What do Penn State football players think about NIL? ‘I’m getting ready for a football season’
P.J. Mustipher cracked a smile and shook his head when asked about Name Image and Likeness (NIL) — the topic that has been dominating discourse surrounding college football and college athletics as a whole.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is set to make nearly seven figures before starting a game. Miami QB D’Eriq King has landed several deals with companies to endorse their products. But when asked about NIL and how he’s tackled the new era of profiting off his exposure, Mustipher didn’t hesitate.
“I’m getting ready for a football season,” Mustipher said Thursday at Big Ten Media Days. “I ain’t worried about all that.”
The Nittany Lions’ ability to profit off their NIL has put athletes in better financial position, but the current group of leaders don’t have the head space for that with the 2021 football season on the horizon — and neither do other players who want to focus on the field — but they believe they’ve been prepared for this moment by the university.
While Mustipher isn’t concerning himself with the issue at the moment, he made it clear he understood how important the NIL legislation is.
“I’m happy for all of my teammates who are participating in it,” Mustipher said. “I’m thankful for all that the state, our president and Coach James) Franklin has done for us in order to educate us and provide us with those opportunities.”
Mustipher wasn’t the only Penn State locker room leader to push those thoughts to the back burner, though. Fellow senior Jahan Dotson is in excellent position to make plenty of money, given his standing on the team as its most prolific offensive player and as one of the best receivers in college football, but he’s still making sure his mind is on the field by passing NIL issues off to his parents.
“It’s a great opportunity for all of us,” Dotson said. “I’m kind of looking at the bigger picture and that’s winning football games. I kind of just had my parents had that a little bit so I could focus on the season. Right now I’m just talking to my parents about it, any opportunities I have to build my brand and stuff like that.”
The refrain from Dotson and Mustipher wasn’t uncommon. Several other players at Big Ten Media Days said they were also excited for the opportunity to make money off their NIL, but right now wasn’t the time for that. Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa said his parents were handling his NIL inquiries. Indiana WR Ty Fryfogle and QB Michael Penix were happy the new rules were in place, but only wanted to focus on football — the same goes for Purdue DE George Karlaftis.
Still, the opportunities will come and multiple players have brands in mind that they’d want to sign a deal with. Dotson mentioned Nike and Fryfogle mentioned Jordan Brand. Part of the path to earning those deals comes with the help of the institutions they play for. Dotson and Mustipher all applauded Penn State’s efforts to get them ready, and said those initiatives — such as the university’s STATEment program — have put them in position to take advantage of the new rules.
“They’ve set us up with tremendous resources that we can reach out to,” Dotson said. “My parents have done a great job just helping me reach out to different companies, just kind of keeping me grounded and pretty much talking for me.”
Even with that preparation, not everybody is ready to dive in head first. They want to be sure they’re not breaking any rules and do things in a way that benefits them while not exposing them to potential future financial pitfalls. The newness of the NIL legislation is part of the reason why Penn State CB Tariq Castro-Fields is waiting to go full bore into the new world of profiting off his NIL.
“It’s fairly new, so I don’t want to just dive in,” Castro-Fields said. “I’m taking it slow, asking my coaches, asking my coaches from home, asking my mom, but not trying to get caught up too much in it.”
To get those deals to come, the Nittany Lions know they have to perform on the field. Part of building a brand is showing you can have value on the football field, and Castro-Fields said that is still at the forefront of his mind.
“I still have a season to play,” he said. “I still have to make plays, you know what I mean? It’s not just you getting a brand deal. You still have to make plays to actually get those type of things. That’s where my focus is.”
