RTC’s and The New NIL Deals
Initially reported by Ben Askren via Twitter, it is rumored that 2x All-American Real Woods was offered a $100k NIL deal by the NLWC (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club). Many believed that Real Woods would go to Penn State to use his final year of eligibility. It was then rumored by Pat Minero via Twitter that The HWC (Hawkeye Wrestling Club) offered a whopping $200k NIL deal to Woods two days later. Woods chose the black and gold to replace 4x All-American Jaydin Eierman at 141. Although $200k is on the small side of NIL deals in all college sports, it is relatively big for wrestling. It has also come out that for Nick Suriano’s short tenure with the Michigan Wolverines, he was paid with a $100K NIL deal with Cliff Keen Wrestling Club.
What does this mean for the transfer portal going forward?
You guessed it; athletes are wanting to GET PAID! Both of Woods' offers were from historically the strongest programs in the country with huge boosters and Alumni. Therefore they have money to spend to maintain dominance. This hurts the small programs that don’t have the assets to pay for talented wrestlers entering the transfer portal. With this, I predict the gap between Big Ten teams will continue to get significantly bigger as teams are panicking to catch up.
How does this benefit NCAA Wrestling?
The potential of NIL deals with college wrestling is limitless. Aside from the fact that RTCs are now paying athletes to attend their school, NIL deals can help wrestlers in many different ways. A wrestler can hold a technique camp for youth to high school kids and keep the profit. Wrestlers can also push products that they use to gear up for competition to a younger generation while getting paid. Student-Athletes in every sport can live more comfortably as they compete worry-free in regards to money.
How does this harm NCAA Wrestling?
As I mentioned before, athletes now have the option to receive massive offers from RTC that are disguised as NIL deals. This will benefit programs with wealthy boosters and alumni. As a wrestling fan, seasons could start to become tedious if only a handful of teams are considered by a wrestler in the transfer portal strictly based on where they can receive the most money. If the NCAA wants to push the “Student-Athlete” narrative, the RTC offers should be stopped. Since 1990 41 division one wrestling programs have been cut; if programs start trying to shell out money for athletes, I’m afraid we could see that number rise.
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NIL deals can do wonders for the sport of wrestling. Although Iowa and Penn State have found a loophole to use to their advantage, this can be a vital tool for a student-athlete to live comfortably. It will be interesting to see what the NCAA does about this newfound loophole. The competitiveness of division one wrestling is now in the hands of the NCAA.
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