Mike Gundy Makes It Clear To His Players That NIL Negotiations Are Over Until Season's End, So Don't Ask

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is ready for five months of football and not worrying about negotiating NIL terms with his current players as the season draws closer. 

In a world where NIL has become the major driving force in recruiting players out of high school or the transfer portal, the ongoing conversations regarding the future of the sport when it comes to revenue sharing are only just getting started. 

But for Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, one of the best parts about the start of fall camp and the looming season opener against South Dakota State is that he can now focus solely on football, and not financial transactions. 

It's certainly not a secret that coaches across the country are still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that open conversations about how much a player is worth, and will be paid, have taken over a massive chunk of their time. What was once taboo to discuss is now an everyday occurrence across the country, so it's not surprising that these coaches are hoping for five months of football conversations, not negotiating. 

Never the one to hold back his feelings on the hot-button topics in college athletics, Gundy made it clear this week that the time for talking about money, or getting calls from agents looking to squeeze a few extra bucks for their clients is over, so stop calling. 

"There's no negotiating now, portal's over," Mike Gundy told reporters. "All the negotiation is history, now we're playing football. Just coaching and playing football. You know, the business side of what we do now is we have to have those conversations with (the players). Tell your agent to quit calling us and asking for more money. It's nonnegotiable now. It'll start again in December. Now, we're able to direct ourselves just to football, and that part has been fun, cause there's been so much other stuff going on it's been hard to really focus on football."

While he might feel this way, and stick to his word, we all know that there will be times during the season where these conversations will happen, even if Gundy is hellbent on not talking about it with his players. 

What Happens When One Player Has A Monster Game? 

While it's illegal for players to receive money based off performance on the field, which would technically be described as incentives, that doesn't mean a player's agent or second cousin isn't going to ask for more money. 

One of the bigger talking points over the last few months inside the coaching community has centered around what would happen when the second-string running back or wide receiver starts performing at a high level. If a starter goes down, and the backup isn't making anywhere near what the guy in front of him is making, and then starts producing at a high level, obviously that player will want more ‘NIL’ money. 

Because let's be honest, we're calling pay-for-play ‘NIL’, when every coach or player knows exactly what it is, including the NCAA, but their enforcement-arm is minimal at best. So, who's to say that the backup doesn't come to the collective or position coach after a few stellar games and demands more money to play, or at least tries to strong-arm them for more money. 

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JULY 17: Head Coach Brian Kelly of the LSU Tigers speaks during Day 1 of 2023 SEC Media Days at Grand Hyatt Nashville on July 17, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

And if you think this isn't already happening during fall camp, you're not living in reality. According to one coach who spoke with OutKick, they had a second-string wide receiver come to them after the first scrimmage of fall camp asking to be compensated better, based off a two-touchdown outing. 

So imagine what kind of conversations would happen during the season, if said player was to have a monster game because of an injury to the premier player at that position. I think you see where I'm going with this, and it's not lost on these coaches either. 

I applaud Mike Gundy for speaking his mind, as others around college football are of the same mindset. But I'm intrigued to see how this situation will be handled once we get into the month of October, when some players who we thought wouldn't see much playing time start lighting up the stat sheets.