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[seataccat]

No drywall laborer is making 6 figures in Bozeman.

You obviously haven't been to Bozeman in a long time. Not only is a $100k drywall hanger (not laborer) making $100k, thats considered a bit on the cheap side.

Entry level laborers are making $30/hr or $70k/year with a bit of OT.

This is kind of a ridiculous comparison. These football players are full time students. Show me the full time student that is making $100k/yr as a part time drywall hanger. Drywall is an aquired skill and you generally get paid by the job.

[rivercat]

I have a question. Why do a lot of posters believe that mid to low G5 schools have more NIL $ than top FCS programs like MSU? NIL doesn't come from the school or shared TV revenues, it comes from fans and boosters, both individual and corporate. Maybe I'm missing something.

[Cataholic]

I have a question. Why do a lot of posters believe that mid to low G5 schools have more NIL $ than top FCS programs like MSU? NIL doesn't come from the school or shared TV revenues, it comes from fans and boosters, both individual and corporate. Maybe I'm missing something.

There is data coming available on NIL funding estimates.

https://nil-ncaa.com/collectives/

This snapshot seemed like it is probably reasonable:

Opendorse summarizes 2023-24 NIL Collective fundraising tiers as follows:

Grouping Annual Funding
Power 5 - Top Level $ 10 million +
Power 5 - Mid Tier $ 5 - $ 10 million
Lower P5 & Upper G5 $ 1 - $ 5 million
Mid G5 & Upper D1 $ 250K - $ 1 million
All other D1 $ 100k - $ 250k

[Cataholic]

"There are no 20 year olds in Bozeman making $100,000 to play football. It doesn’t matter what other 20 year olds are making.

And why is it so hard for people to understand that he got a better deal at NM than other spots? They have a decent G5 NIL budget. Maybe UNC was interested but offered a conditional NIL where he had to attain benchmarks to even get paid.

You stated a 0% chance that he is better at NM than at UNC. How can you be so definitive? I am pretty positive that Scottre was looking for the best offer. I really doubt he thought, “UNC is offering me so much money, but I can’t pass up an opportunity to play at NM”.

Why can’t we just wish the kid best of luck. It is the new reality of college football. We are going to lose more kids to G5 programs because of NIL. I am not sure how the revenue sharing works, but I fully expect that G5 schools will be paying more to their players than FCS schools which will widen the gap even further."

Catholic;

You seem to be missing the point on a whole lot of different levels.

$100k isn't life changing money. It's a decent/average wage. Also, given the limited budget of a G5 school & 3 other BSC transfer RB it's pretty likely he isn't getting that much. Plus, he was getting decent NIL in Bozeman to begin with.

Whatever hes getting, he obviously thought UNM was a better option. Obviously, we aren't privy to any of those conversations, but it's hard to imagine that UNC with its $20m NIL budget can't make him a substantially better deal IF UNC really wanted him. I'm reasonably confident that with 10x the NIL budget, the #3 RB at UNC is making A LOT more NIL than the #1 guy at UNM...but obviously, we don't know for sure. Again, theres a pretty high probability that UNC either pulled the offer or made any NIL money conditional.

I do wish the kid well. Hes a total stud & was a great representative for MSU. And, yeah, a guy like Scottre is likely to go from $10-$20k in NIL in Bozeman to $75-$100k (maybe more if hes a starter) in Albuquerque.

But I'm with the posters before: These sorts of really unimpressive deals for top tier transfers are likely to be a decent selling point for recruiting here:

Come to Bozeman & compete for national championships and make $20k/year plus get decent NFL exposure or make $75k to go 1-10 in a G5 conference that probably isn't even going to host a Pro Day.

I think Bozeman is a pretty compelling sell under those circumstances.

I am not sure how you grew up, but $100,000 is life changing to a 20 year old. They go from having nothing in their pocket to being able to buy a car, nice shoes, better clothes and spending money in a restaurant. I am not talking about buying a tricked out Escalade, but maybe a small SUV to just get around.

