Syracuse Finds An NIL Sugar Daddy

Once NIL became a reality, there wasn’t much question that eventually an arms race would begin. We saw it to an extent when Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack committed to Miami and got a two-year, $800,000 deal from a Miami booster and a brief but entertaining circus ensued which saw Isaiah Wong’s agent demand an equivalent deal. It’s even funnier when you know that the same agent represents Pack.

Well now Syracuse is getting into the high-end act as booster Adam Weitsman, who is in various upstate New York businesses, is prepared to offer $ 1 million to lure one 5-star football player and one 5-star basketball player to play for the Orange.

To be accurate, he isn’t allowed to induce players to commit to Syracuse. He says they can do whatever they want after they sign, but they’ll need to spend time in New York to fulfill their obligations so signing with Syracuse would be optimal.

This won’t have much of an impact on football because one guy can’t have as big of an impact there.

But basketball?

One guy can change a program.

As this sort of arrangement continues to evolve and the stakes grow higher, eventually we will see schools with prominent billionaire boosters getting involved. Think Phil Knight for Oregon, Mark Cuban for Indiana, possibly Michael Jordan for UNC. Think Tim Cook and Eddie Cue of Apple, both Fuqua grads, for Duke.

Things are still unfolding and bidding wars seem inevitable.