Should Virginia Tech Charge a "Talent Fee" Like Tennessee?

Tennessee recently announced that there will be a 10% fee on tickets sold to go directly to athletes.

Sep 7, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; The Virginia Tech Hokies cheerleaders look on during the game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Marshall Thundering Herd at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

As first reported by Andy Staples of On3 Sports, Tennessee athletic director Danny White is set to charge a 10% fee on tickets sold, which would go directly back to Volunteer athletes. This implementation is essentially the first of its kind, sending school's ticket sales directly to student-athletes.

This "talent fee" is estimated to generate $10 million annually, helping the University adapt to the ever-changing atmosphere of NIL compensation in college athletics.

Although this deal has not been fully accepted, due to ongoing negotiations in the House, as well as ongoing negotiations among the NCAA and college football conferences.

So, this deal is not yet official, but Danny White and the Tennessee Athletics Administration is preparing for a change from the current model--donors giving to NIL collectives, which then distributes to the players--to a model which more resembles one of revenue-sharing.

With that, schools will have to balance how to keep donors interested in giving to the program, as well as handling the player compensation by their lonesome.

Should Virginia Tech adopt a similar strategy? Is it reasonable? Will it help the program?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Currently, Tennessee is the only team to adopt a fee like this, which seems unusual and surprising to most. However, I feel as though plenty of schools will endorse a similar strategy, and with the adopted changes in the NCAA landscape, it all makes sense.

Virginia Tech, like Tennessee, has some of the best fans in the sport. The Hokies do not boast their once 93-game sellout streak, as that ended over ten years ago, but Virginia Tech still often sells out the stadium, and holds one of the best gameday traditions with the 'Enter Sandman' entrance.

Moving the NIL transactions through the school instead of NIL collectives creates a level of transparency that's similar to professional sports.