NIL Money Proves King as Wealthy Ohio State Wins National Championship

The Ohio State Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a run fueled by a strong NIL department. While parity dominated many conversations in the college sports landscape with the introduction of NIL, one of the nation's most affluent athletic departments won their ninth title. It's been eleven years since Ohio State last won it all, and the victory comes at a time where the sport could see the trajectory of athlete compensation altered. The current structure of brand deals and collectives is set to grow, with compensation coming directly from schools. However, the agreements produced by the Big Ten on Monday, which detail the issues with revenue-sharing contracts for the players, demonstrate the evolving era that has thrown even the Buckeyes amid the chaos. If the school that publicly declared their football team was making $20 million in NIL money is scrambling for funding, every college football program needs to be on notice. A