Doesn't NIL trump the "scholarship" rule? I mean, what if we fans got a collective and came up with $5 million a year. Could we not give that to the #1 D tackle (for example) and have him walk on at the Capstone? I mean, this is the wild wild west so might as well think out of the box.
No.
Scholarships are still just that and dont count towards NIL or rev share.
Here is where it's tricky. Let's discuss compensation as I understand it at least for the sec and alabama specifically
Compensation forms:
Scholarships:
the ncaa now allows tema to grant (i thought 104 but may be 105) full or partial scholarships per team. After the house settlement was approved
The sec only allows 85 per team. (Conferences are not monopolies since they are each other's competition unlike the ncaa as a whole which has no comepetitor so thats why this cna be done without being an anti trust issue, the SEC cant be a monopoly if the big 10 and ACC, etc.. exist and are reasonable alternatives, which they are)
Some of the smaller programs in the conference cant do both 105 Scholarships and rev share for everyone, just not financially reasonable) capping at 85 keeps the league more reasonably competitive and balanced and allows for walk ons. No program will ever play more than maybe 65 players in a season why give schollys to 50 more who will be walk on quality anyway?
Revenue share
This is what the school pays. Its a salary cap, and it is a hard cap. Each team is allowed to divide and manage its rev share how it sees fit. This is very similar to the nfl except to my knowledge there isnt a minimum amount for a player. I assume thats whatever that cap is, that ut is required to be spent each year, just like the nfl, and may see penalties if you decide to finish "under budget" so yo speak, I assume some of that rev share may actually be set aside each season to provide bonuses for folks who outperform their role coming into the season.
For instance, lotzier brooks. I would guess as a 3 star recruit at the time he likley was scholarship only (or maybe had a small guarantee of some kind) but hes overperformed his ranking and expectations id day. So he may or may not deserve a bump to reflect that (the nfl has this built in as well but it is required when a player out performs their contract)
So schools likely decide guarantees with players every year including when they are being recruited i dont know what those may look like but we know it is how it works. With room to increase or decrease or likely even to be terminated entirely in some cases. Schools work with the player to dictate the terms like any negotiation. This is just a normal part of recruiting now.
You cannot use Rev share to promise a player a badillion dollars because thats over the cap and no one else would play for free. Not all 85 scholarship player will get rev share but they might as I am unsure if there is an minimum amount per player.
NIL
NIL is now, theoretically, as it should be. Funding from an outside source, not the school, this cna be donors or businesses usually combined through an NIL collective associated with the school.
Not all player get this but all have access to it by legal right. Every player has the Right, to earn money on their name image or likeness or to allow the school or business to use those for a fee or percentage. Thats the free market at work.
The difference now from the last few years is that NIL deals and offers from either collectives or outside deals have to be approved by the NIL clearinghouse, aka NIL GO. If the clearinghouse thinks its not real NIL and instead pay for play they will reject it and if the deal cant be altered to get approved the scholl can be om the hook to use Rev share to make it up or lose the player/commit.
An aside on outside deals from the collectives. Bama may not have a company as part of the collective but that company may want ty Simpson to sell lets say, their flexolite ping pong paddels. He can do that deal on his own as long as it isnt in conflict with any collective contributor in which case it may effect his pay from yea alabama.
NIL money can always go up or down based on how marketable you are. Become a star youre more marketable and can reasonably earn more.
I suppose a player can choose not to take a scholarship but if they get rev share i think the rules likely force a scholarship on them. That part im not certain about.
In the before times folks would ask "can a rich kid who loves bama just pay his own way and give us and extra scholarship spot?" That answer was complicated. Paying their own way may have included academic scholarships. If you get an academic scholarship and you play in your first two years you count as a scholarship player regardless and retroactively.
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