Washington State Coach Shares Ominous NIL Warning About Future Of The Program

Washington State coach Jake Dickert appears to have zero confidence in the team's ability to win in the NIL space.

NIL has become incredibly important in the world of college football, and programs with deep pockets have been to essentially buy the top recruits in America.

Smaller programs with limited resources are getting crushed, and that's the category Dickert is open about WSU being in.

Jake Dickert speaks bluntly about Washington State's NIL reality. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"In today's world, you can no longer say passion and spirit are going to get you by anymore. I mean, it's just completely real the NIL matters, and the facts are Washington State, we're way behind. Not even competitive in some aspects of the NIL. Right, and recruiting, these kids tell you what they're getting. You know, so, Oregon State probably has us by 10x. Arizona has us by 20x. I mean, USC, Washington, Oregon, who even knows? It's a whole other planet. It's part of what we need, and it's very, very important. In three weeks it's going to be open target season on our players," Dickert told the media Monday.

You can watch his incredibly blunt comments below, and share your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

Jake Dickert thinks Washington State is in big trouble.

Those comments aren't going to make WSU fans happy, and supporters of the Cougars know he's simply telling the truth.

College sports, even at the P5 level, is a mix of the haves and have nots. The PAC-12 has some major programs like USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Those four teams have the budgets and resources to do whatever they want.

Washington State simply does not. And the lack of NIL money will likely only get worse in the immediate future. The PAC-12 is cooked, and the days of counting on TV money end after this season. The most likely outcome is WSU and Oregon State hang onto the PAC-12 title for two years and then join the MWC.

Washington State lacks massive NIL resources. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Fans think NIL issues are bad now? Just wait until the Cougars are no longer in a P5 conference. The money will dry up fast. You don't have to love Dickert's comments, but you do have to applaud his honesty. The PAC-12 has multiple programs with deep pockets, and Washington State is definitely not one of them. Expect that problem to only grow once the season ends.