This is how recruiting is, and will be, until collective bargaining and salary caps are implemented.
Until then, the courts (all the way up to the US Supreme Court) have no interest in artificially capping the earning potential of citizens. As a devout capitalist and proponent of the free market, I am not interested in it either. But until collective bargaining happens, every recruit is a free agent who can go to the highest bidder.
Last time it was Caleb Downs. This time it was Justus Terry. There will always be a bigger fish, a bigger fool with deeper pockets willing to risk more. tOSU, Texas, USCw, Bama, AU, UTk and so on, and so on.
Big bank trumps little bank. Any rival program (or national brand program) can keep their NIL "powder dry", and then spend it at the last minute to sway a recruit and their family. Texas with Terry wasn't the first, and won't be the last.
So, how should UGA strategize to compete in this new landscape? Well, the portal is an answer. Whatever our "healthy" NIL offer was to Terry, it can now be reallocated to a "proven" player. And we could play the same game in recruiting, by rationing our NIL dollars to place a big bet at the last minute/day/week for an elite 2026 recruit. But make no mistake, the days of recruiting an elite player multiple years - all the while thinking they will be loyal and sign with you because of relationship - those days are long gone. I know how much we loved those good ole days, but they are gone forever.
At some point, we have to recognize that collectively speaking, big bank does trump little bank. I still trust Kirby 100% to get the equation right for UGA, given UGA's circumstances. Don't want to overpay for a particular player? I trust Kirby's evaluation. Don't want to sow turmoil in the locker room? Again, I trust Kirby with that. If Kirby is our general manager and capologist, I believe we are in good hands.
I never trusted the Justus Terry recruitment. We've seen all of the symptoms and characteristics of this type of recruitment before. "How much are you going to play me, and how much are you going to pay me."
Until then, the courts (all the way up to the US Supreme Court) have no interest in artificially capping the earning potential of citizens. As a devout capitalist and proponent of the free market, I am not interested in it either. But until collective bargaining happens, every recruit is a free agent who can go to the highest bidder.
Last time it was Caleb Downs. This time it was Justus Terry. There will always be a bigger fish, a bigger fool with deeper pockets willing to risk more. tOSU, Texas, USCw, Bama, AU, UTk and so on, and so on.
Big bank trumps little bank. Any rival program (or national brand program) can keep their NIL "powder dry", and then spend it at the last minute to sway a recruit and their family. Texas with Terry wasn't the first, and won't be the last.
So, how should UGA strategize to compete in this new landscape? Well, the portal is an answer. Whatever our "healthy" NIL offer was to Terry, it can now be reallocated to a "proven" player. And we could play the same game in recruiting, by rationing our NIL dollars to place a big bet at the last minute/day/week for an elite 2026 recruit. But make no mistake, the days of recruiting an elite player multiple years - all the while thinking they will be loyal and sign with you because of relationship - those days are long gone. I know how much we loved those good ole days, but they are gone forever.
At some point, we have to recognize that collectively speaking, big bank does trump little bank. I still trust Kirby 100% to get the equation right for UGA, given UGA's circumstances. Don't want to overpay for a particular player? I trust Kirby's evaluation. Don't want to sow turmoil in the locker room? Again, I trust Kirby with that. If Kirby is our general manager and capologist, I believe we are in good hands.
I never trusted the Justus Terry recruitment. We've seen all of the symptoms and characteristics of this type of recruitment before. "How much are you going to play me, and how much are you going to pay me."
