With Name, Image, and Likeness valuations exceeding $3 million, Texas Longhorns commit Arch Manning could shatter NCAA records unrelated to QB passing statistics.
Star 6’3” quarterback Arch Manning (who happens to be directly related to NFL Hall of Famers Archie and Peyton Manning – and is also the nephew of two-time Super Bowl winning QB Eli Manning) has committed to the University of Texas ahead of his senior year at Newman High School in Louisiana.
The collegiate fallout (or rather, the falling in line) related to Manning’s decision has resulted in an immediate uptick for the Longhorns football program – with at least nine additional recruits pledging their commitment to Texas since Friday, June 23rd.
What’s more, Manning’s commitment is accompanied by a jaw-dropping $3.4 million NIL valuation, which is being projected one full year before the high school phenom is scheduled to play a single down for UT head football coach Steve Sarkisian.
The Sudden ‘About-Face’ Of NCAA Student Athlete Compensation
Previously illegal university recruitment practices – such as the awarding of vehicles, clothes, or pocket money – may have come with severe repercussions for higher learning institutions and their wards just one short year ago. But with the NCAA’s July 2021 authorization of NIL compensation for student athletes, such practices have now evolved into: NIL car deals, NIL fashion collabs, and even NIL dating app endorsements.
Name, Image, and Likeness compensation agreements are currently in a “Wild West” phase, according to former NCAA Commission on College Basketball chair Dr. Condoleezza Rice – who spoke recently on the topic with the University of Notre Dame president John I. Jenkins.
However, the former U.S. Secretary of State also acknowledged in the same conversation that achieving “peace in the Middle East” may be an “easier” proposition than reigning-in the current NIL environment – adding that she’s “worried” about “challenging times” ahead for schools such as Notre Dame and the University of Stanford.
Retroactive NIL Enforcement Of Booster-Led Funding Collectives Incoming?
A recent report published by SI.com suggests that a “crackdown” on present and past abuses committed by booster-led funding collectives could be incoming.
NIL Guidance released in May of this year reportedly calls for enforcement measures to counteract booster-initiated “inducements” that are used to convince student athlete recruits to attend a specific university.
However, Sports Illustrated college football writer Ross Dellenger informs the online magazine’s readers that the NCAA’s enforcement staff has been significantly reduced due to COVID-related layoffs while also being extremely wary of “antitrust legal challenges” – circumstances that may continue to stymie efforts to introduce NIL policy “guardrails” that have been proposed by a number of interested parties.
NIL Era Of College Sports Could Lead To New Records Being “Set” And “Broken”
Could Arch Manning become the highest-earning student athlete in NCAA college football history? The first NCAA Division 1 QB to acquire a stake in a luxury automobile startup via on-field performance? Perhaps an exclusive distributor of his very own, digitally-minted ArchCoin?
With a $3.4 million NIL valuation as a high school senior and a last name that now spans three generations of football greatness, even the proverbial “sky” may not represent the limit for the teenage “Manning” as college football enters into its second full year of marriage with Name, Image, and Likeness policies. Passing yards, completion percentages, and touchdown-to-interception ratios notwithstanding.
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