ORLANDO, Fla. — We sat down with some of the nation’s most level-headed high school football players at the Under Armor Next All-America Game Media Day to talk about a variety of aspects of top-level recruiting.
This year, the event included approximately 60 high school seniors and 30 juniors, which allowed us to talk to players who are done with the recruiting process and those still going through it.
Advertisement
We spoke to over 30 players and granted them anonymity so they could speak candidly about topics like NIL, the move portal, campus visits and much more.
Editor’s note: Quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Based on conversations with school systems (coaches, NIL principals) and other elite recruits, how much do you expect to be paid in your first year of school?What is the reference number for your position in a Power four program?
• I know athletes who get a pretty penny in the SEC. It all depends on how bad the school needs the player. With Bryce (Underwood), Michigan needed a quarterback. So, he’ll get paid as much as $12 million to go to Michigan. For an All-American offensive tackle, base $1.5 million.
• I don’t have an agent, but an offensive All-American could bring in at least $100,000. This is what my colleagues said and what I heard from the beginning.
• I’m not looking to compare money as a quarterback. It’s a little crazy those days. I think it depends on the school, its size and what it can offer you. If we’re talking about All-Americans, it’s six figures to begin with.
• It depends on which college you go to. They all spend different amounts on freshmen. As a defensive end going to a Power 4 school, I’ve been told $60,000 to $80,000 a semester. Every contract is different. You can sign a two-year, three-year deal. What you get after your first deal is up to you and how you play.
• (Bryce) Underwood got $10 million to play quarterback. I’d say $200,000 is probably a good starting place for a four- or five-star safety.
GO DEEPER
Michigan landing Bryce Underwood took a billionaire, an aggressive plan — and a new approach
• The going rate for a high school All-American defensive back depends on how bad a school wants you or how bad they need you. No low-ball number — knowing taxes are going to take 40 percent‚ $300,000 to $700,000. Taxes are the devil.
• My agent told me between $300,000 and $700,000 for an All-American linebacker from a top school.
Advertisement
• A top All-American defensive lineman? $250,000. This does not come with the bag. In the year in question, if you do what you intended to do, you can get up to $750,000.
• I think they will pay you as much as your value as a user in your own right, not only as a footballer but also as a representative of the university. As an All-American defensive lineman at a top school, I’d say between $250,000 and $300,000. one year is the number they gave me when I signed up. It is for one year divided into two semesters. From there, they told me I had a chance of making between $500,000 and $550,000 in the future.
• I’ve heard some crazy things from other people here. But basic: between $220,000 and $225,000 for your first year as an All-American defensive lineman from the top school.
Have you accepted their highest offer and how much cash do you have left on the table?
• I didn’t settle for my biggest offer. I left $150,000 on the table. I can go crazy at the SEC and I get a bonus, so I go through to spice up my contract. So it all depends on the work I do.
• No, I didn’t settle for my highest offer. Can I give you a fork? I would say (I left) between one hundred and three hundred thousand. I just felt like I had a smart connection to the school I’m at. I just felt like it was too much to break away from.
• A lot. Probably $100,000. It didn’t mean much because it doesn’t play a big role. For me, it’s most commonly about compatibility.
• I didn’t take the biggest offer. (I left), like, $100,000. It’s all right. I just know that my school now, I’ll be able to make more money eventually.
How much did coaches bring up NIL on visits? Did they avoid the subject?
• Only on official visits and with NIL reps. We’d spend half an hour talking about it in most places. I didn’t have an agent there. It was just me, my family, mom, grandpa. We negotiated (my deal) and had an agent look over it.
• For me, making money is a big thing. But I felt like building a relationship with the coaches was more important. Each school would tell you how much you could make if you start, do things right. One conversation I remember was with (Georgia coach) Kirby Smart. You didn’t talk to an NIL manager at Georgia. He put a paper down, showed it to me and he said your money goes up the more you start and make plays. It was really organized. Some schools try to bring up things like development to push you away from the money. A lot of people are mad (players) are making decisions based on money. At the end of the day, you can’t go somewhere and not get what you’re worth. (Note: This player did not sign with Georgia.)
Advertisement
• The only time I spoke about NIL was on official visits. He went regularly with the group. Kirby Smart was the only coach who was in charge of it. (Note: This player has not signed with Georgia. )
• Every school is different when it comes to NIL, but I let my family take care of it.
• I wouldn’t say that NIL was the main topic of the visits, but I would say that it was a vital topic of discussion for many of the schools I visited on official visits. As for the plans, they said it was another one for both of them. one and both players. They need it to be private, so we don’t know how much a player makes, because it kind of hinders that ability to play ball. If you know what he’s doing, then you say, “I do more. “So, that’s all they’ve planned for you and from there.
• I’ll say I spend a good amount of time talking to the coaching staff going over film and how I fit into the program. My parents handle the NIL stuff.
• No coach has talked to me about NIL yet. If anything, maybe once, but my circle of family hasn’t talked to schools about it yet because I’m a 2026 recruit. I feel like next year is when other conversations will come up.
