Ready or not, Triangle high school football coaches prepare to navigate NIL landscape
There was a time when Jason Wilkes had a checklist of what to talk about with his high level prep football players: SAT scores, school requirements, official visits.
Now Wilkes, the head coach at the newly opened Willow Springs High School, has to educate himself on a new subject that affects recruits: the ability of college athletes to capitalize on their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights.
In the year since the NCAA was forced to allow athletes to sign autographs, endorse products and businesses and otherwise profit from their personalities, it has dramatically altered the recruiting landscape, especially in football, with seven-figure deals and bidding wars for top recruits. Some schools now have collectives of boosters who pool their money and offer it to recruits in NIL deals.
As college coaches and athletes in all sports have tried to adjust during this first turbulent year, the confusion has filtered down to the high-school level, yet another factor to consider for college-bound players and the coaches who try to advise them. For top recruits, there may be a tremendous amount of money at stake.
“In the past you look at the school, the quality of education, location of the school, facilities and all that stuff that’s important,” Wilkes told the News & Observer. “Now it’s a whole other variable thrown in there. I think it’s just another area that us as high school coaches have to be aware of and adapt to so that we can help these young men navigate these waters.”
Part of the education process for Wilkes is talking to prep coaches in other states. While North Carolina does not yet allow NIL opportunities for high school athletes, 13 other states do.
Two years ago, when he was at Cary High School, Wilkes coached four-star defensive lineman Davin Vann, now at N.C. State. Discussing NIL opportunities wasn’t something Wilkes and Vann had to worry about. In 2024, Wilkes will have his first senior class at Willow Springs. If another stud like Vann emerges, NIL opportunities will be a huge part of the discussion, a new reality when it comes to recruiting.
The key, Wilkes said, is to be proactive about it.
“We also have to be purposeful on how we are training and educating our kids now to make sure they are not scrambling at the last minute,” Wilkes said. “If we put it off they are going to be put in a bad situation.”
The elite players
Coaches aren’t having the NIL discussion with the majority of their players — even most stacked high school teams aren’t sending multiple players to Power 5 schools. A lot of the top players end up at the FCS, Division II, or Division III level, if they play football in college at all.
N.C. State commit Zach Myers (Christ School) is one of those elite players, and NIL isn’t something he had to think about his first couple of years of high school.
Myers, who verbally committed to the Pack on June 24, is a four-star prospect according to 247Sports. He picked N.C. State over Ole Miss and Tennessee. When profiting from NIL became allowed last July, Myers had just left a camp in Oxford. A week later he started hearing some of the figures SEC players could potentially bring in thanks to NIL.
“That was pretty cool, but at the end of the day I’m here to play football,” Myers said. “I can pass up thousands now to make millions later.”
One of Myers’ mentors is former Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler, who told Myers a story about an incoming UT freshman who was already considering lucrative NIL deals before even taking a snap. Myers thought about how that freshman could potentially get deals over seniors who have been on campus four or five years.
“Stuff like that, it didn’t rub me the wrong way, but it was something to think about,” Myers said. “At N.C. State they still have those (NIL) opportunities. I want to earn it.”
Rolesville defensive back Tamarcus Cooley, also a class of 2023 N.C. State commit, picked the Wolfpack over offers from some SEC programs. When it comes to potential earnings for his image, he figured staying close to home was wise.
“I’m already known around here,” Cooley said. “In North Carolina.”
Part of the conversation
Cardinal Gibbons head coach Steven Wright knows, though, the opportunities are plentiful for top players.
“You’ve got those players, like a Noah Rogers,” Wright said. “I would assume that’s part of the conversation where he’s being recruited to, his NIL earning potential, things like that.”
Rogers, the Rolesville wideout and No. 1 player in the state, committed to Ohio State in June.
The Buckeyes have been one of the standout programs since NIL started last summer, landing more than 1,000 deals for athletes. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud signed an endorsement deal with a car dealership that landed him a $200,000 Mercedes G Wagon.
While Wright believes this presents something unique for elite prep players to think about, he would like to see some “guardrails” put in place.
Riley and Wilkes both used the same phrase, “wild, wild west” when talking about the unknowns moving forward.
“You and I both know 16-, 17-year-old kids don’t always make the best decisions,” Wright said. “Kids are going to adapt. I do think those who have wise counsel in their corner will handle it really well and those who don’t, won’t.”
