1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - NIL talk: April 27th, 10am

Episode Date: April 27, 2022

NIL has always been happening, just not legallyThe athletes don't care about it i the locker roomThere are reasons why some people are getting paid more and they understand thatAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time to go one-on-one with D.P. Coming at you live from the couple Chevrolet GMC Studios, here is your host, Derek Pearson, presented by Beatrice Bakery, on 93-7 The Ticket and the Ticketfm.com. Oh, just welcome to one-on-one. I'm in a mood. I'm in a mood. I'm letting you know in advance.

I'm in a mood. just spent the entire bridge between old school and one-on-one listening to some fantastic pre-game coaching speeches and let me tell you, I'm inspired, motivated. Do you like the devil? Do you like the devil? Because the devil is in that other locker room wearing black. Do you want to be embarrassed?

Do you want to lose homecoming for the fourth year in a row? Do you want me to lose my job? Hell no. Do I need to mention your lady friends will be present? Do you want them to be embarrassed? It's great. So that's from old school, I mean, school days. And then we go into Johnny Be Good, which was just a hilarious, awful made, supposed football recruiting movie.

If it works. It's Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Be Good. And it's got Robert Downey Jr. as his quirky sidekick, who is the backup quarterback who never gets to play, who finally gets to play, and shares in all the mischief. and then this movie is renowned for introducing actually as a part of the marquee introducing Uma Thurman Uma Thurman Yeah we love Uma Thurman

Yeah introducing Umma Thurman Um But all the stories of recruiting Like this is like this is what's funny to me Like people think that the NIL and recruiting and money transferring and all the stuff is new This ain't new It's not new

It's just out in the open now Yeah this is not new And they spend a great amount of time breaking down like all the offers that johnny be good is going to get right to get him to play that you know coach gets an offer that he gets a ride if if if if the player commits um you know there were uh the family girlfriends that want them to go where they want to go uh yeah best friends where they want them to go it's kind of funny now with nil where everybody's like oh now the the the haves will just keep we'll just get the all the better recruits on

I'm like they have been. Everything that they're doing right now was going on before it was just under the table. Like, but it wasn't under the table. Like I don't want to, like I don't want to assume things about other coaches, but I just, you know, have this weird feeling that Nick Saban and Alabama, it's not new that their quarterbacks are getting $100,000. They have been. It's not new that the, that the.

third five-star in this class is going to be getting $500,000 or $50,000. Like, that's been happening. How do you think they load up on five-stars? Look, I understand it's Alabama and you have a great chance to win a national championship. But if you're a five-star defensive lineman and you have seven five-star defensive linemen in front of you, there's only one reason you're going to actually go to Alabama. Well, I mean, it's progression of life and resources. access. Yeah. By going to Alabama, I'm going to as a professional, whatever I'm a professional

in, if you play football to Alabama, you are also more able to set your resume post career, right? It's much easier to walk into a room as a salesperson and say, hey, I'm so-and-so, and they'll go, oh, you play for the University of Alabama, or you play for the University of Nebraska. That's part of the value in it. Like people, people miss that. That, that, that, that, that this thing exists and that those deals are done because you are a part of the Nebraska Brotherhood or a Frat Brotherhood or Sorority Sisterhood. That's part of why you bond in those things. That's how people rush to get into those spaces because they know that those contacts

will take them further and advance their life and their resume as they go forward. But that's always been. And the problem was that up until recent time, those. were limited to a certain group of people in certain economic circles and certain cultural circles. And now you've opened it up so other people can now change their

place in life, their location in life, their elevation in life. And that's why people are bothered by. We asked last night, asked Lexi Rodriguez and Ali Bettenhorch from volleyball, whether they ever pay attention to other teammates NIL deals. And they said, no, we support. We're happy for them.

We're thrilled about it. the conversation that, you know, there's going to be, you know, separation and issue in the locker room, well, no, if the program of the culture is good, that's never a problem. Yeah. It's never a problem. Like, nobody walks into Alabama and goes, you know what? You're making more money. I'm mad at you.

No, they understand that what that means is there is a way for you to make more money if you do the things that that person's done. There's a reason Will Anderson is making more money than the other linebackers at Alabama. Right. And so through all the play in space that we got into. and there are a ton of movies, right? You can go through, yesterday we fooled around with the Heisman list, right? And we can go up and down the Heisman list and tell stories of recruiting, recruiting stories of how recruiting was done in that era.

