High School All-Americans Share Shocking Truths About NIL Offers, Choices

Top high school recruits offered their opinions on NIL and much more in a wide-ranging piece about college football recruiting.

Team Icon's Vernell Brown III (3) changes direction on a couple of Team Unstoppable defenders for a long gain during the Under Armour All-America Game Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand. / David TuckerNews-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Under Armour Next All-America Game event took place recently, with many of the top high school players in the world in attendance.

Multiple athletes spoke with The Athletic about NIL, the transfer portal, and much more about what took place in their decisions to play at the collegiate level.

All players were granted anonymity, allowing them to speak their minds about what's truly going on behind the scenes for top recruits.

One of the questions Grace Raynor and Manny Navarro wrote about was answered in a surprising way. They asked athletes if they took the biggest offer they received, with all four athletes saying they didn't.

However, there were a few reasons for them initially taking less money.

One recruit said he left about $150,000 on the table. He added that he'd get a bonus if he played well. That could mean he'd earn much more than the $150,000 he didn't take in bonus money.

"I did not take my biggest offer. I left $150,000 on the table. I can go crazy in the SEC and I get a bonus, so I’ll get my contract boosted up. So it’s all about the work I put in."

That is a lot of money for anyone to leave on the table, especially a high school student.

Another athlete said he left about $100,000 to $300,000, citing his connection with the school he's committed to as the reason why.

"No, I did not take my biggest offer. Can I give a range? I’ll say (I left) 100 to 300 K. I just felt like I have a really good connection with the school I’m with. I just felt like it was too strong to break up."

It's a welcoming sign that some athletes are still looking for a connection with a school. That has been somewhat of a lost art in the modern era, but it's tough to blame kids when they have as much money as they do offered to them.

This is life-changing money for them, and while they could hit the portal after a year and look for a bigger payday, it's important to get guaranteed early money to avoid an injury altering their careers.

NIL offers typically aren't made public, either. Some could say they were offered $750,000, while they really only had a $500,000 offer.

There's a lot to consider here, but in some sense, it's good to see not everything is about the money.