Ole Miss outbid South Carolina for transfer portal linebacker, USC trustee says
It seemed every subject was touched on Friday during an hour-long presentation from new South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati to the USC Board of Trustees.
From the Williams-Brice Stadium renovation to the Garnet Trust NIL collective to one board member wondering how USC was going to split its $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap “because I bet our illegitimate cousins in the northwest corner are gonna put $20.5 million towards football and nothing else.”
Yet the item that caused the most questions from the trustees related to market value of future name, image and likeness deals.
“Any NIL deal after July 1 is subject to fair-market value, which is going to be an appropriate range of compensation — those are going to be the magic buzz words — over $600,” Donati said.
Basically, according to Donati, if pizza place X wanted to give an NIL deal to a South Carolina student-athlete for more than $600, “a clearinghouse will then look at the deal, make sure it’s within the appropriate range of compensate — fair-market value. ... If those are not approved, the student-athlete risks his or her eligibility if they take the deal.”
In trying to garner more specifics on a concept that’s incredibly complicated and still relatively new, one board member offered a specific example.
“We just competed for a linebacker,” board member Dan Adams said. “We were gonna offer $400,000 and Mississippi took him for $800 (thousand).”
“But, again, you’re playing in the wild, wild West there,” Donati said. “I’m looking at post-July 1.”
Adams did not mention a player by name or say where those figures originated.
Ole Miss added three linebackers from the transfer portal this cycle. The one who the Rebels and Gamecocks publicly battled for was Grambling State transfer linebacker Andrew Jones, who initially committed to South Carolina before flipping and signing with Ole Miss two days later.
If Jones was the player Adams was referencing, a team source said that the $400,000 figure was high and inaccurate.
The actual value of specific NIL deals are rarely publicized.
This story was originally published January 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
