Penn State football is 11-11 over the past two seasons, and many fans and alumni, demanding even when the team is winning, are skeptical about many aspects of the program, including NIL.
Some feel that Penn State isn’t “ponying up” the way it should with Name, Image and Likeness and needs to do so to keep up with other schools.
Coach James Franklin acknowledged NIL’s importance in modern college football in a media availability session Wednesday afternoon. He said Penn State needs to do what it can to keep up immediately.
“It needs to be now,” Franklin said. “It needs to be yesterday. The long haul in college football, college football has changed probably more in the last five years than it has in maybe the previous 20. NIL is not long haul. We’ve got to do everything we possibly can to put Penn State in the best position this season.”
How much it will cost for Penn State or any other school to keep up with college football’s elite isn’t exact.
Franklin said the cost would be “more than the numbers you’ve heard.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day recently estimated that it’d cost $13 million to keep his roster intact yearly.
Franklin was asked about that $13 million figure and gave an animated answer that was probably the highlight of Wednesday’s session outside Holuba Hall.
James Franklin was asked how much NIL funding Penn State needs. His response was not boring. pic.twitter.com/v6c7yGADoY
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) June 9, 2022
“If we want to compete with the schools that you guys all write articles about us competing with,” Franklin said, “why wouldn’t our number be the same as others?”
“I can’t get off this,” Franklin continued. “If you guys could, message me. Send me a message on why our numbers would be different than the people we’re supposed to compete with.”
Penn State fans, do you see the program becoming a significant player in NIL, or will it be an area where Penn State lags?
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