Did you have an agent or representative handling your negotiations?
• I work with the Rosenhaus firm and it is the most productive firm for the NFL and school representation. I communicate a lot with my agent. We communicate what schools do, but I do marketing at top schools for some brands. I can’t do anything with my best school’s logo.
• I didn’t have any. My mom took care of it.
• My father was in charge of the conversations, we had a counselor.
• I have an agent, yet my father takes care of all the finances. With monetary opportunities, everyone will check out to take merit of them. I have to stay things tight.
• I have an agent who comes to meetings with us.
• I have an agent. When he told me I was going to get X amount of money, my head blew up. Once I talked to a financial advisor and he told me about taxes, my jaw closed after that.
Advertisement
• My parents handled the negotiations for me.
• I have family members and counselors who take care of them.
• I let my parents handle all of this. I didn’t need to get involved.
When do you get your first NIL check? What do you plan to do with it?
• I don’t know when we’ll get our first check. But I’m going to start investing in real estate so I can resell it when I want to get some cash back.
• I arrive on campus on January 5 and at the end of February I receive my first check. Once the profit share passes, it will be different.
• My mother and father told me that football would end one day, whether I made it to the league or not. I’m bright enough to do anything after football. I’m going to invest a lot.
Is there anything else other people know about NIL?
• People don’t know it, those contracts are very strategic about what they need you to do and if you don’t fit into that kind of (performance), they’re going to take your money. So with all those NIL ratings that everyone gets, it sounds great, but what’s in this contract?What are those clauses that say, “If you don’t do this, this, and this, you will be reduced to this?”And then you get to that point and it’s going to be like, “You told me one thing, you lied to me. “No. Read the contract. You have to have someone who understands and knows about these things because you are giving your life.
• If you find yourself in the NIL global stage today, have someone through your look. Have someone who has your most productive interest at the center. And the other people you think have your most productive interest at heart might be the ones you want. move away. And it might just be mom, it might just be dad, it might just be brother, it might just be a friend that you’ve been friends with since you were (a kid). This matters. My parents weren’t the type to try to get something to gain from me. (But) if you don’t have someone on your side who ultimately has your most productive interest at the center, it’s going to be difficult to find them. in its own way, because that cash is rarely effective in the long term.
Advertisement
• I have a clause that allows me to terminate my contract at any time. And that’s why I enjoyed my business so much because it doesn’t require money. They say, “Well, if you feel uncomfortable at any point, say you want to do this, this and this, we can look at other (options). It was not a scenario in which they sought to feed on me. They signed guys (NFL). They don’t want a few thousand dollars from an 18 year old.
Do you feel like coaches have been honest and transparent with you about going to get older players in the transfer portal?
• I had a long verbal exchange with (Florida State) coach (Mike) Norvell about it. I asked him what he thought about players jumping into the portal. He said that if you were looking to return after jumping into the portal, He is open to it. And if you don’t find your position there, he will help you find a new program. He won’t leave the boys out in the cold. He is the only coach who has told me that. It just shows that he’s a smart guy. (Note: This player is not engaged. )
• The position that requires more transfers than top students is Colorado. They win a lot of games. Every position I look at is pretty balanced. It doesn’t matter that much. Most of the schools I look at are right in the middle.
• Some schools like Clemson tell you that they are not getting in the door and are only pulling kids out of high school. Some schools tell you that baby gates are too expensive. It doesn’t bother me anyway. It’s about competing.
• I must be in a program that develops boys, but I know how the game is played.
• I feel like coaches have been really honest about it. They have to be. If they don’t have a quarterback in their system they can develop, they’ll tell you they’ll take a transfer for a year, get a few wins and then invest in you.
• You have to be very confident in this area because coaches can tell you one thing and then tell you another. So I had to keep that in mind, because it ruins how good the kids are in school in those days. They may just hire a guy who has a lot more experience than you and then you may not be able to play anymore and they take away your scholarship.
Advertisement
• I feel bad for some of the school’s top students because now this JUCO rule is playing a role in all of this. (The moving portal), you just have to know how to adapt to the stage because you are above all at the festival. At the end of the day, it’s just a festival and if you’re confident in your abilities, it might not be you.
How many games did you see for the team you signed with?
• I was there in person for four or five home games. I was studying my position: how guys rotated, how guys played and executed calls, communicated.
• I watched every single game. I’m a fan, but I watch the techniques and talk to the coaches after the game about the things I needed them to tell me so I could play early.
• I provide in almost each and every game. I read how they used (my) position, to make sure that what I was looking for was a component.
• I watched all the games. I looked at the defensive fronts, the formations, the way they covered and the calls they made.
• Every match. They also played 8 home games this year, so I’m providing them on all of them.
• I was at five of the games, so I was at most of the games the big ones. I didn’t go to like, when they played — I don’t even know who they played, it was a trash school. I went to all the big-time ones. And I watched them on TV. I watched us lose the other day. That was annoying. I was talking trash to (an opposing) signee. And then he just got on my case.
