P.J. Fleck Issues Stark Warning About NIL And Minnesota's Future

Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck is openly begging for more money to keep his roster together.

Money has become the name of the game in the NIL era. Players expect to be paid big money, and some recruits are demanding cash to simply take a campus visit. There's a discussion to be had about whether or not NIL has gone off the rails, but for now, coaches have to figure out how to adapt and survive.

For Fleck and the Gophers, his solution is simple: Find some more money or the roster will fall apart.

P.J. Fleck issues NIL warning for Minnesota fans. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The Minnesota head coach said the following on his weekly radio show (via SI.com):

We had players that were here that are now gone, playing at another school that should be here playing right now. Because again, NIL. We didn't pay them. We didn't pay them enough. That is the fact of life. And I know that we all laugh at it but that is a fact. So if we want to keep players, all these guys we have, they won't be here next year. Just making sure everybody understands. Our fans, won't be here. We'll be a Triple-A ballclub for somebody else. That is the reality and the truth of the situation.

P.J. Fleck says Minnesota needs more NIL cash to avoid becoming a minor league team.

That's about as blunt as it gets when it comes to delivering a message on where a program stands on NIL. Fleck is straight up saying the program needs an immediate infusion of cash.

If the money doesn't flow in, the best players will leave. It's that simple. Either pay the stars or expect to have holes to fill.

It's not a problem that's unique to Minnesota. There's been plenty of players who left to get paid elsewhere, and there's been nonstop rumors about stars having cash thrown at them to leave for a new team.

P.J. Fleck says Minnesota needs more NIL money. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

There was chatter UNC QB Drake Maye was offered millions to leave the Tar Heels. Was that what NIL was meant to be? Almost certainly not, but welcome to college football in 2023.

It's a world of haves and have nots. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Gophers, the program isn't a traditional power and doesn't have as deep of pockets as several other B1G teams.

Are the Minnesota Gophers built to survive the NIL era? (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Will Fleck get more money? He better hope so. Without hit Minnesota's roster could easily be pillaged by richer programs.