I don't know how much I even believe that number. We just landed another recruit today and it didn't seem like we still had NIL available if it was only $14 mil.

Sounds logical. But why is everyone throwing around this number of $14 mil NIL budget we have this year?

Private NIL (I’ve also seen it referred to as “pure NIL” since it’s ostensibly for actual NIL use) is unlimited but (allegedly) each deal has to be cleared with the NILGo clearinghouse run by Deloitte. Schools that are spending insane amounts are basically daring Deloitte and the NCAA to void these deals since they’re clearly far above fair market value as they define it.

For big money rosters, you’ll see the latter outnumber the former by 3:1 or even 4:1. We compete fine in terms of RevShare but we don’t have the donor base to compete with the biggest spenders, especially given all the other expenses in the AD and revenue disadvantage from being in a second tier league.

What are the real odds that this 'play 5 in 5 years' rule goes through and would it potentially affect this upcoming season?

Pretty good. Now it’s not clear whether the NCAA will open up another portal window for those guys or not. Then you’ll be limited to the guys like Council who entered just hoping they’d get another year and graduate students who the normal deadlines don’t apply to.

What are the real odds that this 'play 5 in 5 years' rule goes through and would it potentially affect this upcoming season?

Not sure but offers have been pulled and a lot of programs are going to wait it out. It's creating a big mess.

Ryan Prather #237

Tre Singleton #78

Jaquan Johnson #47

Taj Manning #607

Leon Bond #186

Monatana Wheeler #488

Timotej Malovec #381

JT Rock #193

Isaiah Abraham #500

Matt Gilhool #914

Jaden Schutt #374

Dezdrick Lindsay #145

Brandon Rechsteiner #447

Brock Vice #942

If we are a bit broke (we kind of are) there may not even be a word for what KSU is..

@rockchalkjayhawk pretty crazy! No car your first yr at KU?

totally crazy! back at that age you hardly sweat that kinda stuff, huh.

I had a few cars (clunkers) during my KU years. I guess living in the dorms you don't really need it much, but came in handy once i moved off campus. The tipsy walk to Naismith Drive back from The Hawk was always fun late at night ...

Good read on how much the market has ballooned from last yr.

@rockchalkjayhawk is there a rest of the story?

Ha, for sure. Left out lots during and after!

I think the next day i somehow caught a flight down to south carolina, but how i got all my belongings there is a distant memory.

One of my buddies picked me up at the airport and took me to our rented condo (with cable we stole from the unit next door). they were bummed about my car, because it would have been one of our main means of transportation for the summer.

A few days later we simply walked into the Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club and asked for jobs. As luck would have it, they needed greenskeepers and general workers for the golf courses they had. Three if i recall. We mowed the greens every day, cleaned up the bunkers, cut trees, you name it. There was one hole you had to be very careful when mowing the greens and grass ... there was a cranky alligator in the greenside pond!

After we worked under the hot sun all day, we'd hit the condo pool area and drink and nap for a few hours, then head out on the town. Rinse, repeat all summer. Fun.

At the end of the summer, i didn't have a way back to KU, so me and a buddy or two rented a car and drove up the East Coast toward our families. BTW, it's not easy to rent a car when you're 18-19 years old. I can't even remember the hoops we had to jump through. We stopped in Virginia to drop off one guy, and his mom was kind enough to cook us a great Southern meal. My first time eating a twice-backed potato. mmm.

Ended up at my family home, and a week later had to hop a flight back to KU.

Coulda made a movie of that summer i think.

In all seriousness i stopped in ames when i drove across the country after college. Met some kids at a bar, hung out at their place, played guitar with them, slept on their couch and headed on my way in the morning. Ames is alright in my book.

Now that @approxinfinity has opened that can of worms ... i'll share my cross country story about Chattanooga, Tennessee.

After my sophomore year at KU (during the Danny era), me and my friends from the East Coast decided to all get summer jobs on the Hilton Head island golf courses and have a fun summer.

I packed up my tiny car, a Triumph Spitfire if that rings a bell to anybody, and headed East. I made it as far as Chattanooga, and my car speedometer and tachometer both hit zero, in the middle of rush hour. Then they instantly went back up to normal. I'm thinking...ok, that's weird. A few miles later, same thing. BAM! both went back to zero, and some smoke started coming out of my hood. This can't be good!

I pulled over as quickly as i could, thankfully near a highway exit, and frantically tossed all my stuff out of the car onto a hillside as my car was engulfed in flames!

This was all pre cell phone days, so i stuck out my thumb and hoped somebody would give me a ride to a pay phone. Soon enough, a young University of Tennessee college kid my age stopped and drove me over to a 7-11 down the hill. I called 911, told em where i was and what was happening, and about 10 seconds later heard and saw sirens above me on the freeway.

Long story short, he was kind enough to see i was screwed in every way possible, so he said f*ck it, come stay with me and my roommates this weekend. We'll hit all the parties we can, get all liquored up and have a good time!

I'll forever be grateful for the kindness shown at the University of Tennessee.