Arizona State Head Football Coach Kenny Dillingham Believes 75-80% Of Recruiting Comes Down To NIL Money

Wu-Tang Clan once said that "money rules everything around me" and truer words have never been spoken in regard to college football, just ask Kenny Dillingham. The first-year head coach at Arizona State is experiencing it first hand, and he's not the only one.

Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham(Photo by: Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Finances have always played a role in recruiting. Bag men culture ran rampant throughout the sport and under-the-table payments gave athletes a little extra jingle jangle in their pockets. It wasn't legal, but it was happening at virtually every program in the country.

Now it's legal.

Money can exchange hands above ground. Players can get paid. As can recruits, kind of.

There is a lot of technical jargon surrounding NIL and what is or isn't allowed. However, none of it is applicable. No rules are followed. It's the wild, wild West.

Kenny Dillingham knows the importance of NIL.

Dillingham got his first taste of the NIL era while serving as the offensive coordinator at Oregon. Now he has the perspective of a head coach — the youngest head coach on the FBS level at just 33 years old.

As Dillingham hits the recruiting trail, he has discovered that 75-80% of recruiting comes down to NIL. That presents him with an interesting challenge as head coach.

How can he get businesses and brands to partner with his athletes and increase their NIL opportunities?

Dillingham recently broke it all down during a press conference ahead of fall camp:

Although Dillingham's thoughts are nothing ground-breaking, it is interesting to hear a head coach put a tangible figure on NIL. For 75-80% of recruiting to revolve around NIL, that leaves very little opportunity to sell a program based on fit, feel, playing time and development.