🏈 How Ohio State Rebuilt Its NIL Strategy in the Rev-Share Era

Last year, Ohio State went all-in on NIL (name, image, likeness). Reports suggest they spent $20M+ — split between retaining stars and landing new recruits. The ROI? The Buckeyes delivered a national championship, unlocking an estimated $60M–$75M windfall in ticket sales, donations, and media exposure.

But 2025 changed the game. The House v. NCAA settlement introduced:

• Revenue sharing: Schools can now allocate up to $20.5M annually across athletes.

• Stricter NIL oversight: Any deal >$600 must pass through a clearinghouse (NIL Go) to verify fair-market value.

• Collective disruption: Donor-driven collectives risked extinction, forcing universities to adapt.

Ohio State’s response? Shut down its most powerful collective and create a new internalized entity — Buckeye Sports Group — to centralize NIL, align with the revenue-share model, and keep control where it belongs: inside the athletic department.

📊 The Data Behind Ohio State’s Shift

NIL Spend vs. ROI (2024)

• Investment: $20M

• Return: $60M–$75M (3–4x multiplier)

  • $30M+: Ticketing & media rights uplift from championship run

  • $20M+: Booster & donor surges tied to winning

  • Recruiting ROI: Surge in 5-star commitments

Revenue vs. Budget (2025 Forward)

• Ohio State Athletics revenue (FY2025 projected): ~$275M

• Revenue-share cap: $20.5M (≈7.5% of budget)

• Constraint: NIL dollars must now stretch beyond football — into basketball, Olympic sports, and Title IX compliance.

Positional NIL Market Benchmarks (Power 5 Averages)

• QB: $750K–$2M

• WR: $200K–$600K

• OL: $150K–$400K

• Defensive Stars: $250K–$700K

• Women’s Basketball Elite: $100K–$500K (rising fastest YoY at ~30%)

Ohio State’s challenge: Fit elite-level talent within a hard cap, not an open donor checkbook.

Compliance Risk Mitigation

• Old world: Booster-funded deals, loosely monitored.

• New world:

  • NIL Go clearinghouse for all >$600 deals.

  • FMV benchmarking (no “$2M backup QB” deals).

  • Risk of non-compliance = deal rejection + reputational damage.

Ohio State’s solution: Internal compliance + FMV modeling to pre-clear contracts before they ever hit NIL Go.

⚖️ Strategic Insight

Ohio State’s playbook is clear:

• Kill the collective → End donor-led chaos.

• Centralize NIL inside the department → Maximize control and compliance.

• Optimize allocation → Data-driven NIL spend tied to ROI, recruiting yield, and FMV standards.

The booster arms race is dead. The future is NIL valuation modeling + disciplined rev-share allocations.

🚨 Blunt Insight

Ohio State isn’t just playing defense. They’re writing the blueprint for the new NIL economy: centralized, data-modeled, ROI-focused.

Schools that fail to adapt? They’ll hemorrhage talent when deals get flagged, caps get hit, or donors walk away.

The next frontier of competitive advantage isn’t who raises the most — it’s who spends the smartest.

The NIL era is no longer the Wild West. It’s structured, capped, and compliance-driven. Ohio State is ahead of the curve.

Men lie. Women lie. The numbers never do.