Florida State Football Lands Top-10 Recruit Over Georgia Shortly After NIL Collective Makes Bold Declaration

Florida State landed its top commitment in the college football recruiting Class of 2024 on Saturday. The announcement came minutes after the Seminoles' top NIL collective made a bold statement.

As conference realignment continues to reshape the landscape of collegiate athletics, Florida State is the latest school to seek new opportunity. As the Atlantic Coast Conference looks ahead to the future, it may not include the Seminoles unless it figures out a new revenue sharing system that pays the athletic department in Tallahassee up to the value that it believes it is worth.

In the meantime, Florida State University is currently working with JPMorgan Chase to seek unique ways of raising capital. That includes institutional funds like private equity.

There is a lot up in the air surrounding the Seminoles' future in the ACC and their future partnerships. It could go in a lot of different directions, and it ultimately comes down to money— just like recruiting.

Although NIL opportunities are not the only factor in a recruit's decision on where to commit, they have an increasing role. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham says that NIL is the vast majority of recruiting in the modern era.

Most, if not all coaches would agree.

Florida State is not here to play games.

As all of the questions circle around Florida State's future, head football coach Mike Norvell and his staff made a statement on Saturday night. NIL presumably played a big role.

Around 8:00 p.m. ET, the Seminoles' top NIL arm dropped a hype video that really set the tone. The Battle's End CEO Ingram Smith made it abundantly clear that he and his collective are not messing around.

Money drives success in recruiting. Florida State is concentrating its efforts on building those funds.

And then, less than a half an hour later, five-star, No. 8 overall recruit K.J. Bolden announced that he will play his college football in Tallahassee. He chose Florida State over offers from in-state Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and countless others.

Bolden could have played anywhere in the country. It was the Seminoles that received his commitment.

The timing of The Battle's End's declaration and Bolden's commitment is not a coincidence. Well, it might be a coincidence in terms of timing, but the two go hand-in-hand.

Florida State sees the impact of money on college football and is set out to both raise it and spend it in a manner that establishes their relevance in whatever conference they might choose for years to come.