New report reveals NIL strategy behind Florida State’s recent success: ‘Y’all are stupid spending money on high school kids’

NIL guidelines have forever changed college football. And a new report reveals details on why Florida State has been able to use that shift to its advantage.

Following an impressive run leading the Memphis football program back to relevancy, Mike Norvell struggled in his first two seasons at Florida State. All involved knew it would take time to rebuild the legendary Seminoles brand. But his 8-13 record in 2020 and 2021 did not generate a lot of hope.

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However, things took a sharp turn over the last couple of years when college athletes were allowed to make money off their name, image, and likeness. Something they were unable to do before. It has completely changed how roster-building is done in college football and has created unexpected alliances.

On Wednesday, On3 took an in-depth look at the very beneficial relationship Florida State has with the NIL collective The Battle’s End. The collective has become a force quickly in just its second season working with FSU. And they are expected to hand out over $18 million to all of the college sports programs it helps during the 2024-25 season.

However, while many schools use their NIL partnerships to hand out big deals to top high school prospects, The Battle’s End founder Ingram Smith uses a very different strategy for Florida State. And he thinks it’s a waste of NIL funds to fork over most of it to high school players.

One of Florida State’s top NIL supporters speaks out on programs NIL strategy

“Mike Norvell and his staff displayed a significant propensity to use the portal as a tool,” Smith told On3 . “Our ability to add a competitive asset of NIL has only allowed that to transpire all the more … We were one of the first collectives to just say, ‘Yeah, y’all are being very stupid if you’re spending 70% of your money on high school kids.’

“We went heavily into retention and portal. That has changed as Florida State has signed higher-ranked high school prospects and will continue to do so.”

Jordan Travis, Trey Benson, Keon Coleman, and Jared Verse were the top players at Florida State last season. All of them came via the transfer portal. The program was again a big winner this offseason. Adding quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and Georgia pass rusher Marvin Jones Jr.

FSU’s 23-4 record in the last two years and position as one of the top schools in the nation seems to confirm the strategy is working.

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