Taking a pay cut to leave college football for the NFL, plus who’s No. 2?

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In today’s top college football news: Great signs in the new Olivia Rodrigo single.

Grad School: From no NIL to a financial portfolio

As a parent of a teenager who grew up amid constant technological changes, I often think back on the single swiftest global shift in human history: the universal spread of the internet throughout all parts of life in the late ’90s and early ’00s.

Those of you in my generation might have gone from lacking the internet at home as high school freshmen to having mobile internet as seniors. We could find trouble on our phones, yet our parents had no idea how to find us. It was pretty great. (For some reason, my kid loves rules, so I can say things like this out loud.)

Coming of age in two worlds at once, our brains ended up being among the … least poorly equipped for the current state of things, at least. I thought about that slapdash adaptability while reading these two parts of a story. First:

“In 2021, (then-Notre Dame quarterback Riley) Leonard sat in a meeting with his Duke teammates as team compliance officers explained the advent of NIL and what was now legal and illegal. Leonard mostly rolled his eyes and laughed.

“‘I told my buddy after that meeting, ‘If somebody gives me a free cheeseburger for posting on Instagram, I’ll be there every day,’ he said. ‘There’s no way this ever happens. There’s no way anybody does a deal with us. There’s no way there’s a market there.’”

Next, fast forward barely any time at all, and that same kid was making grown-up financial decisions before leaving school:

“Leonard said he stashed most of his money at Notre Dame in real estate, treasury bills, private equity and index funds. He only had access to about 6-8 percent of his earnings in college.”

Right now, we’re at the tail end of one of the biggest changes in college sports history, short of only racial integration a half-century ago. And it happened so fast, from the pearl-clutching amateurism scandals of the 2010s to the 2021 onset of NIL. (So fast that nobody in charge bothered to figure out systems that would, for instance, keep Michigan from having to make recruiting decisions at 2 a.m., immediately after winning the men’s hoops title.)

Leonard, who helped lead the Irish to 2024’s national title game against Ohio State, is now a sixth-round backup for the Colts, making about $1.1 million a year. In David Ubben’s new story on certain players making more money in college than they do in the NFL (which gave us both of those quotes above), Leonard confirms that thesis, also adding this wrinkle:

“In college, the money is way more guaranteed. Only like $200,000 of my contract is guaranteed. You have to make the team every year for four years straight to earn it all.”

So yeah, all of that is why far more players than ever before are fighting in courtrooms to stick around in college. Not only is there money to be made down here, but just as importantly, there’s money with which to pay lawyers. More in that story by Ubben.

Quick Snaps

📰 News:

“Luther Davis, a former Alabama defensive tackle who won a national championship with the Crimson Tide in 2010, is accused in federal court of posing as NFL players to collect nearly $20 million in fraudulent loans.” Lot going on, including alleged “elaborate disguises.”
“As former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore walked out of Washtenaw District Court on Tuesday, he gripped a Bible in one hand and his wife Kelli’s hand in the other. A judge sentenced Moore to 18 months’ probation.”
“Iowa must vacate four wins from its 2023 season as part of an NCAA Committee on Infractions decision over tampering violations.” The Hawkeyes’ record that year is now said to be an old-timey 6-4.
“Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke was granted an additional year of college eligibility by a state court.” Amusing detail: He was at the NFL combine two months ago.
“Sexual assault prevention advocate Brenda Tracy has filed a lawsuit against prominent Michigan State University donor (and Phoenix Suns owner) Mat Ishbia, alleging he interfered with and ‘influenced’ the university’s investigation into claims that ex-MSU football coach Mel Tucker sexually harassed her.”
James Franklin, candid on his $49 million Penn State buyout going down to $9 million, due to his Virginia Tech deal: “You’re thinking, I don’t want to let them off the hook financially. … But it wasn’t about me penalizing Penn State.”

🚩 Flag football isn’t an NCAA sport yet (on its way), but this weekend features a first-of-its-kind tournament among eight women’s teams from Division I schools: host Arizona State and Alabama State, Charlotte, Florida, Georgia, Grand Canyon, UCF and USC. Final two games, 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPNU.

Also, every time I mention the inevitable future success of college flag, someone warble-garbles grumpily at me. Check this out: “Women’s sports revenue across the major global sports is projected to be $3.04 billion in 2026, per a new report from Deloitte. That’s a 340 percent increase since 2022.”

🤼 Oh, it’s WrestleMania weekend. The latest in Chris Vannini’s series on college athletes who become pro wrestlers: Trick Williams, from Steve Spurrier walk-on to Sunday’s United States title match.

🏆 Non-football stuff: 

College basketball has a number of celebrity GMs, some of whom might not actually be all that involved. Adrian Wojnarowski, former ESPN news-bomber, is certainly a full-timer at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. Locally controversial, too.
As next year’s WNBA mock draft confirms, the upcoming women’s college hoops season will have about as many star players as any before it.
“If she continues to stay on the track that she’s on, I think she’s going to be known as the greatest hitter that’s probably ever played the game.” Oklahoma’s Kendall Wells might destroy the DI softball season homers record … as a freshman?
Sooners women have become unstoppable, it seems. “Oklahoma (gymnastics) senior Faith Torrez had never competed in the all-around this season. … On Thursday, Torrez took home the title.”

More Grad School: Draft drama starts at No. 2

Oh right, the NFL Draft is next week! Coming back to covering college football about a year ago, I’d kinda forgotten about the annual rhythm of going from pretending March Madness is in my jurisdiction (because it’s a college sports thing) to pretending the NFL Draft is as well (because former college football players are its stars).

Anyway, here are a few draft things, and man, are bullet lists great or what:

Draft sicko Dane Brugler mocked all 257 picks in all seven rounds, from Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders through Wyoming guard Caden Barnett to the Broncos. (Georgia Tech QB Haynes King joins Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston on the Giants. Two guys who’ve made it their life’s work to shrug off as many injuries as possible, plus the 30-touchdowns/30-interceptions man.)
Who goes No. 2 after Mendoza? The current hottest debate, mainly between Texas Tech edge David Bailey or Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, according to four league insiders.
Five (five!) Buckeyes will be among the 16 prospects attending the draft in Pittsburgh, and Alabama’s Ty Simpson will be the only quarterback.
“You want your best players to be your hardest workers.” On that time Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love looked back at his position coach about 34 yards into a 94-yard touchdown.
Mendoza’s LinkedIn became a meme during Indiana’s Playoff run, but it’s actually pretty common among NFL players.

Surely that was the last bullet list of this email.

Finally, two New York Times gift links for you that I found equally soul-enriching:

As always, holler at untilsaturday@theathletic.com about whatever.

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