As for the NFL, they will find you anywhere. The Mountain West has more NFL guys than the Big Sky. There will be plenty of scouts watching their games, even if they are not at home.

I am the first to say MSU is the ideal location for a college kid, but reality is that we will be losing prospects every year to G5 and higher. It doesn’t have to be an SEC school, it could just as easily be a MW school.

MSU recently signed a couple of standout JUCO guys. They have high potential and should shine for us. But they are not coming for a paycheck. They are coming to play for a winning program that will give them greater exposure to P5 schools. I fully expect that FCS will be filled with JUCO kids and FBS washouts. The P5 and G5 will continue to cherry pick the best FCS kids every year.

Bozeman, but that was 30 years ago when $100k WAS life changing. Like I said in an earlier post, 20 year old drywall hangers in Bozeman are making $100k/year. $60k is an entry level job for an 18 year old.

If low skilled workers are STARTING at $60k, its really hard to characterize a $100k "salary" as somehow a life changer.

And Scottre was making $10-$20k in NIL here in Bozeman...plus he could have had a summer job at another $10-$15k, so his net payday for going to a crappy MWC team is more like $50 or $60k.

Yeah, we are going to lose dudes to G5 teams...but thats mostly because young men are not known for making the best choices.

Why don’t you go GIVE $100,000 to a 20 year old drywall hanger and see if it changes his life? I can guarantee you that it would.

Why would I do that? I pay people for their work, just like Scottre will get paid for his work.

I honestly don't remotely understand what you are even trying to say.

Seriously man! MSU can’t pay $100,000 for a kid to play football. Other schools can’t. Scottre went where he had the best deal for him. It is not that complicated.

Yes. Scottre went to where he thought was the best deal. Everyone agrees with that.

But he clearly entered the portal thinking he was going to get offers and NIL from P5 schools like North Carolina which turned out not to be the case. For whatever reason, P5 schools didn't offer any NIL money or they pulled their offers.

And at that point, it was too late to come back to Bozeman so he was stuck with a crappy situation with mediocre money and a terrible team.

I'll still root for the kid. But I think we can all rest assured that when he put his name in the portal, UNM for a high 5 figure NIL wasn't what he had in mind.

You sound like his agent and are privy to the details…. Quite frankly, you don’t have any idea what he was offered and why he went to UNM. The only thing we can be 100% certain is that Scottre picked the best location for him and that he served MSU well while he was a Bobcat. I love MSU just as much as any fan, but I don’t pretend that kids should stay here at their own financial sacrifice.

I once beat a dead horse...I found it to be ineffective....

You are welcome to add an opinion….

[onceacat]

No drywall laborer is making 6 figures in Bozeman.

You obviously haven't been to Bozeman in a long time. Not only is a $100k drywall hanger (not laborer) making $100k, thats considered a bit on the cheap side.

Entry level laborers are making $30/hr or $70k/year with a bit of OT.

This is kind of a ridiculous comparison. These football players are full time students. Show me the full time student that is making $100k/yr as a part time drywall hanger. Drywall is an aquired skill and you generally get paid by the job.

Playing football is ALSO an acquired skill.

The point being is that a $100k annual salary is good for a 21 year old kid, not GREAT for a 21 year old kid.

Plenty of 21 year old kids with no special skills are making $100k. So Scottre, with really unusual and high level skills, $100k isn't a particularly compelling offer. Its fine.

Not great.

Not life changing.

Clearly better, but not MEANINGFULLY better than what he could have had at Bozeman.

Clearly his P5 "offers" didn't include much NIL money, or got pulled or something.

If my kid (who is currently a D1 athlete) was looking to transfer for the peanuts that Scottre took, I would encourage him to consider that decision very carefully.

I wouldn't encourage him to transfer to a losing program with a losing culture and a worse chance at national exposure for a few thousand bucks.