In that era. And to tell you, first of all, remember that college tuition was different, circa 1970, 1950, 1950, 1960, 1940. It was different because it was cheap. It was cheap. As a matter of fact, in a lot of places, state schools were free, right?

And so the numbers changed once business was being done and people recognized the opportunity to get rich off of it. Oh, there's that thing again. But the people who were getting rich off it weren't the people who were playing the games or the people that brought value to the programs. Like we can go through, Herschel Walker, Eric Dickerson.

Matter of fact, the whole SMU Pony Express. Go and watch that. Go and watch Blue Chips. Go and watch. There's a ton of movies that have been telling the story of recruiting

forever and ever and ever. As long as there's been college athletics and movie making, that those stories have been told. Now, just because you were unaware, it doesn't mean it didn't happen. And that's part of the conversation. we're having with people is that, listen, yeah, the program.

Program is a perfect example of how this thing is in play, right? That within the space, there are people who are entitled, people who are part of the machine, right? There are guys who are legacies and, you know, their dad, their uncle played at the university, so they get first look, first thought. We talked about within certain spaces that the bulk is anywhere from 60 to 80% of the people who get to play in those programs. and who get to participate in fraternities and sororities

is because of family. It's because of reputation. It's because of a resume, not because of actual work done or what they've contributed to this thing to that point. And the people were having proud of, a bulk of the people who are having problem with this, is that an advantage that was in play

no longer is an advantage for them, that other people are getting the opportunity. Well, don't be mad at other people getting an opportunity you've already had and taking advantage of a thing that you've already taken advantage of. There's generational money that we're talking about in this. When people can go in and say, listen, if you come play football for me or telling a coach, and I can speak to this directly.

So let me give you a little bit of this, right? So being, and I wasn't even the head coach, I'm just the mentor that this player leans on, right? But I'm also a coach in the system. And with a little bit of name, recognition. They know that the recruiters know who you are. They know how important you are to this recruit. Right. And

to this group of kids. Because that's important for when you're recruiting is getting to know who is important to those kids and figuring out what you can do for them as well. A part of it. And so they know that I'm going to be the voice of reason and logic. So when somebody comes in and says, hey coach, I want

I'm considering these three schools. Okay. Why you're considering what are you trying to accomplish? What statement are you making? What does your family think about this. What does mom and dad think? What does grandma think? Like, what does your brother think? What does your girlfriend think? What does all these things that come in play

and come into play? And then there's a meeting. At some point there's a meeting that happens. And in the meeting, what happens is they will have the conversation. They will give their sales pitch. And it is a sales pitch. Let's be clear. It is absolutely a sales pitch.

But it is also them doing research to what is it's going to take to get this person's signature on the agreement, right? And they want to close the deal quickly because as long as the door is open, somebody can walk in. Somebody can walk in. And there's a story of Herschel Walker being recruited, Bo Jackson being recruited, where the recruiter, the coach just stayed at his house. Yep.

Stay parked in front of his house. He said, nobody's getting, no, me, you know, other cases where they put players in hotels and say, go to a hotel, turn your phone off, and then we'll come get you in the morning. Mickey Joseph told that story with Jamar, I think it was Jamar Chase, where he called him the day before signing day and just stayed on the phone with him because he said he was having, he was kind of thinking about another school, so he stayed on the phone with him all night. Right.

So we went through, this particular player was a pitcher. And the approach was, and these were heavy hitters. So these are Power Five. Big boys. Big boys. And so the conversation, they had the conversation. And then mom and dad says, well, quite frankly, when it comes to coaching and programs, we rely on Coach D.P.

To tell us yes or no. Right? Like, he knows more about it than we do. Which for a coach, they, it's either, that's either very good or very bad. Yeah. And then it becomes, well, what can we do for you? Like, what do you think of our program? Well, I think your program's fine.

I think your program's good. My questions are, one, how are you going to treat this young person when they are not of service to you? Because that's way more important than how you treat them when they are absolutely necessary. That is a question that doesn't get asked enough. Right. Well, but in my circle, Barry Thompson, Evergrey, that it gets asked because we know that that's what's important. I know that if they're at his front door, that he's already done the, physical work.

