The Ohio State Buckeyes are in a unique position for the 2024 season where they have a few more players returning than usual.
For a combination of reasons, the Buckeyes were able to get a slew of players back that very well could have gone to the NFL . Losing to Michigan once again leaves a bitter taste for the players and not reaching the College Football Playoff did the same.
Perhaps the biggest reason is the era of college football that we are in that is so heavily impacted by NIL. Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka elaborated on that a bit at Big Ten Media Day on Tuesday.
"It's just given us an opportunity to be able to make money, which I don't think is a bad thing," said Egbuka. "I think it had some implications as to why some of the guys decided to come back for their senior year because the NFL is always going to be there. That money is always going to be there. We're able to make a little bit of an earning while we're here in college, so I think it's a bonus."
It is no surprise that Egbuka admitted that NIL was at least some factor in players returning. Egbuka is joined by TreVeyon Henderson, Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, Denzel Burke, and Lathan Ransom as players who returned despite having NFL stock. Each one of those players could have been drafted and started earning cash, but instead opted to return to Ohio State where they will still earn some solid cash.
For better or for worse, NIL is a huge part of college football. The Buckeyes have had to become very aggressive on that front when it comes to recruiting high school players and players from the transfer portal. Ohio State’s roster may be more loaded than it ever has in large part thanks to NIL and the other reasons that players came back.
We’re just over a month until the college football season kicks off and we get our first look at the 2024 Buckeyes.
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