Gophers coach P.J. Fleck worried NIL deals will have negative impact on recruiting

INDIANAPOLIS – When the NCAA last year loosened regulations so that student-athletes could earn money off their name, image and likeness (NIL), college sports entered uncharted territory. How the newfound freedom of NIL would play out was uncertain, and soon some programs found ways to exploit the situation.

Promises of specific NIL money to recruits and programs using NIL to attract transfers are two of the issues that have developed. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren on Tuesday called for federal legislation to address NIL.

"I am disappointed that we still have to operate with these various patchwork of laws from a state-level standpoint,'' Warren said. "We need federal legislation to help put in some guardrails to make it even cleaner, to make sure name, image and likeness is not used as a recruiting inducement.''

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck supports NIL and the financial help it can provide players but wants more clarity in regulations.

"NIL, the reason why it was brought in, I 100 percent agree with,'' he said during Big Ten Media Days. "I think the players should benefit from NIL. How it's used in recruiting is a different storm. The [transfer] portal has been a different storm — how players are leaving teams and how players are being recruited off teams.''

Six-figure NIL deals with athletes are becoming more common and controversial at high-end programs. Alabama coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher traded barbs this summer over NIL.

"Coaches around the country have been quoted saying there are the haves and the have-nots,'' Fleck said. "When you look at all of that's gone into the recruiting piece, that's one thing that somehow needs some guidance and some rails. Everybody knows what's happening.''

"It's still illegal to induce a prospect or a transfer through NIL,'' he said. "I'd be naïve to say that's not happening. If you're going to get a young person today under current rules that way, I don't know how you manage your locker room and your roster. … I don't think that's sustainable for a long period of time.''

Nebraska coach Scott Frost embraces the potential for what NIL can do for his program.

"It changes our model a little bit,'' Frost said. "Nebraska is going to be one of the best places in the country for NIL. There's so much fan support. There's so much interest. There's so much passion around it. A lot of businesses and people in Nebraska have really given our current players a ton of opportunities already.''

NCAA rules prohibit schools from brokering NIL deals, though the existence of strong NIL collectives that support the program is a recruiting plus. "You've got to be really careful with what you say and how you say it,'' Fleck said.

Fleck rather would see recruits choose a school based on factors other than NIL.

Gophers sophomore receiver Dylan Wright, who caught 18 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns last year, has impressed Fleck with his offseason work.

"I've watched him work. I know he's done all the unrequired stuff,'' Fleck said. "He's not doing it to just do it. He's doing it actually to get a result, to get better. He's truly embracing the process of growth. … He's one of the most pure athletic guys I've ever coached at that position.''

Fleck has a full staff of assistant coaches, but that hasn't stopped him from daydreaming about where current players like Mohamed Ibrahim, Tanner Morgan and Mariano Sori-Marin might fit in.

"I've got my staff planned,'' he said with a smile. "I've got Mohamed as my running backs coach. I've got Tanner as my offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. I've got Mariano as my defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. … Thomas Barber is back coaching for our program. That's what you dream of as a coach to do for your players.''