Yes. He's already shown that physically he's in the top percentile to go there and get better. Now, he's not, like, people miss that part. Recruiting is often, what can, what will you be in two years, right? They don't expect you to be able to come in as a freshman and be able to contribute at the highest level unless you really are the top 1.01% of athletes in the country. right you just don't expect like adrian martine is is an alien in this thing right he's an outlier but for for this kid this kid was definitely going to be a day one contributor at at the next level

now he may not be you know game one starter but he was going to be a guy that they want to put in the game you're going to be able to use him in his first year right and he's going to be able to to help you. Right, which is the measuring point for how a rookie is going to do in that profession. Yeah. What you, how you as an lesser experience player, a less fully formed player, a less informed player, a less informed player, because you don't know the playbook and the schemes and all those things, but are you still physically able to contribute at your youngest level?

Well, that's how that transit. what you do as a freshman, when you see somebody as a freshman, you look at them and say, okay, as a rookie, they will be able to compete at the same level four years from now as they advance against grownups in that space, right? So, but then we recognize that because they have the physical attributes already, that if somebody's going to fail at a Power 5 level, it's not because they don't have talent.

it's because they don't have an academic plan. They don't have an emotional support system. They don't have the financial security to make sure that they don't worry about things like getting the phone call from mom at 6 o'clock in the morning because her phone was turned off. Or the electric bill isn't being paid. You're living and eating at the meal table and your brothers and sisters don't have enough food at home. You don't have the clothes to wear. So the things that you worry about is how you get beat. Those distractions are how you become less effective.

And so a part of recruiting is, do you have a plan for that stuff? And you'd be surprised that the number of recruiting coaches who show up don't have answers to those questions. Like, what are you going to do? And then my thing was to always give added value to the player. So it's, well, look, he's got a study program that tells him what he's going to do with every one of the 168 hours he gets a week. He has an academic plan and profile because he can tell the professors what he needs to know and how he needs to do it.

He has a plan for how he's going to study because he knows how to study. You'd be amazed how many Division I athletes go to college and don't know how to study. Don't know how to study, but those programs are put in place in the schools that have been. So, okay, the university is like, okay, we really can give this guy money. we can put up $250,000 worth of tuition, et cetera, because he's not going to flunk out, which is a huge deal. Because as a coach,

when you offer somebody $250,000 of the university's money and resources, and they fail, you have to replace them and start over again. And if it's after a year or two years, imagine, you've just wasted $125,000 worth of resources, coaching, training, resources, et cetera. Right? So all of this jumps into play.

And then the people who then say, okay, you obviously have a grasp on this. We think he fits in our program. Do you think he fits? I'm like, I know he fits in your program. The question is, does your program, is your program set up to take care of him? Right? Because I know the kid. I know what his flaws are.

I know what his problems are. And the parents will tell you, listen, in most cases, DP, you know more about this than we do. So then we leave. And without fail, my phone's going to ring in three hours. I'm going to get a text message. Here you go. I'll get it.

And what is he thinking? Well, I'm not going to tell you what he's thinking. That doesn't mean. Well, what does he need to commit? Like, what does he need? when he needs to know that you're actually there for him, you actually care about him. Like that's the kind of kid he is,

that you're going to support him putting in the academic work as well because some programs will tell him, look, you're not here to study, you're here to play football, right? And he understands that. As the late great Dwayne Haskins once said, we're not here to play school.

We're going to play football. Right, right. Like you go through all those things. And then those programs will say, well, what's it going to say? to sway you because you obviously have pull and that's what tells me that that kid can't play for that program no because it's not about the kid it's about them getting him rather than them just

doing right by the kid and accepting him and that they work together the kid will get his money the kid will get his money like especially i know that now and n iL the kid's going to get his money I know from the amount of work that was going to be a place that he's going to give his money. Right? But then it's, I know the kid's financial situation, and I've coached the poorest kids and the richest kids. I've coached them both. So I understand that the poor kid has a different priority list for his engagement. A lot of times there's guilt involved.

Like I said, if you go from a poor town and. Mississippi to Los Angeles, to USC. And you're wearing the best fresh gear, you're eating the best meals, you're hanging out with the most attractive people. And then you call home and your kids are, your family is not doing one. Or let's imagine that, you know,

you have a child before you get to college. You can't be eating, the best and then your kid not having resource or access. So all of that's a part of it and you get so many offers. But see now with NIL you can say you can have the real conversation.

See some of the conversations I've been a part of were hey your mom needs a new car or does your mom have a job? Because we can give her a job within the athletic program and we'll give her a place in the town or outside of town. Or we can get her a job so that she can pay for tickets to come see you play.