Thats all.

[onceacat]

"There are no 20 year olds in Bozeman making $100,000 to play football. It doesn’t matter what other 20 year olds are making.

And why is it so hard for people to understand that he got a better deal at NM than other spots? They have a decent G5 NIL budget. Maybe UNC was interested but offered a conditional NIL where he had to attain benchmarks to even get paid.

You stated a 0% chance that he is better at NM than at UNC. How can you be so definitive? I am pretty positive that Scottre was looking for the best offer. I really doubt he thought, “UNC is offering me so much money, but I can’t pass up an opportunity to play at NM”.

Why can’t we just wish the kid best of luck. It is the new reality of college football. We are going to lose more kids to G5 programs because of NIL. I am not sure how the revenue sharing works, but I fully expect that G5 schools will be paying more to their players than FCS schools which will widen the gap even further."

Catholic;

You seem to be missing the point on a whole lot of different levels.

$100k isn't life changing money. It's a decent/average wage. Also, given the limited budget of a G5 school & 3 other BSC transfer RB it's pretty likely he isn't getting that much. Plus, he was getting decent NIL in Bozeman to begin with.

Whatever hes getting, he obviously thought UNM was a better option. Obviously, we aren't privy to any of those conversations, but it's hard to imagine that UNC with its $20m NIL budget can't make him a substantially better deal IF UNC really wanted him. I'm reasonably confident that with 10x the NIL budget, the #3 RB at UNC is making A LOT more NIL than the #1 guy at UNM...but obviously, we don't know for sure. Again, theres a pretty high probability that UNC either pulled the offer or made any NIL money conditional.

I do wish the kid well. Hes a total stud & was a great representative for MSU. And, yeah, a guy like Scottre is likely to go from $10-$20k in NIL in Bozeman to $75-$100k (maybe more if hes a starter) in Albuquerque.

But I'm with the posters before: These sorts of really unimpressive deals for top tier transfers are likely to be a decent selling point for recruiting here:

Come to Bozeman & compete for national championships and make $20k/year plus get decent NFL exposure or make $75k to go 1-10 in a G5 conference that probably isn't even going to host a Pro Day.

I think Bozeman is a pretty compelling sell under those circumstances.

I am not sure how you grew up, but $100,000 is life changing to a 20 year old. They go from having nothing in their pocket to being able to buy a car, nice shoes, better clothes and spending money in a restaurant. I am not talking about buying a tricked out Escalade, but maybe a small SUV to just get around.

As for the NFL, they will find you anywhere. The Mountain West has more NFL guys than the Big Sky. There will be plenty of scouts watching their games, even if they are not at home.

I am the first to say MSU is the ideal location for a college kid, but reality is that we will be losing prospects every year to G5 and higher. It doesn’t have to be an SEC school, it could just as easily be a MW school.

MSU recently signed a couple of standout JUCO guys. They have high potential and should shine for us. But they are not coming for a paycheck. They are coming to play for a winning program that will give them greater exposure to P5 schools. I fully expect that FCS will be filled with JUCO kids and FBS washouts. The P5 and G5 will continue to cherry pick the best FCS kids every year.

Bozeman, but that was 30 years ago when $100k WAS life changing. Like I said in an earlier post, 20 year old drywall hangers in Bozeman are making $100k/year. $60k is an entry level job for an 18 year old.

If low skilled workers are STARTING at $60k, its really hard to characterize a $100k "salary" as somehow a life changer.

And Scottre was making $10-$20k in NIL here in Bozeman...plus he could have had a summer job at another $10-$15k, so his net payday for going to a crappy MWC team is more like $50 or $60k.

Yeah, we are going to lose dudes to G5 teams...but thats mostly because young men are not known for making the best choices.

Why don’t you go GIVE $100,000 to a 20 year old drywall hanger and see if it changes his life? I can guarantee you that it would.

