Florida football trying to make up deficit in NIL space
It felt like Florida was simply outbid when former Maryland defensive lineman Darrell Jackson elected to transfer to Miami over the Gators. He tagged the company LifeWallet when he made his announcement, which is owned by the Hurricanes’ billionaire booster John Ruiz that has given name, image and likeness deals to players, as well as potential transfers and recruits. It made fans ponder about how Florida is faring in the NIL space?
Head coach Billy Napier told boosters after his national signing day press conference that he needed $20 million to field a contending SEC roster, according to The Athletic.
To help reach that number, Eddie Rojas has established the Gator Collective which allows Florida fans to contribute to a player’s NIL. Fans can make pledges as low as $5.99 a month. After being founded last August, the Gator Collective has collected over 2,200 subscribers and has raised more than $500,000. However, it’s still a long way away from that $20 million figure.
Hugh Hathcock has helped Napier and Florida make up a significant amount of that deficit. He started the Gator Guard which is the same thing as the Gator Collective but is an exclusive club for high net-worth Gators. Within 48 hours, the Gator Guard has produced commitments worth $5 million.
However, Napier doesn’t want those funds to be used just for landing more talented transfers and recruits since college football has sort of turned into free agency. He wants some of it to be spent on current Florida players like quarterback Anthony Richardson, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and linebacker Ventrell Miller.
The Gator Collective has signed 20 football players to five- and sixth-month deals while compensating 60 more.
Florida is not at that $20 million mark, but it is slowly getting there.
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