some of that money to pay for school if scholarships are not available. Unfortunately, that request is unlikely to be well received.

Additionally, it's crucial for these athletes to work with a knowledgeable tax advisor to help navigate their taxes. NIL earnings are typically reported on a 1099-NEC form, which means athletes must pay regular income taxes and a 15.3% self-employment tax.
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It doesn’t have to come as a surprise.
If the aim is to free up a scholarship, you would approach an in state athlete and propose he take $20,000 or whatever in lieu of his tuition and other costs covered by scholarships plus taxes, then give the guy from out of state the scholarship.

my note doesn’t have anything to do with schedule or games. Simply the caliber of players they are getting and from the schools they are coming from.

If anything, it’s even more impressive because of their ineligibility for the next year or two. It feels like that should be a barrier to quality talent given the season doesn’t even mean anything…

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I was conceding your point that they are very talented, but questioning what it meant.
A lot of these guys were signed before Sac filed the paperwork to move to FBS. I wonder what the coach really feels about his transformative year being truncated. Just seems to me that was an own goal.

I think that Sac's strategy is playing out as planned at the moment. They aren't interested in the FCS at all anymore. FCS is small potatoes in their mind's eye. It's like Dr. Wood has said, "It's FBS or bust."

They're all about getting everyone's attention by bringing in flashy coach and a recruiting class the likes of which no one has ever seen before at an FCS program and then, given their relatively weak FCS schedule this year, they go 12-0 on the season with most or all of their wins being huge blowouts.

If that happens, they feel like FBS conferences will roll out the red carpet and come calling, the fan base will take off like wildfire and that will bring in deep pocketed donors and perhaps an Indian casino sponsorship to build a new stadium and increase NIL money even more.

I think that, given the sheer number of players with exceptional size, speed and athleticism that they have brought in, anything less than a monster 12-0 season would be a disappointment for them.

Yeah, for this year of transition, anything less than 8-4 would still be a disappointment.

All the 12-0 talk is premature, because this is a whole new team with players from all over the country. I mean we are hopeful that they will gel, but it could also be a disaster. LOL