Ohio State Is Reportedly Getting Outbid On Recruits By As Much As A Million Dollars

College football is big business and big business is about big paydays. Now that players are in on the action the landscape of football is beginning to shift. And like an old man cutting the cord and going to streaming TV I'm angry, confused, and pissed off because I don't like change. 

We have heard stories like this before but Ohio State reportedly being out bid for a high school recruit by a Million dollars is insanity. Never did I think I'd see the day where THE Ohio State University was crying poor but here we are. For years we have enjoyed a massive recruiting advantage but now that any old sleazy used car lot owner can throw $50 grand at an NIL deal things are getting dicey in Columbus. 

A story that flew under the radar this past week was when Ohio State Gene Smith not only acknowledged the NIL collectives for the first time publicly but openly solicited begged for donations from Buckeye fans.

This comes right at the tail end of a recruiting season where rumors and speculation about Ohio State not being able to keep up with what some other schools are paying were running rampant. I chose not to pay these rumors any mind. I like to live in a bubble where all my news is silo'd into one happy positive experience. You should see my Twitter mute list.

But it is getting hard to ignore them. Another example happened Tuesday morning on 97.1 in Columbus when Dave Biddle from Bucknuts joined the show and added some context about just how far off they have been on landing certain recruits. 

"I already knew things are bad. But when (Gene Smith asking for donations) happened I was like oh my gosh this is like Defcon 3 level."

"There was a young man, I was told he was given three years, $750k. A senior recruit, five star. Wanted to come to Ohio State, didn't even need Ohio State to match the offer…just needed it to be somewhere in the ballpark, maybe even half. And Ohio State couldn't do it. So they lost out on a kid who wanted to be a Buckeye because he was bought for $750k."

I'm an Ohio State fan, but I in no way feel bad for the school here. When one-and-done was added to college hoops it took time for Duke accept it and join in the action. But they finally did and it helped them remain one of the dominant powers in the sport. Same thing will need to be done now for Ohio State football to remain a top dog in the national recruiting scene.

I'm not sure what the college football equivalent of recruiting Kyrie Irving is but we need some of that in our lives ASAP. Minus the antisemitic sentiments of course. 

It's not time to be stubborn, it's time to get creative.

"Ive heard things like…they have a war chest of about $3 Million. There was a guy from a Florida Gator collective that came on…they have a war chest of $30 Million. Ohio State is 10 times behind."

Biddle went on to make a pitch about how average fans need to pitch in along side the big money boosters. He even went so far as to say that if 150,000 Ohio State fans donated $10 per month then they could raise about $8 Million per year. 

Oh wait, you want ME to help pay? Yeah that's not the type of creative I was imagining. 

I get what he is saying but why the hell should I help pay for the school to bring in players? 

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Buckeye's athletic department brought in a record $249 million in revenue in 2019 and yet I'm supposed to donate my hard earned cash to the program? Get the fuck out of here. I'm sure there are 150,000 Buckeye fans out there who would love to make a monthly donation to the NIL collective but I'm not one of them.

I already have to pay 35 different subscription services I have completely forgotten about signing up for and get pissed every month when they come out of my account. I don't have room for another.

Gene Smith makes $1.59 Million per year and Ryan Day makes $9.5 Million. This is why you get paid the big bucks. Figure this shit out without running in my pockets.

Remember, this all started over the summer when Ryan Day went and make his pitch to local business owners to donate to the NIL collectives. At that time, he said that he needed $13 Million per year just to keep his current roster. 

Then Jim Harbaugh came out and said he thinks they can double what Ohio State can raise. At the time no one paid much attention but now that the Buckeyes have lost to Michigan for the second straight year this has to be a legit concern.

I am 100% behind players getting paid and I think this surge in donations will eventually even back out as businesses and individuals don't get the returns they were looking for. Namely National Championships and college football stars being their best friends.

But one thing that definitely isn't helping the situation is the holier than thou attitude of some Buckeye fans and former players. This is a new day and age in college football and you either adapt or get left in the dust. We are at a fork in the road and just saying, "well then they didn't deserve to go to Ohio State!" is the fastest way to end up the new Notre Dame.

This is just a friendly reminder that Cardale Jones is the co-founder of the Ohio State NIL collective that did not have enough money to pay this recruit. I'm not sure he has the most unbiased opinion of the situation. 

We all knew that NIL money had the potential to turn the college football landscape on its head but I'm not sure anyone saw this coming. Ohio State falling this far behind schools in the south and acting like we're a program of broke bois? Not a good look. 

Old oil money from football obsessed hillbillies is certainly tough to keep up with, but we did it when it was illegal and have to find a way to do it now that it's legal. Simple as that.