Right? If you're in the same state or same town, can you, in fact, you know, hey, you'll be able to go home. And we can put your mom to work here because you're right here in the town already. So imagine people from the state of Nebraska, from the outskirts of Nebraska, who want to be a part of the Nebraska athletic program. And they don't have or they don't have resources. Well, now you have resources. And it doesn't look strange for a mom to move. move from Gretna to Lincoln.

Like there's nothing weird about that. Right? And then there's the other side of it, of the parents who will take up a spot on the roster because they have money and they have resources and they can pay. And they says, you know what? Don't worry about giving them a scholarship. Just get them on the team. We'll pay. What? But it happens. It happens all the time. It happens all the time.

Now, nobody complains about that. Or most people don't complain about that. But the reality is you probably should. Like you think it's not that bad because the kid isn't taking up scholarship money, but the problem is that kid's taking up a roster spot, which in turn is taking away scholarship money from somebody else. Resources. Resources.

Remember, for drill time, for meals, for apparel, extra apparel that you get, for time with consultants, time with psychologists, time with therapists, time with the trainer. time with the coaches, right? Because each of those players belong to a group where that coach is going to have to commit time, access, resource, emotional support to a kid that may not add to the program on the field.

They may add to the program off the field. They may make the GPA better and they may make the bottom line better. But the reality is they're not going to contribute on the field and that's time and resource that is consumed. It's consumed. And so now, You're having different, real conversations about, well, listen. We have money.

We don't need that sort of thing because they also know if you've got millionaire parents, your parents have millionaire associates. So guess what happens? You come in, you don't need a scholarship, but you're going to take up the resources. You're going to take up the spot. And then you're going to get additional NIL deals because friends and family. And I'm speaking this from knowledge. This is not a thing I have to make up.

I can give you case and point because this is how that is. And nobody, you don't get bothered by it because, again, this thing works itself out. It balances itself out, right? So those are additional resources for the poor players who now get more of it. But now the poor players have done a thing that will change this thing because they've identified that they now have leverage. They now have open, out loud value. and if you go to somebody's house and tell them you can change my program you can change the location and elevation of my program oh i'm like that and there's a thing that happens in that room where it's a transfer of power from the recruiter and the coach to the young man and the family

where they recognize that they have the power you need me oh that's different than I want you. I need you. That's where NIL starts to work, right? Need is the first letter in the end. Need. So now that conversation is being had out loud, and colleges and programs have to admit

that they do not hold the Kwan. They do not hold control. And it's easy to say, this is who I want to do business with. This is who I want to partner with. This is who I want to have a relation. those three things matter matter and that's what's happening in the game now and it's good and it's okay because nobody complained for the hundred plus years when there was no balance or leverage

if you did not complain that you know what we're not taking we're taking advantage of these kids yeah we're giving them education but but they've already told you that you're not here for the education that you literally, within the recruiting, you have to demand that you are free to be educated, educate yourself first as a priority and as a rule. How about that? How about that?

And to have the leverage to say so, that I'm here to become smarter. I'll play football. Remember that whole, Kyrie conversation works at a different level where he said you know what I'm here to better my life through this

this is a vehicle but it ain't the thing and it's never going to own me or consume me oh nothing people hate that the most when you tell them that well but I'm still better than you yeah I like to play basketball I'm really good at playing basketball but I don't need better than you to play basketball right that need thing

becomes the thing need versus want nature versus nurture all those things are in play and I think we're getting a better perspective of how the business is being done because now there are actual conversations about the recruiting that tapping. Go through the history of it. Go through the high, just bring up, think of any Heisman player, right? And or think of all the Heisman players and then think that 90% of them,

90% of them were recruited at a high level and a high volume who then had leverage. Beau, Herschel, like, you can go through that. Beau had all the left. Right, all the left. Like, it happens, right? And very rarely does Joe Burrell happen. Yeah. Kyle Murray and Joe Burrell's journeys are entirely different to get this, right?

Bigger Mayfields is different. Johnny Mansell told you how the thing was being done. Oh, yeah. Like, he told you out loud. I'm in Texas. I'm at Texas A&M. Guess what? I'm doing business.

Now, I'm signing. card sell in jerseys lost the focus yeah that's an individual thing that's a thing that happens but listen recruiting is now a different game i do want to focus a little bit on this thing and just let you know i'll finish the story about what was offered to me but i also want to get into coaching and what the priority is of coaches especially power five coaches what are the focuses and responsibilities of a Power 5 coach in America. We'll do all that next. Download our app by searching 93.7, the ticket in your app store.

You're listening to One-on-One with DP on 937 the Ticket and the Ticketfm.com.