College Football Athletes Get Eye-Opening Message as Millionaire Entrepreneur Shares Chilling NIL Advice

Business tycoons have been greatly supporting college football lately. For instance, Oracle founder Larry Ellison played a huge role in helping the Michigan Wolverines secure the top quarterback, Bryce Underwood, with a $12 million NIL deal. Then there’s Phil Knight, the Nike co-founder with an estimated net worth of $45 billion, who has donated over $1 billion to the University of Oregon. And now, another prominent figure lent his helping hand. Not with a donation, but with some advice for young college football players navigating the rough NIL waters.

Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk (net worth $200 million), the Chairman of VaynerX and CEO of VaynerMedia, has offered advice to young college football players on navigating the complex world of NIL deals. Especially during the transfer portal era. We’re in the final stretch of June, a key time when many young players commit to top college programs. More and more, they’re choosing schools that offer big NIL deals.

Vaynerchuk believes coaches should “start building relationships younger, and social media is the platform.” However, in an era where a team’s average NIL value is also a key factor in recruiting, building relationships, and sliding into DMs might not be enough. On the June 19th episode of the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, Gary Vaynerchuk tried to educate players, even delivering some harsh reality checks. First up—they need to fight the urge to make their parents proud only through money.

Gary Vaynerchuk said, “The first thing I would say is tune your parents out. For 95% of them, tune your parents out. The parents are the problem, not the coaches in the program. Mommy and daddy get in your pockets.” Vaynerchuk acknowledged the difficulty of this message, adding, “And by the way you’re talking to a kid who’s obsessed to make mommy and daddy money because he loved them so much so I also know there’s a ton of kids right now like ‘F- – – you Gary, my single dad, my single mom, my grandma like I got to put.’” This sentiment echoes recent controversies, such as when Nico Iamaleava’s dad, Nic, faced criticism for reportedly demanding a $4 million per year NIL deal when his son was already making around $2-2.4 million annually.

The millionaire continued, “Take care of your fam, but pay attention to what you want, like, and do you want this? My big thing with these kids is like are you okay if this is your last bag, because as you know for a lot of them it will be their last bag cuz they won’t go to the next level they won’t transfer portal because they’ll f- – – up everything between their senior year and their freshman year.”

There have been contrasting approaches to NIL recently. On one hand, coaches like Sherrone Moore went to great lengths to secure Underwood. On the other hand, instances like Josh Heupel pulling back when Iamaleava reportedly pushed for a higher NIL deal show a different strategy. This highlights what Nick Saban once called the “unsustainable” nature of the NIL model, where many players are drawn to programs offering the best financial opportunities.

Vaynerchuk advised, “I would say to tune the noise out, including your parents, do the right things by the people who deserve it around you. This is a tough one for a 17/18-year-old kid. Don’t use money to fix fractured relationships. I see a lot of these kids use it to if it’s something as silly as like a former girlfriend, or if it’s something as real as a mom and dad kind of abandoned them.” He concluded, “Be thoughtful, get into your therapy mindset, get into your positive thinking, get into your grounded.” In short, he urged players to cut out distractions. Meanwhile, another NIL-driven player flip is reportedly on the horizon.

The two sides of the NIL coin in college football 

Brian Kelly is yet to recover from the Underwood heartbreak. And guess what? The history is likely to repeat for the LSU Tigers head coach. Thanks to his 5-star wide receiver Tristen Keys—the No. 1 WR in the class—who had anchored his ship to the LSU dock back in March. But so what? He kept on exploring more options. That’s when the NIL factor started to prick Kelly all over again.

Keys had promised big things: “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.” But now that a big NIL check is waving at him, he might take back his words.  On June 13, On3 NIL posted on X, “The race for LSU 5-star WR commit Tristen Keys continues to heat up🔥 Keys is expected to ink an NIL package that will pay him between $500K to $1 million as a freshman, per @PeteNakos_💰.” A recent video went viral where Kelly’s 5-star recruit was dancing in Tennessee’s orange-colored gear. But…

“When it comes to money and development, of course I’d take development first because we trying to get to that big money, which is NFL,” Tristen Keys said. “When it comes to 700 to seven figures, and the production is there with the 700, I would take it because I want to be ready and prepared for the next level as fast as possible. So development is #1 for me, for sure.” On the other hand, a player is navigating NIL well, just like Gary Vaynerchuk hoped.

That’s none other than the Oregon Ducks’ probable starting quarterback, Dante Moore. On June 18, On3 NIL posted about Moore hitting a huge milestone off the field. “Oregon QB Dante Moore donated $10,000 of his NIL earnings to his alma mater, Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School (MI)💚.” The quarterback went to his hometown in Detroit and promised to take care of jerseys, travel, food, and all other expenses of the players of his alma mater’s football club. What’s even more surprising is the fact that Moore only holds an NIL valuation of $341k. But even then, he chose purpose over materialistic pleasure. That’s how one needs to roll the NIL dice.