When the NCAA changed its policy surrounding players’ name, image, and likeness (NIL), allowing college athletes to sign endorsement deals and profit from their college athletic careers, many assumed that it would help the major notorious college football powerhouses the most. But as one recent high-profile quarterback commit explains, that isn’t necessarily the case.
Four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz flipped his college commitment from the Washington Huskies to the Ohio State Buckeyes late in the 2023 recruiting cycle. But his decision had nothing to do with NIL money. In fact, Lincoln Kienholz revealed that Washington actually offered him more NIL money than the Buckeyes did.
"I need to bet on myself, stars really don't matter."
@AnderaMidco talked to @LincolnKienholz about why he picked the @OhioStateFB on signing day!#MidcoSports pic.twitter.com/cq7I1UOPLd
— Midco Sports (@MidcoSports) December 22, 2022
“I think Washington had better NIL than Ohio State,” Kienholz said in a video shared by Midco Sports. “I think I can go to Washington and get money, or I can go to Ohio State and be developed and then potentially reach my goal of going to the NFL.”
It’s a pretty stunning revelation, considering Ohio State is a much bigger university than the University of Washington and the Buckeyes have one of the largest fanbases in college football. But Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has recently been pretty open about Ohio State’s struggles generating NIL money, declaring that the Buckeyes “need all the help that they can get.”
It’s safe to say that this is not how most expected NIL to go.