Why would I do that? I pay people for their work, just like Scottre will get paid for his work.

I honestly don't remotely understand what you are even trying to say.

Seriously man! MSU can’t pay $100,000 for a kid to play football. Other schools can’t. Scottre went where he had the best deal for him. It is not that complicated.

Yes. Scottre went to where he thought was the best deal. Everyone agrees with that.

But he clearly entered the portal thinking he was going to get offers and NIL from P5 schools like North Carolina which turned out not to be the case. For whatever reason, P5 schools didn't offer any NIL money or they pulled their offers.

And at that point, it was too late to come back to Bozeman so he was stuck with a crappy situation with mediocre money and a terrible team.

I'll still root for the kid. But I think we can all rest assured that when he put his name in the portal, UNM for a high 5 figure NIL wasn't what he had in mind.

You sound like his agent and are privy to the details…. Quite frankly, you don’t have any idea what he was offered and why he went to UNM. The only thing we can be 100% certain is that Scottre picked the best location for him and that he served MSU well while he was a Bobcat. I love MSU just as much as any fan, but I don’t pretend that kids should stay here at their own financial sacrifice.

I know that UMNs NIL budget is, and I can do some basic arithmetic, so yeah, I have a pretty decent idea of what he was offered. Maybe it was only $50k. Maybe it was $125k.

But, yeah, I have a reasonably solid idea.

I find it interesting that you know with 100% certainty that Scottre is happy with his decision to enter the portal and get a REALLY disappointing offer from the Lobos as his best option once he left the Cats.

[gtapp]

Don't players have to pay taxes on their NIL money? I am not sure what the tax rate would be. If it is considered a bonus those taxes could be pretty high.

[Hi-Line Bobcat]

Don't players have to pay taxes on their NIL money? I am not sure what the tax rate would be. If it is considered a bonus those taxes could be pretty high.

Yes they have to pay tax on it. The tax rate would be their ordinary tax rate. When they receive the money the withholding may be withheld at their bonus rate, but ultimately they pay tax at their ordinary rate. The withholding may be higher or lower than their ordinary rate. So they could receive a refund at tax time or they could owe at tax time. That’s all assuming that the payments they receive have withholding taking out of it. If they receive the gross amount, these players better be hiring an accountant because most should be paying estimates throughout the year, based on the amounts they are receiving.

[TomCat88]

Don't players have to pay taxes on their NIL money? I am not sure what the tax rate would be. If it is considered a bonus those taxes could be pretty high.

Yes they have to pay tax on it. The tax rate would be their ordinary tax rate. When they receive the money the withholding may be withheld at their bonus rate, but ultimately they pay tax at their ordinary rate. The withholding may be higher or lower than their ordinary rate. So they could receive a refund at tax time or they could owe at tax time. That’s all assuming that the payments they receive have withholding taking out of it. If they receive the gross amount, these players better be hiring an accountant because most should be paying estimates throughout the year, based on the amounts they are receiving.

I wonder what percentage of them know this going into it. I always used to chuckle at friends when we were younger and they'd tell me about a big job they have lined up that pays (enter amount) per hour. I'd tell them what that works out to for take home pay and it wasn't quite as exciting anymore.

[Long Time Cat]

I posted this earlier but most NIL agents take 20%. If those that transfer end up paying an agent and those who stay don’t you have to make significantly more if you’re going to transfer, just to cover that cost.

[AFCAT]

I posted this earlier but most NIL agents take 20%. If those that transfer end up paying an agent and those who stay don’t you have to make significantly more if you’re going to transfer, just to cover that cost.

[onceacat]

I posted this earlier but most NIL agents take 20%. If those that transfer end up paying an agent and those who stay don’t you have to make significantly more if you’re going to transfer, just to cover that cost.

So if we go with the earlier guesstimates that a dude like Scottre is probably getting high five figures, maybe $100k:

20% to an agent = $80k

Taxed at normal rate of 20% on AGI of $68k = $55k.

