Gamecocks Athletic Director Hesitates to Reveal NIL Budget for Football vs Basketball, Others

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Steph Dwilson | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 7:30 PM ET

South Carolina's Director of Athletics, Jeremiah Donati, gave a cryptic answer when a reporter asked how the NIL salary budget is going to be split among different sports teams like football and basketball. The response comes months after women's basketball coach Dawn Staley mentioned that new players shouldn't join her team if they wanted to make a lot of NIL money.

Following a federal judge's approval of the landmark House vs. NCAA settlement, universities will be able to distribute up to $20.5 million directly to student athletes this year. In a letter posted online, Donati said they planned to give the maximum to students this year.

But when The State previously asked Donati how the Gamecocks will be splitting the budget up among different sports teams, like football or basketball, he wouldn't give specifics, citing competition.

“Well, one, (the settlement) needs to be approved, but we know what those budgets will be and we’ve already communicated that with coaches,” Donati said in late May, before the judge's final approval. “All those budgets are set (but) that’s not something we’ll reveal publicly, just for competitive purposes. It’s proprietary, but all that stuff has been baked.”

The response came after Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks had initially said that 75% of their money would go to football players, 15% to men's basketball, 5% to women's basketball, and 5% to other teams. Brooks later walked back those comments and said distributions were evolving, The State reported.

In late March during a postgame press conference, when talking about how upcoming NIL shifts might impact recruiting, Staley said she wasn't sure that NIL payments were fair.

"I don't think we're paying the most in the NIL space," she said. "But I don't even know if it's fair, to be quite honest. It's what it is."

Staley added that players shouldn't join her team if they wanted to make a lot of money.

"You either have it or you don't in the NIL space, and then you just have to communicate that to agents, to parents and give them a choice..." she said. "You got non-negotiables, you got priorities. What are your priorities? Is it NIL? If it's NIL, I'm quick to say, 'Go get the money. Put it away.' ... If you want something different, a different experience, then we've been the five straight final fours. We know what that looks like and feels like and sounds like and what goes into that. We're gonna give you a different experience, you know, that's gonna cost you a few dollars."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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