NIL Compensation Has No Effect on Titans' Ability to Evaluate Athletes, but It Does Reduce the Draft's Talent Pool

"I don't think NIL has affected how we scout players at all. Honestly, that's a college deal because we've always paid players," said Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon. But there are 58 underclassmen in the 2024 draft — the fewest since 2011 and down from 130 in 2021, before NIL laws took effect.

Nov 2, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon watches / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon seeks as many data points as possible before investing in new players.

At a pre-draft press conference Tuesday, Carthon discussed NIL — or Name, Image, and Likeness — which is the legal concept that allows college athletes to profit from their personal brand through endorsement deals and university athletic booster groups or collectives. While some NFL coaches such as Antonio Pierce have expressed concerns about players becoming overly entitled, Carthon has a different perspective.

"I don't think NIL has affected how we scout players at all. Honestly, that's a college deal because we've always paid players," Carthon said. "From an off-field perspective, we're getting more educated players now because they're used to dealing with high sums of money. They have a better understanding of tax laws and how money works. Some of these top programs have people in place to teach these guys. It doesn't affect us at all."

But while NIL doesn't affect how Carthon evaluates players, it does impact the pool of available players. There are 58 underclassmen in the 2024 draft — the fewest since 2011 and down from 130 in 2021, the last draft before NIL laws took effect.

“Clubs are saying that this is a really good draft through 150 picks, and then after that it falls off a cliff,” agent Steve Caric told the Athletic.

"It's more advantageous for them to stay in school and make a little extra coin," Carthon said. "It used to be a running joke around the league: 'Oh, you used to take a pay cut coming to the league.' Well, now it's true.

"Some of these guys are taking pay cuts. You see what some of these college quarterbacks are making in the transfer portal where they would be league-minimum guys, but they can make $1 (million) or $2 million in the portal. It's affected us that way. But at the end of the day, it's up to us to unearth the most talented kids. And it's up to the kids to do what's best for them and their families.

"I joked with some of the guys coming in that my check was $888 every two months, and I handled that horribly," said Carthon, who was an NFL rookie in 2004. "I can't imagine getting paid $20,000 a month to play college football and how I would've dealt with that."

NIL numbers aren't public knowledge and few players are appearing in national Wendy's ads like expected No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams. But Jason Belzer, the CEO and co-founder of Student-Athlete NIL (SANIL), whose group manages approximately 30 booster collectives, has a good idea of the money being made by some college football players.

Belzer told the Athletic that there are at least 40 players making more than $750,000 annually, which isn't far off from the 2024 NFL rookie minimum salary of $795,000. He also believes there are five players per roster in the Power Five conferences making at least $100,000 a year. A source with knowledge of the college football world says that most SEC schools have at least 20 players making $100,000 a year.

Titans first-year coach Brian Callahan shared similar sentiments as Carthon as how the Titans view incoming players who've made some money in college.

"Character is the character," Callahan said. "Most of the time you get a pretty clear picture of if the guy has the right character and the makeup so the money isn't an issue. Not to say we don't look at it and make sure guys are on top of how they manage it or what they might be like. Or maybe some of the traits we might overlook get exacerbated when they get money. But you try your best to stick to the character."

The 2024 NFL Draft

• THURSDAY: Round 1, 7 p.m. CT
• FRIDAY: Rounds 2-3, 6 p.m. CT
• SATURDAY: Rounds 4-7, 11 a.m. CT
• HOW TO WATCH: NFL Network, NFL+, ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes

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