Vs staying in Bozeman at $20k of NIL taxed at 10% on AGI of $8k = $7000.

So best case scenario hes getting paid $45-$50k to go to a terrible team?

How many of us would take that offer?

[nanacat]

All I'm taking away from this is what I wouldn't give to be a 21 year old kid making a $100k. From what some of you guys are saying that's the norm now. Wow!! Of course we're in agriculture, not playing football or hanging drywall, so we really missed out.

[seataccat]

No drywall laborer is making 6 figures in Bozeman.

You obviously haven't been to Bozeman in a long time. Not only is a $100k drywall hanger (not laborer) making $100k, thats considered a bit on the cheap side.

Entry level laborers are making $30/hr or $70k/year with a bit of OT.

This is kind of a ridiculous comparison. These football players are full time students. Show me the full time student that is making $100k/yr as a part time drywall hanger. Drywall is an aquired skill and you generally get paid by the job.

Playing football is ALSO an acquired skill.

The point being is that a $100k annual salary is good for a 21 year old kid, not GREAT for a 21 year old kid.

Plenty of 21 year old kids with no special skills are making $100k. So Scottre, with really unusual and high level skills, $100k isn't a particularly compelling offer. Its fine.

Not great.

Not life changing.

Clearly better, but not MEANINGFULLY better than what he could have had at Bozeman.

Clearly his P5 "offers" didn't include much NIL money, or got pulled or something.

If my kid (who is currently a D1 athlete) was looking to transfer for the peanuts that Scottre took, I would encourage him to consider that decision very carefully.

I wouldn't encourage him to transfer to a losing program with a losing culture and a worse chance at national exposure for a few thousand bucks.

Thats all.

This doesn't make any sense. The notion that a kid is going to stay at MSU instead of moving to UNM because of some superior prestige MSU has is pretty laughable. His exposure in the mountain west is certainly going to be better than the BSC and any kid that gets the choice is almost certainly going to choose them. $100k is a lot of money to a 22 year old despite your stories of kids making that much in a part time gig hanging drywall and the tax man taking it away. Scottrie did the right thing despite your downplaying his deal and whining about it. That's all.

[MSU01]

So much uninformed speculation in this thread presented as things that are obvious or "clearly" true. Things we don't have any clue about:

How much NIL money Scottre would have made at MSU
How much NIL money Scottre will make at UNM
The specifics including NIL amounts of Scottre's other FBS offers
Other reasons than NIL (if there are any) why Scottre decided to transfer
Whether or not Scottre is happy with the offers he received or regrets transferring knowing where he ended up
Whether or not Scottre will get more playing time at UNM than he would have at MSU with Jones and a healthy Davis also on the 2025 roster

[WetBreeches]

So much uninformed speculation in this thread presented as things that are obvious or "clearly" true. Things we don't have any clue about:

How much NIL money Scottre would have made at MSU
How much NIL money Scottre will make at UNM
The specifics including NIL amounts of Scottre's other FBS offers
Other reasons than NIL (if there are any) why Scottre decided to transfer
Whether or not Scottre is happy with the offers he received or regrets transferring knowing where he ended up
Whether or not Scottre will get more playing time at UNM than he would have at MSU with Jones and a healthy Davis also on the 2025 roster

Go ahead and add....every 20 year old who hangs drywall in Bozeman is making $100k...

[MTnative]

This thread needs to be retired.

[Lord Vigo]

This thread needs to be retired.

If this thread got a job hanging drywall in Bozeman, it could probably make enough money to retire early.

[MSU01]

This thread needs to be retired.

It can stay, people here are going through the "five stages of transfer portal". Denial, anger, bargaining, depression...a few thousand posts from now maybe we'll finally reach the acceptance stage!

[Run-the-ball]

Why do I think we are about to start seeing ads for hiring sheet rockers in BZN? Seems like this portion of the thread would be better on egriz…