How many different campuses did you visit before taking official visits? Who paid the bill for the unofficial visits?
• Went to Rutgers, Ohio State, Maryland, Tennessee, Auburn, Oregon, Miami, Texas A
• My mom paid for a lot of trips to Colorado. It was a fun experience to go meet Coach Prime. I’m not going there, but I’m glad I’ll be able to make it all back and pay back my mom.
Advertisement
• Made five official visits and unofficial visits to them (schools). Sometimes we paid, we didn’t. We take care of it as much as possible.
• I have been visiting schools since first grade. I’ve been to 13, 14 campuses. In eighth grade, I went with a boys’ organization. The rest of the time I did it with my parents, who paid for everything. The longer you visit, the more you will feel if you need to go or not.
• I’ve been taking trips since I was in eighth grade. I went to about 50 schools. We would get in the car and take trips. My father paid for some trips. Other people from the schools helped, you may notice.
• I have done 4 (to SEC schools). My mom paid for all that by buying plane tickets and spent thousands of them.
• I’ve been to 30-plus schools in this region. Sometimes I went with my head coach. We also had some bus tours. It took us to Louisiana, Mississippi. They drove us to Ohio State. My mom and dad paid for it.
• I took about 30 trips to different schools and some multiple times before officials. My family went each time. The schools helped out for the officials, but the unofficial trips we paid for.
• I’ve been to each of my top five schools about two to three times each. We paid for it ourselves.
• My parents go with me on the trips and they pay for it.
• I made many unofficial visits. My dad kept telling me the return on investment (ROI) process.
• I’ve taken about 17 trips so far. Most of them were with family. I would say two or three with my high school coaches because one of my teammates is also a top recruit. So we’d go out together. My parents paid for all the flights, hotels. I’m very thankful for them. God has blessed us to be able to take all these trips and visits.
Advertisement
What has been your most unique hiring experience so far?
• Be on the sidelines of the Miami-Florida game. The Miami players came to us after the game and said, “Don’t go to Florida. It’s a little classless. “
• In Georgia we made a mistake one day. It’s fun. Places that pay attention to details and make sure everything is well planned are notable.
• Most of it is the same whether you attend practice, a spring game, or visit on game day. The one that stood out was Notre-Dame. During one of their visits, they had a day when we didn’t talk about football. We laughed a lot spending time with the coaches and recruits. We played ball. We had a blindfolded donut dinner contest. We had a water balloon fight. This caught my attention because we didn’t communicate at all about football. It just shows that they do things differently.
• In Oregon, they had a space where we all went. We rode dirt bikes and played basketball.
• I enjoyed my trips to the state of Ohio. Me like its structure. Every time I pass by there it’s something else. You can pass a school a hundred times and see the same thing over and over again. Every time I’m there, I get another flavor of Columbus. I went there five, six times. I recently went to church there and have never visited the church. It’s amazing.
• The amenities are all different. I visited 50 schools. My dad and I ask questions of the players and other people there to see if the coaches keep their word. Ohio State does a wonderful job of showing you on campus and taking care of you. Every time I’ve been there, they do it. It was a wonderful task taking care of everything. LSU too. Every time I pass by there is where I have the most fun.
• My advice would be don’t look at what’s on campus. Look for a school who wants you for you. Learn how to navigate through the BS. Don’t let a coach feed your ego because that’s what they’ll try to do. Go somewhere you can grow as a person and a player.
Advertisement
• At Clemson, we went tubing and all that. That was pretty fun. Fishing and all that.
Who had the best and worst food on trips?
• Georgia. The food in their cafeteria is ridiculous. The worst food? Maybe it’s Clemson. We had breakfast. All quite mediocre.
• Texas had the worst food. It’s not the worst, (but) it’s because they gave the same food every time. The best food? I did go on one visit now that I’m thinking of it, U of H had this barbecue and one of my friends is a big U of H fan so I wanted to take him to a game so I went to take a visit there to go watch a game. But they had some really good barbecue.
• Better, LSU. Worst, probably Alabama. LSU feels like no one can compete with their food. I’d have to move on to New York or something to see if their food can compete, but for now it’s Louisiana. And Alabama, I don’t know. We just didn’t eat much.
Who is your favorite recruiter at any other school?
• I would say coach Demetrice Martin. He was at Oregon at the time. Now he’s at UCLA now. I still talk to him a lot.
• I would say NC State offensive line coach Garett Tujague. He is a guy who is the salt of the earth. Think above all about family.
• It had to be (A’lique Terry) from Oregon. Just a lot of power and enthusiasm when she came to see me. Only maximum power.
• I would say Josh Crawford (to Georgia) because he is just an original guy and he let me know that he was looking for me, and even though I didn’t end up dating Georgia, he just let me know that he was looking for me and continues to do so. Build a wonderful relationship with me because you never know what will happen in the future.
• (Oklahoma) Todd Bates. I had the most productive dates with him. I just didn’t need to go through because I didn’t like the way I have compatibility with his project.
(Photo: Grace Raynor / The Athletic)